Tuesday, December 28, 2010

We All Have a First Time

I'm on vacation right now. I try to take the last two weeks of the year off of work every year, so that I can have some down time to myself. While the weeks leading up to this free period can be hazardous for others (I get cranky from not having a day off....move on already), it is still a personal tradition I plan to carry on. Anyway, one of the best things about being on vacation AND at home with nothing to do (other than read...and I do lots of it during this period; fyi, I'm about to finish "I Am Not Myself These Days" by Josh Kilmer-Purcell), is that I can open a bottle of wine whenever I feel like it and not feel ashamed (and let's face it folks, I've felt more shame in my 34 years than anyone should -- although this isn't a therapy session, so I'll move on). Since I'm enjoying a bottle now (at 2:30 on a lazy Tuesday afternoon), I decided to take a moment to reflect on my first time drunk.

Yeah, I know, the title made you think I was going to talk about my first sexual experience. Sorry folks, no plan for that on here. However, if you decide buy my a drink and ask in person....maybe I'll share.

So here's the deal, I was a bit of a goody goody as a kid. I think I desperately wanted to be something else, but for whatever reason, I was the shy, quiet kid, who didn't get in trouble. Since then, well, that's a different story entirely. (What's the lyric from the Melissa Etheridge song? I'm feeling kinda loose. I'm feeling kinda mean. I've been feeling kinda wild since I turned 17. Make that 23 and you have me, minus a few months at 19.) Sorry for the tangent, they come so easily, even when not fueled by alcohol.

Anyway, I was 18 when I got drunk for the first time (see, goody goody). I traveled with a group of friends to Myrtle Beach for the week after graduation and I proceeded to become intoxicated on the first night there......from 2 wine coolers. Yup, you read that correctly. I am hanging my head in shame right now.

I know that if you were there and are reading this you have to remember what came next. If not, here's a refresher. After having these two glorious wine coolers (seriously) I proceeded to sit on the kitchen floor with a blanket over my head, covering my entire body. It was at that moment, where I declared that I was Casper, the friendly ghost. Then I fell over.

So folks, that was my first time drunk. Pathetic, I know. I've made up for it since then, as there have been many moments of debauchery (clothed and unclothed) fueled by vodka. However, those two wine coolers will always hold a special place in my heart (or liver).....just don't ask me what the flavor was.