My first Seattle Pride is in the record books and I realized something about myself. I am a needy drunk! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am needy anyway. I guess it is true what they say about alcohol, it takes your dominant personality traits and magnifies it off the map. I sorta always knew I am a needy drunk, but it got me to thinking : How many types of drunks are there? I started to search around and watch people a bit, when I was sober of course. I compared these observations with my past experiences serving the drunk patron. I have come up with a few types, and there are many, many variations of each.
1) The Needy Drunk – He needs constant attention and compliments to feel good. He needs affection to the extreme.
2) The Aggressive Drunk – He needs to argue and fight. Everybody around him is talking about him, in his own head.
3) The Happy Drunk – He is always smiling. He laughs at things that aren’t funny.
4) The Mess – His eyes are closed. He may still be mobile, but he is definitely blacked out.
5) The Emotional Drunk – He cries. Every ‘down’ in his life comes to the front.
So, I ask, which drunk are you?
I can tell you that my favorite drunk to have around me is the happy drunk. He laughs at my jokes and smiles a lot. I seem to always get the aggressive drunk or the mess coming to me for drinks. I have a way to handle most types of drunks.
What I want everyone to do is ask your friends what kind of ‘intoxication category’ you fit. Would you find yourself attractive? How do we stop ourselves from slipping down that slope where we lose the facets to our personalities and become one type?
I joke around with my friends. Granted I am a little older so I have had a lot of experience with the amount of booze I can handle and the physical cues my brain sends to myself to alert me when I need to slow down. My nose will start to get numb. When I feel that sensation, I switch to club soda or I leave altogether. What are your cues? I have picked up on a few cues that my gay boys put out before they are hammered. That is how I know how to pace my pouring. I watch for these cues as the night progresses. When Strangeways says “Make me something fruity!”, I know it is all downhill. I say all this to say that it isn’t solely your job to drink responsibly, it is our job at bartenders to watch for your behavorial/physical cues to ensure you are drinking responsibly.
So, I just started dating someone new and those of you who know me understand how crazy selective I am when it comes to putting my heart out there for someone. I don’t like to blame this on what I do for a living, but I feel like seeing these accentuated ‘drunk personalities’ has given me more clarity with regards to who I want to share my life with.
Be mindful boys and girls of what kind of drunk you are and how to control it and ensure that people you meet see all facets of who you are.
