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Drink, don't drop
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The New Year spirit requires tossing in drinks and, more importantly, holding them well too
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THE MERRY-making and cheers of Christmas are over but the high-spirited state of the festive season is not over yet, what with New Year just round the corner. Party after party is being planned all over town to bring in the New Year in grand style with ample supply of bubbly beverages and other heady concoctions.
Drinking is de rigueur, nudging people to shed all inhibitions and unleash the party animal in them. Keeping this in mind, let us examine what constitutes appropriate public behaviour so that you don't embarrass yourself or the company you are in.
First things first: festivities or no festivities, drinking is for adults and not teens. Talking about "adults", the concept is not just confined to age. Please remember that those who exhibit loud, obnoxious behaviour because of their inebriated state can be refused entry or asked to leave. The organisers, while wanting everyone to have a fabulous time, do have a responsibility towards the establishment and the relaxed evening of other patrons. Understand what your limits are, so that you don't have to put yourself in that awkward position.
Bartenders and waiters should be approached in a professional manner. Do not whistle, snap fingers, clap hands, yell "Waiter!" or "Hey you"! Raising your hand to get their attention is the way to go. If the establishment has given their wait staff nametags, you may call them by name.
Order the drinks only after you know what you and your party want, the waiters and bartenders are going to be hassled as it is. Orders should be given in a precise manner (what drink, small or large, how many) and not to be changed after you place them. Many establishments do not allow the waiter to return the drink because you changed your mind. Don't argue. Decide beforehand and stay with your order.
For mixed drinks, order the alcohol first and mixer next. For instance: gin and tonic, vodka and orange juice, etc. For beer drinkers — tap beer is the one from the barrel. It is always the first choice. It is the freshest and purest. Bottled beer is drunk only when the tap has run out. Canned beer — pass it. Cans are for soups and baked beans, not beer.
Pubs, at least some of them, have small dance floors. So please do not run around the floor like a sprinter, or wave your arms about like a windmill. Your fellow dancers will appreciate it. Of course, given the quirks of the local laws, dancing is not allowed in certain pubs. If that is the rule, that is the rule; though who knows even the moral police might be indulgent because it is New Year's. Picking a fight with the manager over your right to exhibit your dancing prowess is downright stupid because they didn't make those rules but have to enforce it.
Crowded pubs make it difficult to move around. You see people moving through groups like linesmen in American football: shoulder down and ram into them. `Please', `Passing through', `Excuse me', `May I' will be as successful and less painful for the `low shoulder receivers'! Try turning your body sideways as you nudge your way through.
Toothpicks in your mouth are downright dangerous. It does not signal you as a cosmopolitan, but that you have been living alone for a long time. If you want the attention of someone, you can send the person a drink. Good manners require you to ask the waiter what the person is drinking, order it, and tell the waiter to deliver it with instructions to reveal the identity of the sender. You lock eyes with this person, raise your glass and move your lips saying, "Cheers." If this person is interested in meeting you, s/he will approach you. Otherwise, just let it go. Word of caution: be culturally sensitive before you send a lady a drink.
There is nothing more damaging to your painfully cultivated urbane image than running to the toilet to throw up. It is downright disgusting too. Understand what your limitations are and don't make a public display of your inability to hold a drink. Eating something before you go will definitely help.
Drinking and driving do not mix. If you have come in a group, have a designated driver or, get someone to drop you off or better still, take a cab home. That will be much less expensive than caught driving, drunk.
When that geek (male or female) you have been avoiding the whole evening starts to look very appealing, it is definitely time for you to go home. There is no confusion over the words, "Last call." It is exactly what it means and does include you too.
Have a pleasant time and a wonderful, prosperous New Year!
CHITRA S. DANGER
proetique@yahoo.co.in
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