Beer Me Up Scotty

Australians are renouned for a few things. Some of those include being tough as nails, a little bit crazy and drinking a lot. Most of it comes back to the weather. As I write this post it is 10 o'clock at night and 32 degrees. (90 fahrenheit)

I am drinking, have been for a while now. At this point I have just finished my 23rd Jack Daniels. You see being poor I don't have airconditioning. I am not drinking for pleasure or to drown sorrows. It is drinking so you can pass out and get some sleep before you have to get up and go to work.

I am not sure if you have ever tried to work after not sleeping, but it is not fun. You seem to be in a daze and the world slides past you. The longer you go without sleep the worse it is. Close to an out of body experience. Working with a hangover is not great but it is better than lack of sleep. When in that position you choose the lesser of two evils.

The problem with any drug is the more you have the more you need. At this point I hardly have a buzz. Passing out is a long way off yet. Heck I can even write coherent blog posts using large words like coherent.

According to world standards I am an alcoholic. All my friends are for that matter. By Australian standards we are all normal. It is just the way things are here. If you can't drink a bottle of scotch or carton of beer and still talk straight you are just not considered a true Aussie.

If you have ever wondered why we talk slowly and act bizarrely, the truth is we are generally spaced out to some degree.

Drinking stupid amounts is a tradition. It is also one that is slowly but surely disappearing as airconditioning becomes more prevalent in society. This leads me to wonder where we are heading as a nation. What will we become when we no longer consume vast amounts of booze and are no longer crazy ?

With the amount of American influence here, in music, tv, fast food and all the rest, are we doomed to become a USA clone ? No offence to my international readers but I sincerely hope not.