Me and My Tipple
I've just met up with my lovely friend Heather for a nice drink at the Granta, probably my favourite pub in Cambridge. She seemed really well and we had a great time, but what Heather didn't know was that my plan for the present blog post was to see what happened if I got totally wankered while I wrote. This imagined scenario is now being played out, and I have my Vinedoes Barriheulo parked upon my desk to accompany my typing.
The rules - which hopefully I will remember - TRY NOT TO SWEAR TOO MUCH; DON'T DIVULGE YOUR DEEPEST SECRETS; TRY TO REMAIN INTERESTING; DON'T BE SICK (SERIOUSLY); TRY TO MAKE IT AS DIFFICULT AS POSSIBLE TO NOTICE THAT YOU ARE DRUNK AND INCREASINGLY MORE SO AS THE BLOG GOES ON (ASSUMING YOU DON'T GO BACK AND EDIT YOUR CRAFTY MINX YOU).
What's the plan, I hear you ask? Recount my activities over the past couple of days, but first I'd like to meditate on the significance of the act of drinking alone. Is this taboo? Probably. Let's face it: alcohol is, to a degree that stretches way beyond any other drink, seen as something which is primarily social rather than personal (I spilt some on my shirt, yuk. Ugh). Why on earth would you get drunk alone? I'm not truly alone, I suppose, because I'm writing to you all on here in a way that seems to connect me to future yous indirectly, but it's an important question is raised in any case.
One defence is provided here - http://www.drunkard.com/the-zen-of-drinking-alone/ - by someone who feels that drinking alone is a great way of connecting with the real you. Woohoo! Good for them. But drinking alone is interesting in a broader sense, because it raises the question of how far our culture tends to denigrate solitary recreation of many sorts. What immediately comes to mind for me is a book by the political scientist Robert D. Putnam called 'Bowling Alone', which charts the decline of American 'social capital' since the 1960s: what he essentially identifies is that people are far less enthusiastic about doing things in groups and associations that they used to be, and instead increasingly prefer to bowl, eat, and perhaps even drink, alone. Putnam views this basically as a *bad* thing, because he believes it is antithetical to the culture of democracy that all right-minded citizens ought to believe in.
But I wonder if we are too harsh in our desire to condemn the 'do-er alone'. We are ultimately alone in this world, that's for sure, and so I don't begrudge people the ability to enjoy themselves in a solitary way; more importantly, to be truly individual one surely has to take part in activities which are in a genuine sense 'solitary' rather than merely for the benefit of other people's viewing! This point, incidentally, gets at the fundamental paradox within what Warren Susman would have termed the present 'culture of personality' - that in attempting to 'be ourselves' (whatever that means!), we are forced simply to abide to the cultural norms of the people around us! Being *truly* individual often attracts social disdain, because we humans are suspicious of things that are different, and because we often lack the imagination to accept individuality in its full extent.
It's for this reason that I tend to do things even if I don't have anyone to do them with. My life is a funny one (and I don't have any other to compare it to), but I would say that even though I have plenty of friends (I hope!!) it is a central priority of mine to be comfortable in my own skin even when no-one is around. When, for instance, I wanted to visit a particular museum and the (lovely) friend who I was going with suddenly dropped out at the last minute, I decided to go anyway; and as a result of going there, I find the topic for my coursework this year. NEVER don't do things you want to do just because no-one is doing them with you. Please go and eat nice food on your own. Please have a lovely time on your own. Maybe even drink on your own, although I must admit it feels a bit weird!! (I'm now laughing to myself like a madman)
To change tack slightly, when I got drunk for the first time my friends and I decided that there were three levels of my drunkenness. First, the wit goes (not that I had that much to begin with). Then the intelligence (also not that pronounced). Then the singing. What worries me at the moment is that I can't actually sing properly - like I'm not fully like connected to my voice. It's very odd. I think I've passed that stage, which is bad news, but hopefully results in a funny blog post. I've actually basically been typing without stopping since I started and it's only 22:59 (which is basically 11).
Oh yes so I was going to recount the last couple of days. I've had a really busy and great time as it happens!! On Thursday (I'm actually feeling slightly less drunk than I probably am because I'm staying sat down) I did various things that I've forgotten but at the end of the day I showed my friend Leah the film HOT FUZZ, which I think is a GENUIS FILM (so much cleverness). I think she liked it and then she told me lots of things about trains and about classics and I was totally floored by her knowledge (she's a bright spark and a half!! Even if she does drink whilst swimming which you shouldn't do by the way.)
I took a break to watch some YouTube videos. So sue me.
