So we had an employee party last Wednesday. Normally not one for uhh socializing but I like all my coworkers pretty well so I decided to come. Also gave me an excuse to get girlied up and that made me feel pretty happy, especially when multiple people didn’t recognize me because I didn’t have to follow health code so ear rings, dresses, my long curly hair was down for once. I had a really good time. They even gave everybody a free drink ticket.

When I first heard about this event, I was worried about everybody drinking around me, like I thought it would make me want to drink. I texted my manager about this, asking what non-alcoholic beer we had at the restaurant. Turns out, all my choices were absolutely terrible (beers I wouldn’t even accept with alcohol) but if those were my choices, those were my choices. However before I even responded to the text with the beer choices, she offered to order a non-alcoholic beer especially for me. So I asked for her to order some non-alcoholic Guinness. It didn’t come in time for the party, so I had a shitty beer instead, but honestly it’s the thought that matters to me. She did that for me, and I really appreciate it. It helped me not feel weird ordering something non-alcoholic, like I was just a normal person ordering a drink. And now, I can actually visit my work’s bar after work (I asked them not to serve me alcohol already so I haven’t done it in a while) and it feels really nice to do so without drinking. This is who I want to be, and it’s great to be that person.