Mind Versus Body

I never really liked getting drunk. Tipsy is fine, tipsy is great. You get that buzz while still aware and able to enjoy what’s happening. But drunk is just plain awful. Everything gets tuned out, and you’re left grasping at yourself, trying to keep yourself together—and to keep everything you drank (and ate) to remain in your stomach. It’s a test of mind over body, wherein the mind itself is weakened and the body threatening to break down.

After hosting our Christmas party (successfully, so I was told), I joined everyone in drinking and dancing (okay, okay, more drinking than dancing). And when the booze ran out, our bosses dragged several of us over to Amber. There I downed 5 shots of coffee-flavored Patron Tequila. Needless to say, I ended up sitting on a chair, my head reeling and the music fading into a blur.

Then I heard my officemate Howie asking me, “Are you okay?” I shook my head. Then I felt someone hand me a glass of something cold. “Here,” my other officemate Trisha said. “Drink this. You need sugar!” I looked up and saw the soda can she was holding. I drank from the glass she gave me.

As she turned away, I whispered to Howie (who was still beside me), “Sugar? She gave me a Coke Zero! There’s no sugar in Coke Zero!”

Even with the world spinning like crazy, my mind is still very, very aware. But unfortunately my body isn’t as controlled as my mind. A few minutes later I was barfing in Amber’s bathroom.

Smooth.