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How do you spend your New Year's Eve?


Catherineli
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lol, learning another one, "sowing your wild oats"!!!!!!! I don't know if I can ask what your wild oats looked like ?? :happydance:

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Well, I had a really busy work day New Years Eve, and went to bed at 8. My boss gave me a compliment, which I haven't heard in years, so I did good, but wore out.

 

I woke up at 12: something to my neighbors big fireworks. I had no artillery to add, so I went out to eat at Waffle House. Now Catherine, on any Friday or Saturday night, you need to visit a Waffle House after 12 midnight :D . It is part of the American experience.... :D

 

I stayed up until 5 something and went back to bed and got up at 2??? Anyway, I went out and bought a new king size bed, anticipating my wife's arrival some month. It was the most firm. I would say hard, but it is not plywood with a 1/4" of gauze on top called a bed in China, hehe. Anyway, the wife was surprised when I told her. The salesman caught my attention when he said it is the bed all Asians buy, hahahaha. Oh, I told him of my situation. He is dating a woman from Peru, so I got his email address to send him links to Govt. and VJ websites. We had a nice discussion about legal immigration and Obama.

 

I also bought 2 Zippo cigarette lighters at a smoke shop to give to my wife's friend in Plano, returning to Shanghai Saturday. She needs them for gifts to bosses. They love the American made Zippo and want the most expensive available. So I did just that.

 

In the past I seemed to come across someone driving under the influence and managed to get them arrested. Nothing against the drunk, or drug user like last year, but when you weave all over the road it could kill an innocent child in a families car, or someone's mother or loved one. My Dad got hurt real bad by a drunk once, so.... In my youth I was the designated driver, because I don't drink, but like Red Skelton I can sure get so dang happy and act like one that some think I am drunk, or crazy. Anyway, when I had my Roadrunner my Dad wanted me at a New Year's Eve dance at church, but I wanted to go downtown Dallas which was packed with cars and people that 71/72 year. So I was at both. I showed my face, while my buddies were in my car, then hurried downtown to get stuck in traffic and have my buddies get so drunk they puked out the window, and I had to help them all in there various houses. Their parents were not upset or surprised. My car got slightly sideswiped while helping one up his stairs to bed. My Dad swore I did it racing, but truth is the car got hit, slightly, 4 times while sitting still. I never wrecked that one.

 

Regarding my wife, well... she was very sad on her night. She stayed up with her daughter watching TV and called me at 1AM her time. She was blue and quiet or distant. She did not want to cry in front of me, she said. This separation is always tough on her if I am not there on some special occasion.

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I'm always fascinated with American people's stories. Thank you Doug for your story! You were sneaky when you were wet behind the ears. ( Am I right to use the idiom meaning when you were young? ) You showed up at church for your dad's arrangement while keeping your buddies in the car. Then you fulfilled both assignments lol. Maybe that is the way I understand "sowing wild oats".

Oh, I love waffles, yummy. I doubt if I dare to go to waffle house after midnight lol, I wish I could be so crazy as to raise experience how to raise hell. But if wish is a thing, everyone can be a king!!

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Perhaps other large cities had packed streets like New York City at Time Square on New Years Eve, I don't know. Dallas had police on every corner and the sidewalks were packed and the streets a traffic jam. Now when my Dad was young, and before he changed his life, he recalls a drunk walking down the street on New Years and some guy up in a hotel was yelling out the window, with a slur, at this stranger, "Hey You want a drink?" Yea, the drunk says. And so the guy pours his booze out from the window as the guy on the sidewalk opens his mouth trying to catch it. Who knows what was in that bottle, my Dad thought. Anyway, I thought I was pretty smart being 2 places at once that night, haha.

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Well, Smart Guy, I've nothing to share about my life. I was brought up reciting Mao's scripture in order to be a good girl. So I"ve been a good girl over fifty years lol. I've never been to a drinking bar, either in China or in America. I've never had a little bit of drinks in my mouth all my life. I'm still lost at the downtown of the city where I've been living over twenty years. Once an American lady took me out to dinner at Shangri-la. After eating, she said bye to me, leaving me on the street puzzled how to get home. I even didn't know which direction to go if I take a taxi. There was another time that I took a Canadian woman to a big market. We took bus there but we got off at a wrong place, then we were lost where to go next. We couldn't find a bus stop;we couldn't get a taxi in the cold winter. Even now she is still laughing at me being her guide and interpreter. She still shares this silly experience with her friends.

