Hangover: The Morning After

It is probably an accurate assumption that more Americans are hungover this morning than any other AM of the year. That is no great insight. If you are reading this before noon, good for you. Extra points for either your dedication despite the self-administered sickness or your self-restraint or temperance. For many, the holiday season is fraught with too much drink and food, creating the momentum for Resolutions in the New Year. Momentum like a car wreck, that is.

The Lord is sympathetic to our weakness but we can't use our stupidity as an excuse. Like everything else that can be abused, we are supposed to grow in our wisdom with drink and not repeat the same destructive patterns over and over again. And these patterns can be replaced with practical steps to lessen the chances of that the demon of excess doing the drunken dance. Too many fundamentalist Christians tape off alcohol as off-limits and it is more the result of self-righteousness than anything. All the while, gluttonly stuffing their faces with food like a bunch of Oinkers.

I don't want to pretend like I am an authority on preventing the excesses of alcohol consumption, yet I have developed a checklist of sorts to keep me safer. I share them hesitatingly because I know that most people who drink too much don't do it intentionally. Besides some college kids and problem drinkers in general. It is more typically that one leads to another and another and the sled of sloshness is set loose. Then it is off the rails.

Last night, a couple threw another legendary New Year's Eve Bash, and there are qualities of this party that make it more able of avoiding the death spiral of too much booze, beer, wine, etc.

Here is the short list: (some of them are overall points about the party, some are my ways of checking myself).

- There was plenty of delicious food there, and not just crap potato chips that do little to quell the hunger pangs that people try to bury with more drink. Bacon jam, spicy meatballs, grilled pork. MMM...Although, I did tear into a bag of freshly made cheese curls that had remained unopened all night at the end, and coupled it with some fresh liverwurst. No fooling, the hosts served fresh liverwurst. That was crazy but cool.

- Music is a major focus of the party. A good friend of mine brings a collection of his vinyl records from back in the day and the music is an eclectic mix of the known and unknown artists of yesteryear. Since the music is always changing pace, it keeps the vibe fresh. Butterfly Kisses was a big hit as well as a Grandmaster Flash tune. Not.

- The crowd is always a good cool collection of both familiar folks and new people. It can become a rut if only the same people come to gigs because drinking may become a way of dealing with a routine that does not have any new spirits entering the scene. It can also be stressful if one is in a scene where everyone is unknown. That could become a danger of becoming too intimate with Al Cohol as a way of coping with the alienation. Not a big fan of the bar scene for the same reason. Or drinking alone.

- Keeping track of the time arrived and the the drinks consumed since arriving. It is easy to lose track if you are not paying attention. But with a little planning ahead of time, the equation of drinks per hour is math that we all learned in elementary school. Know your limit. We lose track of time when drinking and it is easy to over-consume as a result. Do the math to keep you on course for a safer evening.

- I brought a quart bottle of seltzer to the gig that I rotated into my drinking mix last night, as well as a combination of higher alcohol beer--a lot of craft brews are ales that have much higher ABV's and one must calculate this into the consumption equation; some of these beers can have 2X to 3X of the percentage of alcohol--with what is called session beers. Typically lagers. The mix was varied and lessened the risks of over-consumption.

- I have taken to bringing a cheap cigar to parties such as a Dutch Master where I don't drink when smoking it, which usually takes 20-30 minutes. Others bring a pipe. Switching vices is perfectly legit and better than getting close to the .08 line. I don't recommend coffee or any of those nasty caffeine drinks like Red Bull because caffeine can mask the effects of the alcohol in some ways. If you are getting tired, it is quite likely that you body is telling you to stop drinking.

- Worse come to worse, ask to stay over, even if means not having your jammies and teddy bear. Most people have a spare bed and if the hosts are your friends, they would rather have you safe than out on the roads. Or ask for a ride home and get your car the day after. Or call a cab. But if it is New Year's Eve, you'll be sober by the time your taxi shows up.

That is it. I disclaim any moral and legal authority on the above topic besides offering it as a goodwill gesture of helpful hints to stay healthy in the New Year. Happy 2013!