Arianna quoted: "This is a tester to check that Robin is typing exactly what Arianna is saying. Clearly a wasted (Robin: haha, wasted) taster since I can't see what you've typed. Robin having discovered that drinking is fun and not a baaad thing" and then I stopped typing because I disagreed with the sentiment of what Arianna was saying.
Robin can't handle his alcohol (Arianna). But I am not a terrible person!
Arianna bumped (which means that she hit other rowing boats) and my friend Seb did not bump but he put in a jolly good effort.
I almost spilt white wine on my laptop which is no good.
Typing becomes harder. BUT I shall continue with my task. I've got to upload photos later which should be interesting.
So on Friday I entered the college reading competition (which involves reading out a passage from the Bible - I am doing so well for someone who is sloshed alone! Notice my care for how things are spelt etc.). I didn't win - congratulations Tom Cruikshank! - but I did get a commendation for my choice of reading - Judges Chapter 3 Verses 12-23 (good memory). So that was a fun way to spend half an hour, and kudos to all involved, because it was a really good pool of participants.
Then in the evening I went to see the VERY FIRST preview the new musical version of Wind In The Willows at the London Palladium! (Update - I'm now laughing at the fact that my feet are tingling - presumably pins and needles - this is not a good development). My glass is empty atm and I'm afraid to add more.
I'm a little hot at the moment. Let's continue.
So later on Friday I went to see the Wind in the Willows, which was having its first preview at the London Palladium, with my friends Harry Castle and Jonathan Whitmore. I was thinking of writing a full and proper review, but I'm drunk, so I won't do that. In short, it was excellent, far exceeding my expectations - all elements of the production were very good, not least the lead performers, and for a preview it really was outstanding. Kudos to all involved. I also had a lovely time with my aforementioned accomplices. Well done Palladium (and it's not just a kid's show either!).
Both writing and drinking become more difficult. No I will not allow gratuitous spelling mistakes (although I did have to pause to think about how to spell that word!). I wanted to recount today but now my friends are trying to get me to come out. Maybe I still can; they aren't back yet.
But anyway, before I forget Friday I should note that my tutor and I had a big ol' discussion about the History degree at Cambridge. We both agreed that I ought to talk to the students rep about the history tripos, because at Christ's the general consensus is that the degree is not so much too hard (although maybe it is!!) as too unpredictable. There seems to be little rationale for how the questions are asked, and if there is a rationale we (history students) do not understand it, and we ought to, so I'm going to see what I can do. All on the to-do list.
Rachael Chapman is the best friend I've ever had. (Fore the record).
James Burn is a don and I love talking to him because he's lovely.
Excellent, anyway enough interruptions, to business. The wine is not yet finished but I'm afraid to have more because I think I will be ill. I don't feel sick at the moment but I can envisage a situation in which that circumstance arises.
So today I went to rehearse with some fabulous NYMT people with whom I am gigging next week. They are all great and I am super excited. Boy is it warm in this room. I met Mr. Tom Josling (the lead in Sunday in the Park with George) for the first time and he is both talented and lovely, so that's good. I then spent time with the others - more on that next week - and even took a photo of the Imaginary banner outside The Other Palace/St James Theatre where Imaginary is being performed (and ran into Stuart Matthew Price by chance!). Sorry I'm not really explaining at this point. How long is this blog post? It's really warm in this room.
One of the fortunate things about me is that I do not seem to get hangovers (yet!). This is excellent and makes it much easier for me to undertake this kind of experiment.
I almost forgot! On my way back from the NYMT rehearsal I encountered the fabulous Anne-Marie Pipalova, TOTALLY by chance, on the way back from her trip to Falmouth. Twas very strange. I was looking for an empty table and she was sat at once, and it was a huge coincidence that I ended up sitting opposite her. Possibly 5 in a billion. Possibly 10. I don't know. I'm not a cosmographer.
Which brings me up to now. I haven't finished the bottle but I remain afraid to do so, genuinely. Note that my typing skills remain undiminished. I am a king of typing, clearly. Whoohoo. What a silly thing to type.
Does it reflect badly on me that in these situations I end up watching Prime Minister's Questions?
What this blog cannot show is the number of breaks that you take between typing. I've now watched a ton of House of Parliament videos for no good reason, and now I've got pins and needles again, and that is a real shame.
Part of the problem is that I brought a big box of rocky road, so if I am ill it might just be that, rather than the wine. I'm almost done, by the way.
The truth is spelling is not indicative of drunkenness. If, however, you look at my paragraph length, you will notice a distinct trend.
I'm so close to finishing but it would be so unwise to finish that bottle. Like totally unwise.
Water time I think.
