Dealing with Hangovers.

We all know St Patrick's day is coming. It is a fun day that you will just barely remember if done right. The down side to the holiday is the morning (or afternoon) the next day. That hangover that hits some harder than others. It is alright, there are ways to deal with a hangover.

Waking up hungover is a horrid experience, but there are very easy steps to deal with it. First, have drink, not a big one, a good shot or a mixed drink depending how much work you want to do. Having more alcohol will get rid of some of the symptoms, but they will return if you don't follow the next step. Now that you have had a little more booze, drink lots of water or better still Gatorade (any non-caffeinated sports drink will do). The hangover is caused mostly by dehydration, so the water or sports drink will hydrate you. Sports drinks are better for a number reasons, one they have some calories your body needs, secondly they give your body back some of salts and other nutrients that likely left your body in some way the night before. Now that you are hydrated have a nice meal with some good protein and you should be ready to face whatever the day has in store for you. That is all you have to do. Vodka is a good choice that first step, and eggs work well for the meal. Keep in mind, too much more alcohol will make things worse.

Now some people would rather avoid the hangover altogether. If you are planning to drink heavily avoiding a hangover is almost impossible. Some are lucky and have the genetics to not be troubled by hangovers, this doesn't help the remainder of the population. You could not drink; but whats the fun in that? You can lessen the effects of hangover by avoiding mixing alcohol and caffeine, and by mixing your booze with fruit juice. The fruit juice method can have its own problems as too much sugar can lead to hangover like effects.

Hope you all have a good time on St Patrick's day. Luckily it is on a Saturday this year, so the hangover won't be as big of a problem. This advice should serve you well for years to come. 

January Annoyances.

Every January has the same group of annoyances that pop up. There seems to be little reason for these things to happen, but they seem to be part of an extended new years ritual that doesn't seem to end till midway through February. Each year they happen and slowly fade away. If such is their fate, why must they come up at all?

People that pay for a year long gym membership and only use if for a few weeks make working out a pain. They clog the parking lot, crowd the gym. Most of them aren't even working out, they are sitting on a machine without actually using it. Men and women are both guilty of this, but have slightly different habits. The men come for two weeks, and then bullshit themselves into thinking they are in shape and stop going. Women keep going till Valentines Day, at which point they stop. Why do these people bother? They are throwing away money, and just making it harder for people that really do give a damn about working out.

Then there are the people that swear off drinking after waking up hungover on New Year's Day. Most of them make it a week, then the weekend hits and they hit the bottle. It wouldn't be so bad, but these people for that week are very vocal about there newly found (and very short lived) teetotalism. They all seem to be on a high horse about not drinking, but never want to hear about it again when happy hour hits on Friday. If these people were smart, they would know the cure for hangovers is not no more booze, but having a few more drinks that morning and then re-hydrating.

People not getting the date right. You are in line at a store, but in front of you is a middle aged woman that doesn't get enough attention. So she makes a big deal she just put the wrong date on her check. "Oops, its a new year. Do I need to write a new check, or can I cross out the date?", first she did this on purpose to get some human contact, secondly why doesn't she use a debit card? The answer being that if she used her debit card, she could feel like the center of attention for holding up the line.

January would be so nice, if it weren't for all the people. All the people, and all of their bullshit. Can't anyone just keep it to themselves?