Pickled liver? I'll pass, thanks....

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy not-so-far away, I was almost kicked out of my grandparents' house because my grandpa did not like that I was out until 2 a.m. or later most nights of the week. And, though I assume he suspected so, most of those nights out involved alcohol.

Flash forward a bit. My friend circle has shrunk dramatically, but those left are those of quality--people who actually want to know what's up when they say "Hey! How are you?" and I answer with "Not so great....".

What is the point of this silly little story? It's simple, really: I'm older and wiser now. No, not been-around-the-block-enough-times-to-make-your-head-spin old. Instead, I'm at the old-enough-to-know-what's-not-working old. I did my time drinking until I'm drunk and doing it again the next time. And I'm done with it. I enjoy drinking, don't get me wrong. I just don't feel it necessary to have to get slammed every time my "friends" want to hang out. This is why the circle has shrunk. Because I refuse to go out and spend $40 a night getting hammered just to hang out with people. The people I love and care about enjoy a few drinks as much as I do. But we're also capable of having them at someone's home instead of bar hopping.

Don't get me wrong, a night of bar hopping on occasion isn't completely out of my repertoire. In

fact, on of my very good friends is hitting the big 2-1 tomorrow, and that's exactly what we'll be doing. But you probably won't catch me doing it again for several weeks. Because it's just not fun anymore.

So all you "friends" (who probably aren't even reading this anyway, but that's irrelevant) who are upset that I don't hang out with you as much as before......maybe try actually having a get-together that doesn't involve a crap load of people I don't know getting hammered? Just sayin'.....