Human Pet Peeve

One of my biggest pet peeves about going to a bar or a club with friends is the simple fact that drunk chicas will come up to me, wrap their arms around me, slurring two inches away from my face and I have no clue what they are saying.

I always end up telling them “I am deaf, but I can lip-read, tell me again one more time.” I do this with everyone so what’s the difference? Read the first paragraph again.

That’s right, drunk chicas. When they “listen” to what I just told them, the same reaction always happen. They look at me funny like I am talking weird or something and walk away.At least, my drunk friends knows to talk in front of me at a distance where I can lip-read them, even if they are crying, slobbering, or mumbling at the top of their lungs.

Wallet Pet Peeve

Another pet peeve of mine is the manipulated prices for drinks at these places. While it is understandable to price drinks 10 times the price you can get for the same drink at home, it is my hard earned money going into the owner’s pocket instead of down my throat.

I still want to have a good time with my friends within reason, in other words, not too much alcohol. After all, I don’t want to be picking them up off the bathroom floor and throwing them out into the back yard so they can puke and sleep it off until they are sober enough to go home.

One fun habit I discovered while living in Colorado is a weekly potluck at my friends’ homes. I lived in a small apartment too small to host 20 great friends so often ended up going around to different friends homes for potluck.

Potluck for Adults

This is a great way to network because your friends will invite their friends to join the potluck. Have a regular night once a week when you and your friends can meet. Wednesday seems to be a popular night of the week when everyone has no plans. Friday or Saturday is a good alternative to going out for those who are consious about spending a fortune at restaurants and afterwards, bars and clubs.

Share the duties, some of you can make appetizers, salad, the main dish, and desserts. The rest of you can bring beer or wine for beverages or if you are carefully watching your money, you can chip in on the clean-up. This way, everyone involved with the potluck can share responsibilities and a common sense for financial preservation.

Financial preservation together will also help encourage a yearly event with your friends, for example, a four-day weekend to the beach or a resort.

Creative Potlucks

Potluck gets a bad rap because of family recipes. There are some great family recipes and some so-so recipes (the kind you take to potluck at work). The nice thing about potluck is you can arrange a theme. Think about when you go out to a restaurant, every restaurant has a theme. If you like grilled food, cook something on the grill. If it is a cold, rainy week, go for good heart-warming soups. Just like you go to different restaurants every time with your friends, you can do the same thing with your potlucks at different homes.

Even holiday potlucks can be creative. I grew up in New England where I was used to the typical New England fare so you can imagine my surprise when I moved to the Southwest where enchaladas, tacos, fajitas, and rice and beans were the typical holiday fare. Throw a surprise holiday potluck where you and your friends can enjoy a different fare. For example, celebrate Christmas the Mexican way, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the Irish Way, heck, have gourmet pizza for Thanksgiving. (I did and that was the best gobble-gobble meal I ever had.)

A Twist on Potluck

Beer tastings and wine tasting are two great ways to transform a routine Friday or Saturday night into an economical get-together. Alcohol is expensive but the nice thing about these kind of events is that we all share in moderation and discover new brands, explore our tastes, broaden our horizons.

I am not a big fan of the big beer companies except for Pabst on a really hot day after sweating hard doing something outdoors. I often enjoy trying the different micro-brews manufactured all over the world. The only problem with it is the bars and clubs often charge an extra dollar or two on top of the regular price for Budweiser or Coors, which is overpriced anyways.

Wine is a passion of my tounge. I enjoy trying the various wines from all over the world, but not to get drunk on them. A slight buzz is nice, but it is the flavor of the wine and the company I share with. If it were not for wine-tasting, I would have never discovered wonderful brands such as Fat Bastard, Woop Woop, or The Prisoner.

It is best for the host to prepare the appetizers to go with these tastings. Lots of appetizers. Think of this as a four course finger food theme. If you go Mexican, you can start with nachos, (yes, they do go great with dry white wine), then introduce a small fish taco version (works well with light red wine), kick it up a notch with taquitos (perfect for heavy red wine), and finish it off with churros for dessert (perfect for sweet white wine).

If you need ideas, I strongly recommend checking out The Food Network for quality reciepes by world class chefs.

Social Responsibility

This is an added benefit of potluck or tastings. As a group, you and your friends are being responsible about your budget. You and your friends are taking control over your financial health, not the restaruant, bar, or club owners.

Another value that comes from this kind of event, especially where alcohol is involved is that you drink in moderation. No one brings a keg of beer or barrel of wine to these events.

Think about the good ole days where you used to pick up a friend to go out to the ball game or the mall or the beach or the moon. That’s what these events are all about, picking up your friends and driving them over to the home of the host. Rotate and everyone can have turns taking responsibility for each other’s everlasting health/safety.

Editor’s note: Drinking and Driving can kill friendships. This was a popular bullentin board ad in the 80’s depicting two friends in a handshake, one is human and the other is a skeleton. I work for a leading alcohol and substance abuse treatment facility so I can tell you there is nothing you can say to convince me otherwise. I have heard it all.