A type of tipsy education

I want you all to know I'm breaking my personal religion and eating Chinese food with a fork so I can write this at the same time.

This note stems from a discussion (sic; see 'argument') with one of my TA's. In lecture she claimed that if you had 15+ alcoholic units a week, regularly, then you were by definition an alcoholic. A quick bit of maths revealed this was the equivalent of having a pint with dinner every day.

I, understandably, took offense. Those who know me will appreciate why. Hell, anyone from Europe would. For all those who don't know me, I had fifteen units last night, and will be doing so again this Friday and Saturday in at least equal quantities.

My TA, who I don't think could comprehend how misinformed she was, then dropped another bomb: Apparently consuming 150 units in a single week was very likely to cause irreparable liver damage.

This is an organ that can regrow bits that get chopped off. I'm sure 150/units a week continually over an extended period could have lasting effects, but in one week?

I had to intervene; this was just not true. If anyone cares to recall how much I drank the week I turned 18 (including both the Pub outing AND the party in the hall with the yard glass) will know I must of had in excess of 150 units. Doing that every week, maybe. But not once in a blue moon.

Oh, and let's not forget that week in Dublin.

I made these points to my TA, quite calmly, and she called me a liar. Openly, in front of all my peers. I asked her if she knew how much a unit was, and she claimed she did. I then asked her if she knew what a pint was, and she told me she didn't see how that was relevant.

Pint. Alcohol. Pretty damn relevant, right?

At this point several of my class mates starting raising points against her statements, probably born from memories of some of their experiences with alcohol. But no, we were all wrong. The TA said European units were different, that we were lying to show off, she said these were scientific facts.

I said that they weren't, or if they were that science had got it very, very wrong.

Seriously, I dread to think how much I drank in Dublin. Enough to kill the average American family, apparently.

I have two friends back home who regularly consume about three litres of spirits every week. I'm not saying that's necessarily a good thing, I'm just pointing out that they're still alive. Kind of proves my TA wrong.

Maybe my TA should just get out more