BajaNomad - Baja Couch Potatoes and Boozers

Baja Couch Potatoes and Boozers

Osprey - 4-2-2013 at 09:47 AM

There have been a few post on the board about some U.S. expat retirees living in Baja and Mexico who “Just vegetate, sit on the couch all day and drink themselves to death”. I let those slide right by but noticed that there was little or no pushback. Well, now I’m one of those old fogies so it’s time to set the record straight.

The posters perspectives were skewed and could not clearly see that watching television and drinking cold beverages which include alcohol are recognized hobbies. For hobbyists like me there is nothing amateurish about my leisure pursuits and I’ll try to explain to these wrong-headed trouble makers what it’s all about.

Television

First all expats must jump through all the hoops of tailoring Television systems to their needs based on legal and illegal availability. This often involves dealing with an uncle you hate in Barstow and buying discs and systems “under the table” with local prices which are sometimes off the chart.

Then, after months or years of tweaking, tinkering with options one might have to go all the way and (for the sake of signal capture) change your name, address and birthdate.

Once the system is in place we can, at our leisure, begin to study the choices of channels scattered liberally through and around the few we really want to watch. I consider that part of the hobby like an electronic buffet – you don’t have to crave the thing that’s offered but sometimes there’s no harm in trying a little of it, just a taste.

At times the hobbies of television and beverage taking can enhance and augment one another; if you’ve chosen a movie with a million commercials, make your drinks in c-cktail glasses so you can refill often, mute the thing and walk to the kitchen for the good cold stuff and, of course, the exercise.

One must become very friendly with the RECALL button on the remote – it takes practice but you can learn to skip NBA game time-outs, all boxing and tennis intros in perfect timing to get only pure programming on your original choice and still stay on top of the ones that are not important enough to save.

For us seniors we can watch endless numbers of old series. The older the better because it would be impossible to remember the whole episode of a Starski and Hutch or Law and Order you last saw 23 years ago.

Never bored, I can watch new cartoons, vampire movies, billions of teen movies, curling, Blind Chef’s Challenge, Flipping The Whole West Coast, Siamese Twins Survival Camp, Extreme, XTREME Helo Boarding The Himalayas. Even when all the choices available on a very slow scheduling day challenge my need for electronic diversion I can double up on the alcohol or double the numbers of drinks to change my mood and my predilections.

Alcoholic Beverages

Serious hobbyists know exactly how much alcohol their bodies can safely consume every 24 hours. Perhaps the foul poster said something like “Drinking themselves to death. Or “Just waiting to die”. We are all waiting to die. Death by J B on the rocks is much preferred over stroke, stress or sepsis.

We all know about Food-Wine Pairing so it will be quite easy for you to follow some hobbyists’ penchant for choosing the right beverage for the right television offering. Most are obvious but not all; beer for fishing shows, MLB, wrestling, wine for Masterpiece Theater, cooking shows, dressage, chess matches, Wimbledon.

For me, timing is important. Bloody Marys are strictly for mornings, martinis only for pre-prandial use, no heavy ale or beer late night. Most mixed drinks do not deserve expensive gin, vodka, Tequila, etc. and savings in that area allow for more money for sipping fine liquors neat or on the rocks.

Verbal thrusts deserve well played parries and I hope with this little disclaimer I have put the unanswered slurs to bed.

[Edited on 4-2-2013 by Osprey]

bufeo - 4-2-2013 at 10:08 AM

:yes:

On the other hand, you could put down that remote and write more short stories and essays. Note I don't suggest putting down the c-cktail.

Or...if you're a mind, learn to tie flies and take up a new pastime.

Allen R
(gotta get back to taxes and quit wasting time here :yes:

)

[Edited on 4-2-2013 by bufeo]

Bruce R Leech - 4-2-2013 at 10:08 AM

another good on thanks

DanO - 4-2-2013 at 10:33 AM

Two letters: R&C.

tripledigitken - 4-2-2013 at 11:00 AM

...."sipping fine liquors neat or on the rocks" begins with your finest bottle then progressively shot by shot, down the quality ladder.

