"Happy" Hour?

Happy hour after work. I didn't really want to go out drinking, but I knew I should show up anyway. It started off awkward because I was trying to avoid ordering anything with alcohol in it. I had a long drive home to look forward to and didn't want to risk another driving infraction in the same week. After I spent 5 minutes closely examining the menu, a coworker reassured me that the drinks were very watered down. I found it weird seeing the alcohol loosen up coworkers. And then once the alcohol is served, everyone has to take turns sharing funny stories--mostly about alcohol. It turned out to be kind of fun, but I really wonder if it's a good idea for people who see each other 50 hours a week to blur the line between their work and personal lives.

Some of the people wanted to go bar-hopping tomorrow night but I said I'll have to pass. I'm not really into binge drinking, and there's still the issue of driving home afterwards.

It turned out that the drinks weren't really that watered down. I only had one, but still felt it go to my head. After we said our good-byes, I pretended to walk to my car but instead ducked into a movie theater nearby. The movie I saw happened to about the place I used to live and "work". It brought up all of my old regrets about life, work, etc. to the surface. What a bummer (but a good movie anyhow).