Alcohol

This started as a post outlining my views on drinking, but it sort of evolved into a QuickGuide cos it's a complex issue to explain, but easy to remember. You'll understand when you read it!

I get pretty muddled in my thought processes when I think about the drinking of alcohol (as you're definitely going to see in this post). It's a double-edged sword. Drinking is awesome, but it's very important to know how to control it.

Don't Drink Alone.
When alone, it's very easy to dismiss drinking as needless and degrading, physically, emotionally, and even socially. Yes, it is. If you've ever drank alone, or, when hungover, been under the influence of post-drinking depression, you know exactly how degrading it can be. I know just how easily it can run away on you, how it can really grind things to a halt without you even realising what's wrong. You start to think of how shitty your life is, and minor problems get magnified.
But it's just the booze. Real depression is something much worse.

Always Drink In A Group
Drinking is a social act. I've wondered though: What do we really know about our friends if we're always drinking when we get together?
We know a lot more about them if we know their drinking habits. Alcohol is a very powerful drug, but its' effects are more far-reaching that the chemical itself. I know I am closer to the people I know as a result of drinking with them. It tears down walls, opens people up, makes them more sociable. Yes, it becomes a problem when a person can only talk to people when they're drinking, but this can be eliminated by open conversation with amongst friends. It takes those friends to crack the shell.
The following is an example
If you're in a group with someone you can see that drinking is a problem for them, you need to become the example that makes them think "Hey, you know what? I'm happy when I'm with these guys." If you can do that, and befriend them, you can really help them. With luck, they start to find their thresholds and their limits. They start to see exactly how to have fun when drinking, and they'll find they don't need to drink alone.
This takes courage on both parts. And subtlety on your part.

Know Your Limit
This one only comes with experience.
A good indication of when you've reached you limit is when you throw up, but this needn't be a barrier. You can throw up and still continue to drink, though you'll probably have to move onto a different flavoured drink, or a different alcohol.
You'll recognise your limit when you start stumbling around the gaff and knocking shit over, and making yourself fall over. This is tremendous craic when everyone in the room is as drunk as you, but it's bad form to be the first and only one to reach this point. The beauty of a good session lies in everyone getting as drunk as everyone else in more or less the same time frame.
I'm finding it hard to remember the last time I got so wasted that I couldn't actually drink any more.Cigarettes are a big killer for me, they really put a hold on my drinking because they make me feel nauseous. I know I said puking needn't be a barrier, but when I'm drinking, cigarettes fuck up my head and my stomach so that I just feel really ill. I can't smoke in the middle of my drinking. I'll get onto cigarettes in a minute.

Don't Be Hassle
This ties into knowing your limit. If you don't become aware that you've reached your limit, you'll become what is known as a "Mess". At this point, your friends will have to start taking care of you, and this really is a giant buzz kill. Again, if you're all past the limit then it's fine, but not so much if you're the only one.
If you're very drunk but honest with yourself, you won't be hassle. You'll know that you need to get to bed (a place to get sick would be a good idea too, to get excess alcohol out of your system)  and have a sleep. This leads me to the next topic.

Don't Be Afraid Of The Hangover
Hangovers are absolutely no excuse for not drinking. When treated with respect, hangovers can easily be dealt with. You'll hear a lot of bullshit cures for hangovers, but you only need a few simple tips. The most crucial one being two pints of water before you go asleep. No matter what, get two pints of water into you before you crash for the night. The headache in the morning is the result the alcohol dehydrating your brain, causing shrinkage of its' outer covering. Counteract that sumbitch with some H2O.
Alcohol depletes your electrolyte content (a fairly important chemical), which adds to the brain business, and causes muscle fatigue. So something along the lines of Powerade is extremely beneficial. My personal favourite is Lucozade, that shit is a lifesaver, especially over ice.
In terms of food, you may or may not feel like eating immediately when you wake up. Typically I can't touch food until 5 P.M. but if you need it, eat something big and heavy on the stomach. A breakfast roll is hailed as the best thing for this. I made the discovery of the sausage, wedge, and curry sauce roll a few months ago and never looked back. Don't knock til you've tried it.

Cigarettes
Cigarettes are tricky. They have an near immediate hit of intoxication. Even after smoking casually for a few years, they still don't taste good at all. The aftertaste is worse, but easily forgotten about with a drink in hand. Smoke on your clothes is also pretty horrible to wake up to. It makes me nauseous by itself, but then also reminds me of the drinking the night before, compounding the nausea.
However, I love to smoke. I love it because I treat it with respect. I smoke when I'm very, very drunk, and its' effects are best realised after a drinking session has peaked and things are cooling down.
Cigarettes are social, but can be taken to a less social area of use. When you're drunk, and you step outside, and it's 4 A.M., and you light up, a type of real peace is attained. Fine, it's under the influence of drugs, but I don't give a fuck about that anymore. Am I going to devote my life to being a monk to attain this kind of enlightenment through meditation? Fuck no, I'm going to live my life.
I recall the end of my Christmas exams this year. At 11 A.M. I got back to my house, poured myself some Hennessy, grabbed my iPod, my cigarettes, and a chair, and brought them out to the front garden. I sat in the sun amongst the still-frozen grass. I put on "re: Stacks", lit a cigarette, and sipped on Hennessy. It was bliss.
 At any given time, I can't handle more that two cigarettes. That's fine by me. Due to the infrequent way I smoke, I remain highly susceptible to the effects of nicotine, it stays a powerful drug for me. Which is great! I get superb value every time I smoke! I think it also serves as a reminder not to smoke regularly. I don't want to lose my sensitivity to it, and if I am I know I'm smoking too much.
Everything is fine in moderation.

I think I've covered everything. That felt good. Also, I think drinking should start in the home. Teenagers will learn how to handle themselves better if they're taught how to drink with composure under the guidance of their parents. Let them have cider or something similarly light when they're 15 and up. I believe this will fast-track drinking maturity.

Airsoft

Why do you do it?

I dunno, I have a sense of obligation to the guys that run the society and the team. I like airsoft, I just don't like the organised version of it. Organised airsoft is emulating military warfare. I have a problem with that. Regular airsoft is then emulating mindless warfare, the kind of thing in Call of Duty. I have an even bigger problem with that. What am I then? Someone trying to find the closest thing to real warfare in order to catch the "thrill" of it, but selfishly neglecting joining the armed forces?

Quitting now would be turning my back on the team, and now there's the humility of the look of the thing. Do I want to leave because it doesn't come to terms with my philosophy, or because I don't want to look like a twat? As badass as I think military style is, the effect is weakened somewhat knowing that it's only airsoft.
Maybe that's it, maybe I need to see through the (somewhat childish) veneer of the whole thing. That's the reality.