Osprey - 4-2-2013 at 11:07 AM

Ken, funny how that works > just one way, not the other. Just like "The girls all look prettier at closing time".

sancho - 4-2-2013 at 11:26 AM

Osprey, You often get me thinking a bit beyond
the everyday. We all have observed the Gringo
in Baja drinking liberally. There is a book about a
guy who kayaks from El Gulfo to the East Cape,
good adventure, by
Ed Darack 'Wind,Sun,Water', he has a term for
some of the residents around San Felipe, the type
with the gal of Oso Vodka, 'alcoholic
desert rats', but that is also a bit of the allure of Baja,
in that one can follow one's path with little
scrutiny, not for myself, but I would never be critical

shari - 4-2-2013 at 11:36 AM

I think I might just mosey on over to the cocina and fix me up a damiana & tequila on the rocks....for lunch.

Osprey - 4-2-2013 at 11:46 AM

I didn't even know Canadians could mosey.

mike odell - 4-2-2013 at 11:55 AM

Jorge, I just read your inspiring post, mosey'd over to my beer cooler
grabbed myself a iced Pacifico, mosey'd back to my desk, and am now
enjoying my cold lunch. No tv yet, I will save that till c-cktail hour!
I really enjoy a good mosey.

:lol:

tripledigitken - 4-2-2013 at 11:58 AM

Carefull, that's very close to throwing the "Canadian card".

:biggrin:

DavidE - 4-2-2013 at 12:11 PM

Or write a book...

"Fifty Ways To Leave Your Liver"

Osprey - 4-2-2013 at 12:15 PM

I'll tell you all what Shari can do. She can construct a living legend scenario of what a passionate and giving person can do if they land in a place full of people and animals in harmony with nature. She can do that because she sees that the place is still unharmed by abuse of governance or graft, innocent and alive with the vibrant rhythms of those whose only agenda is full bellies and good will.

Wish I was young enough to tell her stellar story.

Osprey - 4-2-2013 at 12:18 PM

David E, The liver is an evil organ and should be punished.

Osprey - 4-2-2013 at 12:27 PM

One more on the liver: many cultures, 1000s of years ago, sought to use drugs but many intoxicants, hallucinogens, being raw and unrefined, undiluted, were too rough for the stomach, the liver, the process of ingestion. The natives took many of those potions anally to "Cheat the Liver" -- they wanted the kick before the sick.

Few of us today use that method. Perhaps a sense of cultural pride?

Cisco - 4-2-2013 at 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Osprey
One more on the liver: many cultures, 1000s of years ago, sought to use drugs but many intoxicants, hallucinogens, being raw and unrefined, undiluted, were too rough for the stomach, the liver, the process of ingestion. The natives took many of those potions anally to "Cheat the Liver" -- they wanted the kick before the sick.

Few of us today use that method. Perhaps a sense of cultural pride?

Method still used by long-time "speed freaks" who are unable to ingest orally.

bufeo - 4-2-2013 at 01:12 PM

Gawd, the things one can learn from Nomads.

Allen R

DavidE - 4-2-2013 at 01:17 PM

LIVER! YEAH!

Encebollado

[Edited on 4-2-2013 by DavidE]

Kgryfon - 4-2-2013 at 03:24 PM

Thank you, Osprey. Those of us not yet in Baja take inspiration from your efforts and those like you. Keppt it going until we get there!

mulegemichael - 4-2-2013 at 03:38 PM

jorge....just finished mary roach's book "gulp" today...really something!....she talks indepth about the practice of imbibing through ones butt....stuff i've never imagined, actually, and i've imagined a lot.

Lee - 4-2-2013 at 03:49 PM

I vote for having quality of life. Alcoholism (and cirrhosis of the liver) is a treatable and preventable disease.

Why is it my experience that Canadians are heavier drinkers than US drinkers?

''The symptoms of cirrhosis of the liver vary with the stage of the illness. In the beginning stages, there may not be any symptoms. As the disease worsens, symptoms may include:

Loss of appetite
Lack of energy (fatigue), which may be debilitating
Weight loss or sudden weight gain
Bruises
Yellowing of skin or the whites of eyes (jaundice)
Itchy skin
Fluid retention (edema) and swelling in the ankles, legs, and abdomen (often an early sign)
A brownish or orange tint to the urine
Light colored stools
Confusion, disorientation, personality changes
Blood in the stool
Fever''

http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/cirrhosis-liver

Osprey - 4-2-2013 at 04:00 PM

Lee, about ten years ago I got an MRI for problems with my enlarged spleen. Showed my liver was almost all gone with cirrhosis. I was so traumatized I REALLY started drinking. Since then I've tried not to exceed 5 or six drinks with gin or vodka per day. Must be working because I have yet to develop any of the above symptoms.