Wow. Big break now. I'm not gonna finish the bottle. No way. I think I'm just going to post this and go to bed.
G'night all.
RJLF
P. S. Whoop-de-do.
P. P. S. I need to water my peace lily.
The rules - which hopefully I will remember - TRY NOT TO SWEAR TOO MUCH; DON'T DIVULGE YOUR DEEPEST SECRETS; TRY TO REMAIN INTERESTING; DON'T BE SICK (SERIOUSLY); TRY TO MAKE IT AS DIFFICULT AS POSSIBLE TO NOTICE THAT YOU ARE DRUNK AND INCREASINGLY MORE SO AS THE BLOG GOES ON (ASSUMING YOU DON'T GO BACK AND EDIT YOUR CRAFTY MINX YOU).
What's the plan, I hear you ask? Recount my activities over the past couple of days, but first I'd like to meditate on the significance of the act of drinking alone. Is this taboo? Probably. Let's face it: alcohol is, to a degree that stretches way beyond any other drink, seen as something which is primarily social rather than personal (I spilt some on my shirt, yuk. Ugh). Why on earth would you get drunk alone? I'm not truly alone, I suppose, because I'm writing to you all on here in a way that seems to connect me to future yous indirectly, but it's an important question is raised in any case.
One defence is provided here - http://www.drunkard.com/the-zen-of-drinking-alone/ - by someone who feels that drinking alone is a great way of connecting with the real you. Woohoo! Good for them. But drinking alone is interesting in a broader sense, because it raises the question of how far our culture tends to denigrate solitary recreation of many sorts. What immediately comes to mind for me is a book by the political scientist Robert D. Putnam called 'Bowling Alone', which charts the decline of American 'social capital' since the 1960s: what he essentially identifies is that people are far less enthusiastic about doing things in groups and associations that they used to be, and instead increasingly prefer to bowl, eat, and perhaps even drink, alone. Putnam views this basically as a *bad* thing, because he believes it is antithetical to the culture of democracy that all right-minded citizens ought to believe in.
But I wonder if we are too harsh in our desire to condemn the 'do-er alone'. We are ultimately alone in this world, that's for sure, and so I don't begrudge people the ability to enjoy themselves in a solitary way; more importantly, to be truly individual one surely has to take part in activities which are in a genuine sense 'solitary' rather than merely for the benefit of other people's viewing! This point, incidentally, gets at the fundamental paradox within what Warren Susman would have termed the present 'culture of personality' - that in attempting to 'be ourselves' (whatever that means!), we are forced simply to abide to the cultural norms of the people around us! Being *truly* individual often attracts social disdain, because we humans are suspicious of things that are different, and because we often lack the imagination to accept individuality in its full extent.
It's for this reason that I tend to do things even if I don't have anyone to do them with. My life is a funny one (and I don't have any other to compare it to), but I would say that even though I have plenty of friends (I hope!!) it is a central priority of mine to be comfortable in my own skin even when no-one is around. When, for instance, I wanted to visit a particular museum and the (lovely) friend who I was going with suddenly dropped out at the last minute, I decided to go anyway; and as a result of going there, I find the topic for my coursework this year. NEVER don't do things you want to do just because no-one is doing them with you. Please go and eat nice food on your own. Please have a lovely time on your own. Maybe even drink on your own, although I must admit it feels a bit weird!! (I'm now laughing to myself like a madman)
To change tack slightly, when I got drunk for the first time my friends and I decided that there were three levels of my drunkenness. First, the wit goes (not that I had that much to begin with). Then the intelligence (also not that pronounced). Then the singing. What worries me at the moment is that I can't actually sing properly - like I'm not fully like connected to my voice. It's very odd. I think I've passed that stage, which is bad news, but hopefully results in a funny blog post. I've actually basically been typing without stopping since I started and it's only 22:59 (which is basically 11).
Oh yes so I was going to recount the last couple of days. I've had a really busy and great time as it happens!! On Thursday (I'm actually feeling slightly less drunk than I probably am because I'm staying sat down) I did various things that I've forgotten but at the end of the day I showed my friend Leah the film HOT FUZZ, which I think is a GENUIS FILM (so much cleverness). I think she liked it and then she told me lots of things about trains and about classics and I was totally floored by her knowledge (she's a bright spark and a half!! Even if she does drink whilst swimming which you shouldn't do by the way.)
I took a break to watch some YouTube videos. So sue me.
Arianna quoted: "This is a tester to check that Robin is typing exactly what Arianna is saying. Clearly a wasted (Robin: haha, wasted) taster since I can't see what you've typed. Robin having discovered that drinking is fun and not a baaad thing" and then I stopped typing because I disagreed with the sentiment of what Arianna was saying.
