Sangria Sniffles

With my inherent belief in the supernatural and the intangible, I'm obviously far from the usual science geek you'd expect to find. But that doesn't mean I can't conduct a little unorthodox experiment of my own - and I trust that I do recall the principles behind them.

After all we already know alcohol has its side effects.


It's Soldat's B-Day. And they'll drink if they want to!
Unless one of his more sober personalities come to the fore...

Soldat : Should we drink? I think we should.
Janvier : No, we're working tomorrow. It's against our principles. We have to keep sober.
Soldat : Get over it, bastard. Fuck you. I'm drinking.
Janvier : NO! Such language! Don't move the arm please!
Soldat : Not me. I'm not moving the arm.
Janvier : Then who... Alfie!
Alfie : Alcohol. Me likey.

Proving to be the less dominant, Janvier obviously lost the battle... so with Soused Soldat ( and his multiple personalities in the collective ) out to celebrate their shared B-Day, there's guaranteed to be plenty of wine to go around. And lotsa willing guinea pigs to test my theories. God-fearing folks such as Jaunty Jared stayed away from the bottle - or else it's possible he feared getting the inevitable alcohol grope ( from me! ). But that didn't stop the rest of the motley crew.

After a bottle or three, the inebriating effects on the brain is obvious enough on the younger folks ( as it was last Christmas ) - with Strapping Shane speaking several decibels louder while Zany Zinedine seemed a tad bitchier - if that's at all possible. Just imagine your friends, just louder, crazier and far more disinhibited.

A number of us even develop some unusual physical reactions to a bout of alcohol. While Lanky Lex follows the Asian norm by turning a brilliant shade of scarlet after downing several glasses of wine, peculiarly Charming Calvin fades into parchment white. Don't know if that bodes well for his liver enzymes :P

Me, I get the sniffles. Or the sneeze.

Seriously. I've followed the progress of my drinking, correlated the evidence and come to realize that each time I pick up a cocktail glass, I will inevitably end up in a bout of sneezing afterward. Histamine reaction? Alcohol allergies?

I call it the Sangria Sniffles. It doesn't last that long fortunately. At least I don't swell up and choke in a catastrophic bronchospasm so I figure it isn't that bad after all. My body can't be rejecting the sins of alcohol, could it?

You'd be excused if you're wondering if I've fallen into a questionable crew of debauched alcoholics.