Caution: don't try this at home. I'm not a doctor. I just play one at home.

I do bruise a lot but I'm told 76 year old beach bums like me have blotchy skin from all kinds of abuse = cancer for example. It's just a part of getting old in the tropics.

vandenberg - 4-2-2013 at 05:45 PM

When you think you imbibe too much. there's a remedy.
Get a bigger glass and reduce your daily intake to 5 instead of 10. :biggrin:

This also cut down on all that moseying :biggrin:

Heather - 4-2-2013 at 06:26 PM

My 78 year old dad is going in for liver surgery tomorrow....he's not a drinker, but blames lots of his health problems on Agent Orange or something else he picked up in Vietnam!

USMC ret. Master Gunnery Seargent who did 2 tours in Vietnam....hoping all goes well tomorrow!

He's not a Baja-lover BTW, too many stories of drunken Marines in TJ back in the 60's...

msteve1014 - 4-2-2013 at 06:29 PM

I don't have a tv in Baja, I take that to mean that I can double up on the drinking.

motoged - 4-2-2013 at 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lee

Why is it my experience that Canadians are heavier drinkers than US drinkers?

Lee,
That's simple.....you spend more time drinking with Canadians :biggrin:

Mosey over to some Yank and you will soon see that they can pound as much booze as the Canuck....and they will even drink that poor man's whiskey called boorban :saint:

[Edited on 4-3-2013 by motoged]

vandenberg - 4-2-2013 at 07:14 PM

Considering the booze prices in Canada, it's surprising they drink at all. :biggrin:

Lee - 4-3-2013 at 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Osprey
Lee, about ten years ago I got an MRI for problems with my enlarged spleen. Showed my liver was almost all gone with cirrhosis. I was so traumatized I REALLY started drinking. Since then I've tried not to exceed 5 or six drinks with gin or vodka per day. Must be working because I have yet to develop any of the above symptoms.

F!!! Uh, yeah, if I were in your place, I'd be imbibing every day too. Might as well make hay while the sun shines. By the way, did the Doc give you a date you might survive to? And after 10 years post MRI, how's the enlarged spleen?

If you don't mind me asking, is your spleen/liver condition due to drinking, in your opinion? If this is getting too personal, maybe u2u?

As long as we're on the subject, I have a condition that I think about.

NOB, I have a glass of wine with dinner, max. I don't really drink.

When I've been away from The Baja for awhile, and then return, I find myself starting to drink tequila around GN -- I mean, I want to get crazy! And then I seriously drink every night for the next several weeks. This tapers off to one marg every night at sunset (3 oz tequila). Maybe one beer later.

I'm thinking The Baja brings it out in me but don't understand why it's different NOB.

monoloco - 4-3-2013 at 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by vandenberg
Considering the booze prices in Canada, it's surprising they drink at all. :biggrin:

That's why they are like kids in a candy store when they come to Mexico. :lol:

Iflyfish - 4-3-2013 at 09:43 AM

I appreciate the concerns for the health and well being of those in their twilight years with exaggerated tastes for sex, drugs and rock and roll.

As a "Children of the 60's" Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll were of course mothers milk and integral to social and emotional development. Scotch and Soda, Rum and Coke, Bloody Mary's and Seven Sevens were the drug of choice for the previous generation. Is it any wonder that these are major preoccupations in the waning years?

As an apologist for decadence I must admit that there is indeed virtue in keeping these oldsters off the streets and you sure don't want them catching your wave, stealing your air, or getting in your way on the zip line! Slow, clumsy, quirky and cantankerous you sure don't want me in front of you in the fast lane. If you think they are nasty now, just consider how they would be without their soporifics?

Longevity, an argument for moderation, is over rated, visited a "Nursing Home" lately?, not much nursing there if you get my drift.

We all at some point return to the cosmic dust, you too. How you get there is up to you, mostly, unless some old fart, who aught to be at home living better through chemistry, falls asleep at the wheel or crosses the center line on Hwy 1.

