Depends on the situation. When I'm travelling, I tend to drink quite a bit. You meet lots of people on the road. Lots of them are on vacation. It's Steve's

Depends on the situation. When I'm travelling, I tend to drink quite a bit. You meet lots of people on the road. Lots of them are on vacation. It's Steve's last night. We've got to celebrate. When I'm back home, I tend not to drink at all. First of all, it's not Steve's last night on the beach anymore. But also it's nice that it's not Steve's last night for once. I also tend to value concentration when I'm home and working. To have a beer is to lose the ability to focus for the rest of the day, which just makes me angry. (Beach Jason doesn't have this problem, since he's not focusing on anything). Age changes the equation as well. In school, the assumption was that you'd be obliterated every Friday and Saturday night. And likely at least once or twice during the week as well, since hey, it's Taco Tuesday, or Bomber Night at Alex's, or Twice As Drunk Night at Shermer's. It was just what you did. Again, leaving school after five years of that it was quite novel to have a Saturday arrive and be able to consciously choose not to drink anything at all. That's never happened before! Cool. Over the years, the novelty just wears off and the effect of alcohol becomes perceived as more of a negative. These days, living in France, I'll still uncork a bottle or two a week out of a sense of duty. (It is, after all, five dollars for a better bottle than they even sell at Albertsons, so it'd be rude not to.) But then it often takes a few nights to finish that bottle. A thought not easily conceived, I bet, by a version of myself 20 years ago.