Hi. My name is Dominique, and I have a confession to make. I don’t drink.
Well obviously I do drink, I’m a diet coke addict, always have a supersized bottle of water on my desk, and wouldn’t say no to a lindt hot chocolate. When it comes to alcohol however, I’m a very polite, “no thanks, I’m fine”.
That’s not to say that I won’t drink. I do have the occasional glass of champagne at a wedding or a vodka lime and soda on the weekend. It’s probably more correct to say I don’t get drunk. As general rule I don’t drink at all during the week. I will make exceptions occasionally for a big work event, but I won’t have more than two glasses of wine, and always make sure they’re spaced out with water and soft drink.
This probably seems a lot boring and a little strange to most of you. I’m a 20-something coordinator at a media company; surely I’m out partying at every opportunity I get. Or maybe, since I don’t drink; I must be a loser, who has the privilege to work in media, but is really just biding her time until she’s kicked out by someone much cooler (which, come to think of it, might be true).
But, as more and more of my colleagues wake up on a work day with a shocking hangover, I’m not one of them. Yes, I might be a little tired, but it’s nothing a nice train nap and a huge coffee won’t fix.
Think about this. A blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 – 0.15 can cause slurred speech, impaired balance and coordination, and vomiting. A BAC of .03 will most likely put you in coma, and might even kill you. And while vomiting your guts out on a weekend at the pub is unattractive, it’s a whole lot worse when you’re doing in the work bathroom the morning after a big night out, and your boss is in the stall next to you.
I once worked with a girl who got way too drunk at an awards night, and spent the whole night complaining to everyone within earshot that her manager had favourites and it wasn’t fair that she hadn’t won. True story. Enough said.
There are certainly some positives to not getting drunk at every media do:
- It’s a lot cheaper, by the time you factor in the taxi home, additional drinks at after parties and ruining a new pair of heels. It’s easy to spend up big on a night out, even with work comping most of the grog.
- While you might say you make some great relationships when you’re half drunk, chances are neither of you will remember it in the morning. Also remember that the people throwing the party normally have to stay sober, and you stumbling around at midnight is hardly going to make a great impression.
- The chances of waking up next to a stranger, on a work morning, trying to figure out how to re-cycle yesterdays outfit are much slimmer.
- On that same note, no one wants to be the butt of the office joke in the morning, and your much less likely to snogg the mail boy, do the chicken dance, or flash everyone while your cab pulls away, if you spend the night sober.
I’m not telling you not to drink, or even not to get drunk (who would us Sober Sallies have to gossip about otherwise), but to stop and think about it before you order that next drink. You never know, your career (and liver) might just thank you for it later.
Dominique Batschowanow
Account Coordinator
NewsNet