Which brings me to the issue of judging others. Human beings are addictive organisms and it seems that the issue is what poison you choose. Some seem to choose the poison of criticism and judgement and poison themselves and others with that particular toxin.

It is clear that Alcoholism is a very significant disease and can be devastating for friends and family of those who are engaged with them. The same can be said for addictions of any form be they compulsive exercise, gambling, serial relationships, sex etc. When addictions cause problems for others is where I set my bar. I have a problem with addicts of any stripe damaging their spouses and children. However as related to retired old people who don't have the responsibility of supporting a family, parenting etc. I think that they well deserve the right to live out their lives in any way they choose.

What is often overlooked is that there are indeed FUNCTIONAL Alcoholics who live out their days in a pickled state, not unlike most medicated Americans, and do no one any harm.

Salud!

Iflyfish

Osprey - 4-3-2013 at 10:26 AM

You're right again pal. I should have said a few words about the warehouses for old people. Hard to live like you want even in those plush ones like Seizures Palace in my old home town of Las Vegas. You really put a fine period on my little post. Kurt Vonnegut said "I'll tell you the difference between a comma and a period. A comma for Hemingway might have been the end of a rich but troubled life. A period was the bullet he ate."

If I'm lucky, after all this drinking, I'll get to die like dad did, in my sleep. Don't wanna go like those other screaming people in the back seat of his car.

Lee, the docs don't know what caused my spleen to blow up to the size (and appearance) of a nice country smoked ham. A couple said it could have been the Dengue Fever I caught down here not long before I retired.

Baja can get you though. Two pals, recovered alcoholics, only drink on trips to Baja. On a memorable trip via air they were headed for San Jose del Cabo and landed in San Jose, California. They argued with the ticket agent about what SJC really means and why they deserved a refund.

I think we would all know about it if somewhere, sometime authorities were giving out tickets for Drunk Surfing so I think you're in the clear no matter what you do in, on or near Mexican waters.

sancho - 4-3-2013 at 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lee
Why is it my experience that Canadians are heavier drinkers than US drinkers?

Having met what seems a large # of Canadians
in Baja, considering the distance they have to drive,
I'm not sure I share your experience, I would say it
is a toss up, Canadians do seem to be a lot more
adventureous, than us US Gringos. Alcohol does seem
to fuel a lot of folks. The older I get, there is no way
I could drink in any form of excess, I value my sanity

durrelllrobert - 4-3-2013 at 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by motoged

Quote:

Originally posted by Lee

Why is it my experience that Canadians are heavier drinkers than US drinkers?

Lee,
That's simple.....you spend more time drinking with Canadians :biggrin:

Mosey over to some Yank and you will soon see that they can pound as much booze as the Canuck....and they will even drink that poor man's whiskey called boorban :saint:

[Edited on 4-3-2013 by motoged]

All of my wife's Canadian relatives only drink rye wiskey. Yuk!

[Edited on 4-3-2013 by durrelllrobert]

vgabndo - 4-3-2013 at 11:56 AM

Alcoholic loved ones have been part of almost all my life. Like many, I came close to killing myself with the stuff. (Not accident...overdoses!) Once I discovered some of the options, it was never again my drug of choice. My personal chemistry just doesn't need depressants!

Rick is spot on about humans being naturally fond of getting high. As I work my way through my 70th. year, surviving stage 3 kidney failure, booze is 'off the table'.

Both my wife and I had nothing to drink at any of the many social gatherings we enjoyed on our recent mosey through the Bajas. Some of our friends gladly drank our share. In all honesty when the noise level reaches the need to shout to talk, and the person you are talking to is blithering gibberish, it is sometimes difficult to see the appeal. Most of these folks are much more interesting sober. I don't think I noticed those things when I was drinking.

That said, the only thing that makes me want a drink more than being told I can never have another...is going to Baja. :lol:

Of the other vice, I killed the TV two years ago. Lovin' that!

Alcohol consumption and consequences by country

windgrrl - 4-3-2013 at 12:11 PM

http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/global_alcoh...

In the big picture, Canadians and Americans don't appear to be different, but some other countries are very different from Canadians and Americans in alcohol consumption and health consequences.