Oh, I did something special!! To fulfill school assignment, as a city school child, I had to go to the street on New Year's Day collecting horse droppings, cow pie, or anything, even human turd. In the beginning of March our school started the new semester. We submitted the droppings. Then our school campus was packed with piles of piles "road apples".

See, everyone has special experiences! :happydance:

Hey, one more question for you guys. In China, traditionally if they drink more without being drunk, the men are taken great heroes or great men. So some men feel honored to be known as a "big drunk". I'm not sure if it is still a pride for them. How about American men? Do you take it a big pride if you can drink more?

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Maybe the others are better off answering this. I am not normal...

 

Back in 1980 I tried to get into field sales for the company I worked for. One of the main sore points with them, was what will I do, since I don't drink. Buying customers drinks was all part of the package back then. I did not get the job.

 

Years later I wind up in Field Sales, kind of by default. I have a large territory in the USA now, and have had to do business in Asia. In the USA it is no big deal now, and I had no problems in any other countries, just China. Most customers do not drink or very little. It is perfectly acceptable to them that I don't. We have a good time anyway. For the kind of parts my company makes all the engineers at our customers know each other, or heard about each other. They know who the heavy hitters are. When I say I met so-and-so, they will ask "where, at the bar" then chuckle (laugh). So, unless young I think it is a bit looked down on these days in the USA. Even in college you have your divisions of people and attitudes about this. But then this is the circle of people I know in aerospace. We just seemed to get away from smoking and drinking, compared to my parents generation.

 

Now in China, I used to get pressure all the time about drinking, and somewhat smoking. It is all part of being polite with leaders when eating around the big round table. But I refuse, and simply say it is on religious grounds, rather than say I don't like it. That seems to make it acceptable to their mind. You know we also did business different as well in the USA and so the Chinese knew many business practices on the money side had to be different to buy our parts. So in a way it got a pass from most on anything different than what is the Chinese norm. If any money went under the table, me nor my company did it direct and I have no knowledge of it, if it happened at all. We call that greasing the palms here in the USA or more likely in Chicago, or New York City.

 

My wife does not like to drink, but while in China she feels she must do with the boss, at least a little. Back in 2002, my gosh, I got tremendous pressure from one man. I thought was going to come to blows because I refused to make a toast with alcohol with him. He would not accept the water or Coke. Later he respected that I held my ground. I think that is when I came up with the religious reason. We sold the parts anyway, haha.

 

I don't have a problem with anyone who wants to drink around me. I just don't. And I loved my alcoholic Uncle Buck. He was one of the smartest men I ever met. He was very clever with words and in mechanics to repair anything, including machines so large a truck drives into them. When he opened his mouth I couldn't help but start laughing.

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Hey, one more question for you guys. In China, traditionally if they drink more without being drunk, the men are taken great heroes or great men. So some men feel honored to be known as a "big drunk". I'm not sure if it is still a pride for them. How about American men? Do you take it a big pride if you can drink more?

I suppose when we were younger, of college age, and for the first time we could make our own choices about what to do in life, we joined drinking parties where drinking contests were not unusual. Today, colleges still have a problem with binge drinking by students. In my age group (I'm 65 and grew up in the 60's and 70') there was a rebellious period of protest, protests against the Vietnam War, protests for equal rights for blacks, women's rights... it was cool to be anti-establishment against our government and rebelling against our parents. It was a time of "Tune-in, Turn-on, and Drop Out"... the Turn On part meant taking drugs, smoking marijuana, taking pyschodelics, speed and downers were considered cool and part of our so called rebelling against society. The problem, as it turned out, many of our generation became hooked on drugs even over-dosed and died. It took years for some of us to realize the real risks and responsibility that came with drugs including alcohol.

 

In the 80's we still smoked in the offices where we worked. Common business luncheons were called "three martinin lunches". Christmas time our customers would arrive with boxes of liquor for us to chose from and it was normal to see every desk to have a bottle or two of liqour sitting on it.

The US social attitudes toward drinking, smoking or anything that interferes with one's health or the welfare of others has changed where it is looked down upon or even prohibited today.

