keeping up with boys

I have to admit it. I've always had a little complex about feeling the need to keep up with boys in certain competitive arenas. I think it has to do with being an only girl surrounded by three brothers my entire life. No matter how much of a girlie girl I was and still am, I also tried to be like a boy when I was little too. If my brothers signed up at the YMCA for baseball, so did I. If they took violin lessons, I wanted to try too. Nothing comes even close to my competitive spirit as skiing does. I began skiing at the same age all my brothers did (I believe I joined the Buffalo Ski Club at Winter Park, Colorado when I was three). They may have longer legs or more endurance, but God knows I want to keep up with them! And the cool part about it is I think I do a damn fine job of skiing at the same difficulty level.

Two years ago, my oldest brother Ari convinced me to ski down a "yellow," which basically means it's uncharted terrain that is blocked off from the general public. There are all kinds of warning signs that tell you to enter at your own risk, be ware of avalanches, you hold sole responsibility for injuries, yada yada. It's basically an 85-degree angle slope full of rocks and trees and maybe a few patches of snow here and there. So, yeah, I have no clue why I thought it would be great. I basically slid down because you can't really ski with all that madness in the way. I remember thinking the whole time that I might die. Most people get a rush after completing something like that. I was just thankful to be alive and promised myself I would never do something that dangerous again. This is a perfect example of my complex. If any girl or non-peer asked me to do this I would have said "hell no!"

Well, last night was my office Christmas party. The company rented out a lovely ballroom in the Westin Galleria hotel. There was tons of food and the best part of every company party: an open bar. I work with two men (ages 37 and 41) who are huge beer oficionados. They have basically become like brothers to me and so...here goes my complex taking over my logic again.

These dudes are about twice my weight and probably have quadruple the alcohol tolerance I have. I am not a disillusioned idiot so I know there is no way to keep up with them. But I figured if I can drink about half the amount they do...it would be somewhat equal if you factor in the body weight and tolerance levels. I definitely had a good pace going. I believe in the four hours we were there I had four beers (maybe a bit more, I can't quite remember). I know most people would laugh at this number but I can seriously get drunk off of just one...especially on an empty stomach. Four is a lot for me! I'm usually feeling good at two and stop there.

The boys had anywhere between 8-10 and guess what? They hardly had buzzes going. It's crazy the differences. So of course I decided to be safe about it and called Oren to come get me so I didn't have to drive. I wasn't too drunk but I also know I didn't belong behind the wheel. Although I don't think I crossed my boundary in intoxication levels, I still feel a bit woozy today. My stomach isn't so happy with me and I have a mild case of nausea. I would have loved to just stay in bed this morning.

All in all, I don't think I let the guys down...not that it should matter anyway. I would be just fine, if not better, if I listened to my instincts more and my weird competitiveness less. I guess we all have our flaws. The real question here is, why do smart people decide to schedule parties with open bars in the middle of the week??? That's just bad for business.