decem-beer

a new year is fast approaching. before we know it, we're erasing typo errors of "2005"s to "2006"s.

it has been my tradition to have a beer to welcome the new year, in commemoration of the first time i had one. well, it doesn't have to be a bottle, maybe a sip will do. but since i have the legal capacity and "permission" to indulge, i think i will indulge. hehe! it wasn't a serious tradition that i follow, i actually skipped one (or two?) years, but i'm probably too busy with something else to note it. =P

i grew up in a family where almost everybody drinks. (except my mama, who will probably faint at the smell of beer bottle caps. hehe!)

my ina (papa's mom) joined us (me, my aunts, and their bfs and friends) in a "gin session" when i was back in college. she was even more sober than most of us, that she was taking care of pulutan.

my tatay (mama's dad) was a certified beer drinker and tomador. actually, that's one of the reasons why he suffered a stroke 12-13 years ago. but before that, his golden days were marked with cases of beer for him and the tanods of our barangay. talangka pa ang pulutan. =P

my uncles all used to have drinking sessions on the streets, with their respective kadas. i was just a kid then who takes joy in collecting "tansans" for a game of "dama" the next day. when it's close to the Christmas season, for a tambourine made of flattened tansans joined by a hole in the middle with a thick wire used for clothesline.

my aunts also drink, social drinkers so to speak, but not of ladies' drinks or margaritas, but of beer, gin or rhum. tita hannah and tita hydee even drink sake for all i know. =P

my papa, although not a heavy drinker, loves to collect wines, rhums, cognacs, whiskeys, black/blue/red label whatever... he usually opens a bottle when he has visitors. he could down only 6-7 bottles of beer max. more than that, my mama will have to drag him back home.

it was through my papa that i got the idea of having a beer before dinner. "pampagana", he would say. and true enough, ginaganahan nga ako. not that my papa was a bad father for allowing his kids to have beer BEFORE (or during) dinner, but he wants us to experience things, "para di ka tatanga-tanga". (excuse me to those who don't drink, i'm not saying tanga kayo, hehehe!)

the latest addition to the drinking members of our clan is my brother. i told him several times to take it in moderation. there was one time when he got drunk at a friend's party, and he had to commute back home. my parents were on their way home from Quiapo area, when they noticed a group of young men waiting for a jeepney, "nursing" a friend. when they got closer, it was my brother. the moment my brother stepped inside the car, he started throwing up. apparently, he had a few bottles already without taking any solid food. the alcohol kicked in, and he got hit big time. after that incident, i've never heard of my brother getting drunk again. tipsy, yes, a few more times, but not drunk. =P

this is what my papa probably wants us to learn. experience getting drunk firsthand. remember how rotten it feels, how disgusting, how shameful. then learn to avoid it. i myself had gotten drunk a couple of times. i hate throwing up, missing the party itself, and the splitting headache that comes with it the morning after. i don't look good on pics either.

so, kudos to those who drink but are in control. although it is twisted reasoning, i think you guys have better control of yourselves than those who don't drink at all. =)

cheers to a good 2005, and welcome to a better 2006! *raises my bottle*