[align=center][img]http://www.gquebbq.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/beer2.jpg[/img][/align] Granted that you’re always surrounded by people and social situations that encourage you to drink. But you’ve also had too many embarrassing tales about you when you get drunk. People are perhaps always saying, ‘Well, just wait till X gets drunk. Such fun it will be.” If you’re tired of being that guy, but still need to drink to fit in, you need to learn to do so without getting drunk. Here’s how: [b]Eat before a drinking session[/b] Never begin drinking on an empty stomach. Yes, the booze hits you way quicker if you haven’t had anything, but that’s not the thing we’re going for here, are we? So, get something substantial in your stomach before you start drinking. A full tummy will keep you away from drinking too much. [b]Keep a tab[/b] Keep a tab over yourself. Promise yourself that you will not drink more than a glass of wine or a pint of beer. Impose self-control. You can do it if you really don’t want to make a fool of yourself in public again. It’s not like you’re being asked to go cold turkey. You’re still getting your fix. And keep chugging a glass of water now and then to keep yourself hydrated. [b]Hold the first[/b] Hold your first drink for as long as possible. Try to trick your mind by saying this is the last bottle of beer or glass of wine left on this planet and you want to make sure you extend the pleasure for the longest while. Savour your drink. Enjoy every sip, don’t chug like some eager, immature college kid. Spend on that expensive whisky, if you have to, go for the Glenfiddich, but relish it. [b]Deceive and lie[/b] If people are constantly pestering you to drink: ‘What nonsense Sharma? Where’s your drink? Waiter, get Sharma ji’s drink.’, then you need to find a way out. Get a glass of apple juice or coke or soda and lemon wedge. People will still think it is cocktail with whisky or rum or that it’s gin and tonic. Fool them and later laugh, when they get pissed drunk, instead of you. [b]Go to an expensive hotel[/b] If you go to an expensive place and have a look at their prices, you will automatically cut down. Who the heck is going to pay 4000 bucks for a silly cocktail? [b]Distract yourself[/b] When you feel you’re getting the urge to drink, talk to your friends, or hit on the girl sitting close by, or get to the dance floor. Call someone on your phone. Check the food menu. Listen to the music. Go to the loo. Do something to take your mind off the booze. Have a close friend constantly remind you that you’ve had enough. But you should obviously listen to him, or else he will just look like a fool if you start abusing him and tell him he should mind his boundaries. It’s fairly easy to do both – to get royally sloshed, or to stay sober enough but still have a good time. You need to decide who you want to be. Do you want to be the guy with the worst hangover ever the next morning, or the guy who gets up and remembers the great time he had last night.