 

So, to answer your question, no it is not considered cool anymore to be the person who can drink the most, at least in normal civil society. There certainly are some pockets where that might be considered something to brag about, but I'm sure law enforcement spends more time policing those persons than they'd like to.

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Well, Smart Guy, I've nothing to share about my life. I was brought up reciting Mao's scripture in order to be a good girl. So I"ve been a good girl over fifty years lol. I've never been to a drinking bar, either in China or in America. I've never had a little bit of drinks in my mouth all my life. I'm still lost at the downtown of the city where I've been living over twenty years. Once an American lady took me out to dinner at Shangri-la. After eating, she said bye to me, leaving me on the street puzzled how to get home. I even didn't know which direction to go if I take a taxi. There was another time that I took a Canadian woman to a big market. We took bus there but we got off at a wrong place, then we were lost where to go next. We couldn't find a bus stop;we couldn't get a taxi in the cold winter. Even now she is still laughing at me being her guide and interpreter. She still shares this silly experience with her friends.

Oh, I did something special!! To fulfill school assignment, as a city school child, I had to go to the street on New Year's Day collecting horse droppings, cow pie, or anything, even human turd. In the beginning of March our school started the new semester. We submitted the droppings. Then our school campus was packed with piles of piles "road apples".

See, everyone has special experiences! :happydance:

Hey, one more question for you guys. In China, traditionally if they drink more without being drunk, the men are taken great heroes or great men. So some men feel honored to be known as a "big drunk". I'm not sure if it is still a pride for them. How about American men? Do you take it a big pride if you can drink more?

At one time heavy drinking was encouraged in the US. In everything from movies to the local bar. There where "Happy Hours" galore in bars between 4-7PM where you would buy one and get one free. Lady's nights where a woman could buy a mixed drink for a penny, the guys paid full price. Drink and drown nights primarily around college campuses you could pay one price and drink as much draught beer as you could hold. This all came to an end when stricter drunk driving laws where enforced and alcohol awareness programs started.

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From your sharing, I can tell, men are the same all over the world! There are hippies everywhere in the world trying to show their manhood. I'm glad I'm not a man lol

Thanks for sharing, every friend !! I'm learning a lot from you guys!

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No religious practice encourages alcohol drinking! Doug, you really don't have to think too much before you refuse to drink with people around. Your wife may well tell you the same. You just don't have to drink on any drinking occasions even if others are drinking at the same table with you. No one will judge you rude in China. I'm not a social person. But I"m pretty sure there is no problem if you don't drink. Many men's physical problems are from drinking and smoking, I think.

I'm glad I"ve learned one more saying, "grease the palms", meaning to make money under corruption. I'm glad I only grease the pan before I put it into my oven with a dough. lol

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No religious practice encourages alcohol drinking! Doug, you really don't have to think too much before you refuse to drink with people around. Your wife may well tell you the same. You just don't have to drink on any drinking occasions even if others are drinking at the same table with you. No one will judge you rude in China. I'm not a social person. But I"m pretty sure there is no problem if you don't drink. Many men's physical problems are from drinking and smoking, I think.

I'm glad I"ve learned one more saying, "grease the palms", meaning to make money under corruption. I'm glad I only grease the pan before I put it into my oven with a dough. lol

Catherinli you certainly are learning a lot indeed. You are going to be light years ahead of the ones that have come before you.

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Hey! Larry!!!!!!!! Nice to see you again. How is your mom doing?????? been thinking of her.

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No religious practice encourages alcohol drinking! Doug, you really don't have to think too much before you refuse to drink with people around. Your wife may well tell you the same. You just don't have to drink on any drinking occasions even if others are drinking at the same table with you. No one will judge you rude in China. I'm not a social person. But I"m pretty sure there is no problem if you don't drink. Many men's physical problems are from drinking and smoking, I think.

I'm glad I"ve learned one more saying, "grease the palms", meaning to make money under corruption. I'm glad I only grease the pan before I put it into my oven with a dough. lol

Alcohol is neither encouraged nor discouraged in Biblical text. Wine was drunk throughout the Bible. Some say it may have been just fruit juice, yet scholars point out that fermented wine was drank throughout the times of Christ, as water was often polluted. The Bible does say that drunkeness is a sin, however. :)

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1 Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water only, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent illnesses.

 

John 2:1-11

 

 

1 Jesus Changes Water Into Wine
2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

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