Friday 11 October 2013

My life 3

The hokey-cokey?
As I am telling you a bit more about my life, I thought I might tell you about the very first time I actually got drunk. Now, I never was much of a 'typical' teenager. I didn't go out, I didn't drink on the sly, I didn't smoke on the sly. Mostly I stayed in my room playing solitaire when I should have been doing my homework. I had had the odd glass of rosé at Christmas, but that was about the extent of my alcohol intake. 

My first real job in Yugoslavia changed that. I went out more, either with my few colleagues or with guests and I started drinking a bit more. I was still only 19 and still quite shy (compared to now anyway) and I still didn't drink a lot. And then that night...

I can't recall much of that night, but I do remember rum. Lots of it. So much of it that when the night ended, I was violently sick and threw up in the bushes behind the hotel where I lived. And I lost my purse with my money and bankcard! 

The official police report
So, after only a few hours sleep I made my way to the police station in Pula, the nearest town. Where, with a crippling hangover, I had to tell the officer in charge what had happened. Fortunately not in Yugoslav or whatever language they spoke, but in English. And then again, but in German. 

I had called my parents in the dead of night telling them I had lost my bankcard (they were not amused, not about the loss nor about me calling at that unseemly hour), so they contacted the bank at a better time to block it. However, I still had a few more months to go in Yugoslavia and I needed some money. So, the bank and the hotel reception and me made a deal. I could still use my cheques to withdraw money from my account. The hotel receptionist would just copy my details of the older cheques!

The hangover had just passed!
By the way: that summer? I didn't drink again. 

4 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    ah yesss,,, the initiation. Fortunately my did not involve a police report. Still. Alcoholic poisoning ensured a much healthier approach in the future!! YAMxx

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  2. Things like that are great life lessons to learn. You were very fortunate that they let you still write checks!

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  3. Bad adventure ! I was 8 when I was first drunken. I was at my best friend's and the parents had had a party the night before and we found wonderful tasting fruits in a bowl. What we didn't know was that it was the rest of a sangria and the fruits were full of alcohol. Both parents wondered why we were behaving so strangely and suddenly fell on the floor !

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  4. Oh, my. I had drank in moderation most of my adult life .... then one night I overdid and was belly dancing on the tables in a club at a private party of about 150 people. The next day at the mall a total stranger walked up and said, "your are a great dancer, see all the pictures I took of you". No more than one screwdriver for me since then! Loved your story!! Always fun.

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Any weighty (and not so weighty) comments are welcome!