Gray on 28/12/2007 at 06:16
Where I grew up, you could get legally drunk at a pub when 18, but you couldn't legally buy alcohol at a store until you were 20. I'm unsure of the politics behind this; it was probably intended to hinder the introduction of alcohol into the subculture of minors, at which it failed miserably. It pretty much ended up with everybody getting drunk off of terrible homemade vodka by the age of 15-16 that they got from someone's remote acquaintance or a guy your brother might have seen at a party once.
So, the first time everybody was at a pub, it was probably their 19th time drunk, and not at all their worst, since pub-beer was so much more expensive than terrible homemade crap.
Thusly, my first time I actually legally bought real alcohol in a store, I was already in university and had no problems dispersing the purchase. Sadly, though, my birthday was dangerously close to a holiday season so there were only the three of us in the students' dorm at the time, and nobody had anything to mix the vodka with, which ended up with hilarious consequences and vomit in the very-hard-to-clean-up elevator.
The moral of the story is this: better to vomit in an elevator amongst friends, than in an alley amongst strangers. Unless you got laid earlier that evening, in which case all bets are off.
heretic on 28/12/2007 at 07:39
I spent my 21st birthday in bootcamp...oh the memories. Made up for lost time later though, and how.
SD on 28/12/2007 at 08:14
I'd already graduated university by the time I was 21. But I guess 18 is more equivalent over here from an alcohol point of view. Apart from getting ratarsed, I mainly spent my 18th birthday explaining to university friends that for the first two months of the term, I'd been drinking illegally in the uni bar, much to their amusement. I don't think either birthday was a big deal though as they didn't exactly herald a new and exciting time (I had been drinking in bars and clubs since I was 15). In fact, being able to booze legally took some of the fun out of it.
theBlackman on 28/12/2007 at 09:12
When I hit the big 21, I took my mother out to dinner and ordered cocktails. I told her: "Twenty-one years ago, I had a drink on you. Now, have one on me." and a good time was had by all. :)
Tumbleweed on 28/12/2007 at 11:39
Your mother took you to a speakeasy?
SlyFoxx on 28/12/2007 at 12:59
Baaa...alcohol.
Bong hits are better.
Starrfall on 28/12/2007 at 15:57
I had the flu and a 100 and something fever on my 21st would not recommend.
Rug Burn Junky on 28/12/2007 at 21:12
The three days leading up to my 21st were spent in a big field with 400,000 of my closest friends (ie. Woodstock '94) involving topless chicks, tent hook-ups, shrooms, acid, weed, whippets, a lot of drinking and about a dozen of my favorite bands.
The actual birthday, spent at a low key bar with my girlfriend and a few friends was pretty much a let down in comparison.
Kuuso on 28/12/2007 at 21:24
Hehe, got to love US. You aren't able to drink, but you can go to the army and kill people! Surely there should be tighter age restrictions on drinking than killing, it's all so logical.
Stitch on 28/12/2007 at 22:24
been a long day so I'm headin' off for a good stiff kill right now :cool:
