I get urges to drink. At least once a week. I do drink several times a week, but I love beer and wine and enjoy a glass or bottle/can with dinner or before I go to bed. I don’t like to be drunk, and even when I let loose (like this weekend), I never drink enough to have a hangover (or much of one), and I entirely avoid drinking so much I vomit.
I don’t know if I am an alcoholic, but I suppose it is possible. I’m not sure I want to quit drinking though, since I can and do drink responsibly.
Man, you should taste the crap they send over the pond.
Sitting in an Irish pub drinking Irish whiskey, I can see how that could become a problem. I’ve tried to block that May from my mind, it was like getting a glimpse of Heaven, only to have it snatched away… 
I need a drink.
Sounds like all you really need to do is slow down a little, maybe get a glass of water with each drink and finish both before ordering, or stock up on Nurofen Plus, or take a little hair of the dog.
Because if the Irish sober up all I’ll have left is Wyoming, and they drink more out of necessity than tradition.
Jehovah’s Witness? Must be a degenerate branch of the family, you can keep that one. Got anything against the Haggerty’s or Peoples?
Meaning no offense to Jehovah’s Witnesses. If you knew my relatives, you’d appreciate them not being associated with your religion
So why don’t you hang out with him? I’m sure he is a very nice person and could probably provide a spiritual tract or two to smooth your path back to sobriety.
“God created whiskey so the Irish wouldn’t take over the world.” ~~Anonymous
Aussies to a lesser degree? And no mention of Kiwis? Shit ask most of Europe who the drunken rabble rousers are and Ireland won’t get a mention…Kiwis and Aussies like to show their heritage!
You’re not an alcoholic; you’re a human being. You get the urge to do something, so you indulge that urge responsibly. Why should you quit drinking? You enjoy booze in moderation and it doesn’t cause you any problems.
**yojimbo **is right about the pub culture in Ireland and the UK. When I lived in England, I was shocked at how acceptable it was for people of all ages to be wasted in public.
I wish. I’ve left
because of people who would not take “Cocacola with Cocacola” for an answer. In three of those cases, I heard already-very-drunk people set up who would hold me down and who would pour whisky into me.
Doh! Sorry, it’s easy to forget ye, tucked up down there 
You can join the rest of us in our dysfunctional drunken stupor.
Just out of curiosity, what is it that you think you’re accomplishing with this offensive and overly simplistic little bit of blather? Everybody has problems and yes, many of us have problems we have inflicted upon ourselves. And yet, surprisingly, little witty comments such as this aren’t in the least bit helpful – but then again, I’m sure you’re well aware of that, and are just trolling for fun. Well, good luck with that.
Now I have an admission to make. I’m sure it will make many of you look down at me and wonder what the hell I’m doing in this thread. Here it is: I am not an alcoholic. One could say I tried to become one in college, as for a period there I deliberately drank every night for several months … But I’m one of those people who spend the whole time thinking about how nasty it’s going to feel the next morning. One day it dawned on me that I should take the advice from the old joke, where the guy says “Doctor, doctor, it hurts when I do this” and the doctor replies, “Well stop doing that!”
Nevertheless, I still enjoy the occasional drink. A glass of wine or a couple of bottles of beer, intermixed with plenty of non-alcoholic beverages to make sure I don’t get dehydrated, and I can have a good time.
So why am I in a thread brimming with alcoholics? I’ve been around plenty of addicts. Also, right after college a good friend of mine checked himself into rehab at the tender age of twenty, after he had woken up literally in a street gutter covered in his own vomit. We roomed together for a couple of years after that, and I have to admit there was some tough going there. But time went by, he didn’t drink, we both grew up and the guy is now married with two kids.
So even though I ain’t an alcoholic, like I said I’ve been around it and understand how very difficult it is to just admit to yourself that there’s a problem. An Gadaí, obviously I can’t tell if you’re in this situation simply by some posts on a message board. But it sure sounds like it. And it sounds like your friends are, too. If they “look down” at anyone who isn’t drinking, that’s a great big red flag. But I really don’t know enough about your situation to offer useful advice. Just … best wishes to you and good luck.
As an alternative - shut the fuck up.
I hate to burst your bubble, but Kiwis and Aussies have a reputation of drinking a lot but, unlike Brits, knowing when to stop. At least around Pamplona, and let me tell you, we get our share of international drunks… over a million every year.
Why is it that you guys get to argue and brag about who’s the drunkest, and be socially acceptable, but I can’t smoke a joint when I get home?
Why, I ask you? 
Peace,
mangeorge
That’s because their worst offenders are to be found in branches of Walkabout throughout our fair capital, while our choicest specimens seek out continental sun for the authentic lobster colour you just don’t get at home. Accessorisation is everything when you’re ordering dos cervezas.
If the Irish lack a fully international reputation for ill behaviour, it’s because they have the decency to do their drinking at home.
Disclaimer: some of my best friends etc. etc.
I thought that The Irish were all angels till they moved themselves to New York. Probably because they had to start drinking (pardon the blasphemy) Jim Beam.
Beer, the cause of and solution to all of lifes problems.
-Homer Simpson