You should see some of the clients on my caseload. One is on the alcohol monitoring bracelet. She cut it off one night and went on a weekend long bender. We sent her back to court, and the judge was a breath away from sending her to jail for 11 months, the remainder of her probation. She was sobbing in court, the judge said he'd give her three months and then review the case. This was all in front of her 13 year old daughter. Two days later, she cuts off the new bracelet we gave her and gets plowed. Court bumps up the date, and in a few weeks she's going to wind up spending 10 months in jail because she couldn't lay off the booze. THAT is an alcoholic.
I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Alcoholism is a disease, a disease with a specific definition--one cited several times throughout this thread. You don't get to define it as you see fit. Your beliefs to the contrary, you are not describing an alcoholic. Period. What else comes from it? I'm sure drinking is different for everyone, but for me, it's relaxing. Things are funnier to me when I'm drunk, and when a bunch of my friends and I are drunk together, funny things happen. It's also a social lubricant--a way to meet new people, mostly women (before I settled down, of course). Do I need it to relax? Of course not. But I'm in a graduate program right now (which almost certainly 'destroys more brain cells,' although I apparently have enough to do well anyways), and I don't have the time I need to relax on a regualr basis. Booze helps me blow off steam--and before grad school, it served the same purpose when I was in the military. And I don't act like a dumbass. I act like a guy who's comfortable in his own skin and is looking to have a good time. In fact, I think I act considerably more likeable in many social situations than the kinda folks MMM talked about. And I'm with RA on how I feel about people not drinking--I could care less, but unless they are recovering or religious, I wonder why they don't drink. I've had the same experience with people that don't drink for no reason that RA has--not saying they're all like that, just that it seems to me most of them simply rub me the wrong way. The uppity attitude is usually at least a part of that.
It's just stupid. Our bracelets have a thin black band that says "CUT HERE" so that if you wind up in the ER, the doctors know where to cut it without damaging it. As soon as it's cut, the bracelet cannot be replaced unless it's by us and the device immediately records it as a tamper. This woman was so driven to drink that she did it, even knowing that it'll cost her the next 10 months in jail. Which, really, is what the woman needs. Otherwise, she'll just keep cutting the bracelet off, and wind up killing herself and probably others in another DUI accident.
If you've had Delerium Tremens about 3 or 4 days after your last drink, you've exhibited a withdrawal symptom. Like Squirrel said, unless you experience withdrawal, its kinda inconclusive to call someone an alcoholic. Of course, there's also the CAGE questionnaire we doctors like to use, to assess one's possible dependency to alcohol. More power to you if you don't like alcohol or feel the urge to drink it in a social environment. Just as those, like myself, do enjoy an alcoholic beverage in a social gathering. And you know what? If I wanna get trashed, then I can. If I wanna abstain and remain sober, that's ok too.
Sorry, the dry humor got lost in the tubes between my computer and the thread. I agree that ultimately jail was probably best for her. Basically a no-frills rehab on the state's dime, and she obviously wasn't ever going to quit on her own. I knew a guy here who had to be observed by his PO on a CCTV setup at his house twice a day blowing into a Breathlyzer (that was part of the CCTV device). His plan to cheat was to take a photo of himself blowing into the machine and hold it in front of the camera while his daughter actual did the honors off-screen. It didn't work, obviously, but I don't think they revoked him. He was out last I heard, anyways, driving a beautiful '64 1/2 Mustang. Drunk.
I had Delirium Tremens 3 or 4 days ago. Like many belgium whites, I found it tasted too much like candy floss.
You both need some Temptation http://www.russianriverbrewing.com/pages/beers/temptation.html and Supplication http://www.russianriverbrewing.com/pages/beers/supplication.html
I see your wine conditioned beer, and raise you a whisky barrel: http://www.innisandgunn.com/index.htm
What if... some people just don't like the taste of beer? Because there are a lot of crap beers out there.
Isaac's Beer list I go to this bar in my town called Isaac Newtons and they're pretty well known on the east coast for having a pretty diverse selection of beer. I usually go twice a week to this place. Their happy hour is my fave, half off anything on the draft list from 10 to 12.
Ah, they have Leffe Brun on tap. That is a thing of glory. Their Canadian list leaves something to be desired. We have a sleugh of beers far superior to the Unibrouie brand.
The bracelets are quite bulky (and rather uncomfortable, I might add, based on my own testing of one). They're equipped with sensors that measure your body temp, as well as the distance to your leg, so the minute they're removed, they notice it and record it as a tamper. Same thing if you try to stick something between your leg and the bracelet to prevent it from recording alcohol. The thin black band is made to be cut in the event of a medical emergency. I had a client just the other day who cut off his fingers on a table saw, and the hospital called to verify cutting it off. They said he couldn't have any metal on his body in surgery, even though it was his ankle. On a sidenote, they produce really cool graphs of a person's TAC (transdermal alcohol content). Here's the graph for when I tested one out a few months back:
man, some of you people don't know the definition of alcoholism. I go out 2-3 times a week. I black out on a regular basis, probably more than what's considered healthy. but I will also volunteer to DD at times when we go out and not drink. I don't NEED to drink to have fun. Work hard and play hard. Well, I skip the first part.
