alcohol and me

I'll be honest with you, my relationship with alcohol is like that of a dog with a hedgehog—you can approach it, but you'd better be careful because it will prick you. I've never been a heavy drinker and I'm not into drinking myself into a stupor, because I know myself and I know that after a few beers I'm not the same person I am when I'm sober. That's why I've had a rule for a long time that when I drink, I only have one and that's it. One beer, usually Kasztelan, because it's cheap, good, tastes like normal beer, not those chemical wonders they make now. One is enough for me, because when I drink more, I start to get fired up. I don't know why, I'm a calm, hard-working, quiet person, but when the alcohol kicks in, something switches in my head and I start to get aggressive, nervous, my words are wrong, my tone is wrong, and later I just feel ashamed. Once, I had a few drinks with my friends and it ended in a fight over some stupid thing, I don't even remember what, but the next day I had a moral hangover, which is worse than a regular hangover. Since then, I've told myself that I'm done with drinking and I'm sticking to it. One beer after work, sometimes in the evening when you want to sit down, turn on the computer, relax, and that's it. When I feel my head starting to spin, I stop, because I know how it ends. With age, you get wiser and understand that alcohol is not fun, but a little devil that can destroy many lives. Sometimes I watch the guys sitting outside the store day after day and think that I don't want to end up like that. It's bad for your health, bad for your nerves, bad for everything. It's better to buy one good beer, sit down in peace, drink it slowly, savor the taste, and go to sleep with a clear head. When I drink, it's not to get wasted, but to relax after work, switch off for a moment, catch my breath. Maybe someone will say that I'm exaggerating, that one is ridiculous, that what's the point, but I feel good about it. At least I know that I won't do anything stupid, I won't say anything I'll regret, I won't make a scene, and I won't wake up with a hangover and remorse. Alcohol can turn a person into a madman, and I know this from my own experience, which is why I stick to my way and have no regrets. When someone asks me why I don't drink more, I just smile and say that I have a limit, and that limit is one beer, because after the second one I'm no longer myself. And I prefer it this way, calmly, without any trouble, because I've had enough of those stupid situations in my life. Now I prefer to be in control of myself rather than having to explain to someone later that I didn't mean to, that it was the alcohol. No, thanks, one and that's it.