it's finally sunk in

there's something about the drinking culture in th u.k. that's finally sunk into my little brain as of last night.

as soon as i arrived here i noticed it wasn't as stingy on the drinking front. as in, someone buys a round for everyone and then the next person, and the next...so it goes. people *love* offering to buy drinks and it's kind of like karma the way it all comes back to you.

i went out with the coworkers for a pint last night to celebrate claire's 30th birthday and it didn't take long for the rounds to start coming (i bought the second), but it didn't really matter whether you said no or requested a half pint. a full pint of beer inevitably appeared before your eyes and you had to try and keep up or else there would be two almost full to work on.

this isn't as extreme with my friends as i think we're all a little more economically and health conscious - not to mention respect each other's wishes - but there is nothing quite like drinking from 5 pm to 9 pm. needless to say, being the youngest i was the first one in today and several people actually took the day/morning off. i love it.