alcomohol

When I was a teenager/early 20's I never drank. I drank a little, but very sporadically. This is the time of life when people are supposed to go wild and drink a lot. I didn't so much. I was very strict and uptight. Totally focused on my study and on my health.

These days, I drink more than I used to. Tonight I had 5 cans of beer and some umeshu (plumb wine) with my GF. Yesterday I went to a BBQ and drank a ton. Two days before that I randomly invited some girls that were in the same elevator as me after work to go drinking with me and a co worker at a random street side vendor. When that finished I was on my way home and bumped into a guy that lives in the same building as me. I happened to get a bottle of champagne that day from a student so we decided to crack it open and drink it.

He was with his girlfriend and the three of us sat outside on the stairs drinking champagne, talking boisterously. The rain started to fall lightly making the air fresh, and we got happily drunk. It was a nice moment.

I just think about how much drinking I do, and how it is more than what it used to be. I think it's because I don't drive anymore, and I don't have any overbearing parents trying to moderate my lifestyle. Sometimes I hear stories about people who lived in Japan and come back with alcoholism and it kinda worries me. I also know about how my family has a history of alcoholics. I don't think I drink large amounts, but I drink pretty often. Almost everyday. But only one or two drinks. Then on days when I go out- its 3-5+ drinks. Not that much really. It's just that I go out often.

I think that Japanese lifestyle results in an increase in alcohol consumption.