On the Way to the Fourth Decade Pt.1

* A series of observations as my 20's end *

One of the oddest things about the back half of my 20's:
An inverse in beverage preference.
In my early 20's, I wanted and drank beer, and I loved it. Then, somewhere around 26 or 27, something changed: my tastes completely regressed. Beer started to taste like pee again...but root beer started tasting awesome again.
So awesome, that in any given situation, I will take Barq's over Budweiser (or fancy craft beer or any liquid with alcohol in it).
Weird.

Comments

Neal said…
Interesting. I have never liked the taste of alcohol, at all. I'm fine with people drinking (as long as it isn't to excess), but just can't stand the stuff myself... hits my throat in a nasty way.

I do have a hard time hanging out with co-workers that drink a lot. I always worry that they'll think I look down on their just having a drink, and then the ones that can't seem to hang out and drink without getting sloshed make me uncomfortable as well. Drunks make some laugh, but they make me sad more than anything else. :(

Odd stuff about taste buds... I used to hate everything Asian cuisine growing up, but I tried some while studying abroad and I like some of it now. Not sure what changed.
Drunks make me sad, as well...and uncomfortable. I've never understood the drive to get to that point. Loss of control has never been something desirable to me, and the only two times in life I can say I was inebriated, I was experiencing such great personal turmoil that it almost felt inevitable (not to say it was right). Getting drunk for fun makes no sense to me.
Neal said…
I never know what to say to people that need to get drunk to have fun... if they're hanging out with me, I wonder what's wrong with me that they need to be inebriated to have fun? Same thing if they're hanging out with other people.

Since I teach at the university, I always find it sad when I hear students talking about partying... not to mention seeing how it impacts their performance. I always half joke that they could save a lot of money by just partying and not going to college as well.

Now I can understand people that like to have a drink or two when they hang out. I don't like the taste myself, but I like coffee, and not everyone likes coffee, I know. They enjoy the taste, it's relaxing, whatever.

I dunno. I had a grandpa deal with some addiction issues (not alcohol related, but addiction related), and knew people with some drinking issues, so those things color my impressions as well.

Everyone is so gonzo for wine that I sometimes feel like I should be able to like something alcoholic, but I really never have. Oh well.
Yeah, I'm not down with coffee. But I also don't get the wine gonzoness, either. I don't particularly like the way it tastes or feels in my mouth. If I drink it, it has to be straight out of the bottle. If I have to drink, I prefer hard liquor. My alcohol tolerance is pretty high, too. If I wanted to be drunk all the time, I would have a Jabba the Hut style beer gut that I could also use as a chair...so I'm glad that desire is not within me.

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