Robin can't handle his alcohol (Arianna). But I am not a terrible person!
Arianna bumped (which means that she hit other rowing boats) and my friend Seb did not bump but he put in a jolly good effort.
I almost spilt white wine on my laptop which is no good.
Typing becomes harder. BUT I shall continue with my task. I've got to upload photos later which should be interesting.
So on Friday I entered the college reading competition (which involves reading out a passage from the Bible - I am doing so well for someone who is sloshed alone! Notice my care for how things are spelt etc.). I didn't win - congratulations Tom Cruikshank! - but I did get a commendation for my choice of reading - Judges Chapter 3 Verses 12-23 (good memory). So that was a fun way to spend half an hour, and kudos to all involved, because it was a really good pool of participants.
Then in the evening I went to see the VERY FIRST preview the new musical version of Wind In The Willows at the London Palladium! (Update - I'm now laughing at the fact that my feet are tingling - presumably pins and needles - this is not a good development). My glass is empty atm and I'm afraid to add more.
I'm a little hot at the moment. Let's continue.
So later on Friday I went to see the Wind in the Willows, which was having its first preview at the London Palladium, with my friends Harry Castle and Jonathan Whitmore. I was thinking of writing a full and proper review, but I'm drunk, so I won't do that. In short, it was excellent, far exceeding my expectations - all elements of the production were very good, not least the lead performers, and for a preview it really was outstanding. Kudos to all involved. I also had a lovely time with my aforementioned accomplices. Well done Palladium (and it's not just a kid's show either!).
Both writing and drinking become more difficult. No I will not allow gratuitous spelling mistakes (although I did have to pause to think about how to spell that word!). I wanted to recount today but now my friends are trying to get me to come out. Maybe I still can; they aren't back yet.
But anyway, before I forget Friday I should note that my tutor and I had a big ol' discussion about the History degree at Cambridge. We both agreed that I ought to talk to the students rep about the history tripos, because at Christ's the general consensus is that the degree is not so much too hard (although maybe it is!!) as too unpredictable. There seems to be little rationale for how the questions are asked, and if there is a rationale we (history students) do not understand it, and we ought to, so I'm going to see what I can do. All on the to-do list.
Rachael Chapman is the best friend I've ever had. (Fore the record).
James Burn is a don and I love talking to him because he's lovely.
Excellent, anyway enough interruptions, to business. The wine is not yet finished but I'm afraid to have more because I think I will be ill. I don't feel sick at the moment but I can envisage a situation in which that circumstance arises.
So today I went to rehearse with some fabulous NYMT people with whom I am gigging next week. They are all great and I am super excited. Boy is it warm in this room. I met Mr. Tom Josling (the lead in Sunday in the Park with George) for the first time and he is both talented and lovely, so that's good. I then spent time with the others - more on that next week - and even took a photo of the Imaginary banner outside The Other Palace/St James Theatre where Imaginary is being performed (and ran into Stuart Matthew Price by chance!). Sorry I'm not really explaining at this point. How long is this blog post? It's really warm in this room.
One of the fortunate things about me is that I do not seem to get hangovers (yet!). This is excellent and makes it much easier for me to undertake this kind of experiment.
I almost forgot! On my way back from the NYMT rehearsal I encountered the fabulous Anne-Marie Pipalova, TOTALLY by chance, on the way back from her trip to Falmouth. Twas very strange. I was looking for an empty table and she was sat at once, and it was a huge coincidence that I ended up sitting opposite her. Possibly 5 in a billion. Possibly 10. I don't know. I'm not a cosmographer.
Which brings me up to now. I haven't finished the bottle but I remain afraid to do so, genuinely. Note that my typing skills remain undiminished. I am a king of typing, clearly. Whoohoo. What a silly thing to type.
Does it reflect badly on me that in these situations I end up watching Prime Minister's Questions?
What this blog cannot show is the number of breaks that you take between typing. I've now watched a ton of House of Parliament videos for no good reason, and now I've got pins and needles again, and that is a real shame.
Part of the problem is that I brought a big box of rocky road, so if I am ill it might just be that, rather than the wine. I'm almost done, by the way.
The truth is spelling is not indicative of drunkenness. If, however, you look at my paragraph length, you will notice a distinct trend.
I'm so close to finishing but it would be so unwise to finish that bottle. Like totally unwise.
Water time I think.
Wow. Big break now. I'm not gonna finish the bottle. No way. I think I'm just going to post this and go to bed.
G'night all.
RJLF
P. S. Whoop-de-do.
P. P. S. I need to water my peace lily.
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