Everything in moderation, eh?
:saint:

[Edited on 4-3-2013 by windgrrl]

windgrrl - 4-3-2013 at 12:23 PM

...and Oscar Casare's book "Amigoland" is a wonderful book about an old, frail retiree who escapes from a nursing home to live out his dream of spending his last days in Mexico without others telling him what to do.

[Edited on 4-3-2013 by windgrrl]

motoged - 4-3-2013 at 12:54 PM

While this thread pretty much identifies alcohol as the primary intoxicant of choice, there is some acknowledgement that there are other forms of "mood management".

Killing the TV is a good reason to own a firearm..... :biggrin:

For those of us considering this last chapter or two of our unwritten novel, we seek some comfort and solace in various ways....

We seek to avoid suffering in our lives....and sometimes choose short-term solutions that turn in to long-term problems....no easy answers here..... eh?! :cool:

tripledigitken - 4-3-2013 at 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mulegemichael
jorge....just finished mary roach's book "gulp" today...really something!....she talks indepth about the practice of imbibing through ones butt....stuff i've never imagined, actually, and i've imagined a lot.

That's where I draw the line!!!!!!!!!!!!! :wow:

mulegemichael - 4-3-2013 at 02:16 PM

i draw the line there too, ken but boy, is it a good book!!...a "must read" by everyone1

DENNIS - 4-3-2013 at 02:23 PM

"GULP"........the book:

“America’s funniest science writer” (Washington Post) takes us down the hatch on an unforgettable tour. The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: the questions explored in Gulp are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find words for flavors and smells? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts? Can constipation kill you? Did it kill Elvis? In Gulp we meet scientists who tackle the questions no one else thinks of—or has the courage to ask. We go on location to a pet-food taste-test lab, a fecal transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal. With Roach at our side, we travel the world, meeting murderers and mad scientists, Eskimos and exorcists (who have occasionally administered holy water rectally), rabbis and terrorists—who, it turns out, for practical reasons do not conceal bombs in their digestive tracts.
Like all of Roach’s books, Gulp is as much about human beings as it is about human bodies.

Ah, the age old debate

durrelllrobert - 4-3-2013 at 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vgabndo
My personal chemistry just doesn't need depressants!

Stimulating Effects of Alcohol

Whether alcohol is a stimulant or depressant depends upon the amount consumed and how much time has passed since the last intake. The ethanol content in alcohol that is meant for consumption causes the release of Dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a neurohormone whose increased release causes the heart rate and blood pressure to increase. This gives the initial "flushed" feeling and imparts a sudden warmth to the face and extremities of the body. Speech becomes faster and a person tends to lower his guards and drop inhibitions as the initial effects of alcohol start setting in. This effect can, especially, be seen within the first few minutes of drinking alcoholic liquors such as brandy, vodka or rum. Red wine also gives a similar flush but this effect is more gradual in wine's case and the sudden warmth is substituted by a gradual "glow", if you know what I mean. Therefore, in the initial moments of its intake, alcohol acts as a stimulant and acts as an anti-inhibitor.

Depressing Effects of Alcohol

The ethanol found in alcohol is a psychoactive drug and is a central nervous system depressant. Alcohol and depression are inseparable companions. High quantity consumption for a long duration and chronic alcohol addiction causes such side effects as slurred speech, blurred vision, poor balance and coordination, loss of muscle coordination, diminished mental focus and ability to concentrate and, in severe cases, even death! After the initial rush, high levels of ethanol in the bloodstream get carried to the brain. Being a central nervous system depressant, it slowly starts loosening the nervous system's control over the body's other organs and functions. This is what causes loss of coordination and balance. It also causes the heart rate to slow down, leading to hypotension, which imparts a feeling of dizziness or drowsiness, followed by hangover. The depressant side effects of alcohol manifest slower if alcohol is consumed with meals or on a full stomach as this causes its rate of absorption into the bloodstream to slow down. Taken on an empty stomach, the alcohol reaches the bloodstream in no time, causing its side effects to manifest quickly and more potently! To determine if alcohol is a stimulant or a depressant for the nervous system, I'd say it is definitely a depressant, judging by its long-term effects and assuming that the regular drinker's alcohol intake, per occasion, tends to be on the moderate to higher side! You may read is alcohol a depressant to find out more about alcohol's depressant features.

As we saw, whether alcohol is a stimulant or depressant depends upon the quantity consumed and the time that has passed since its consumption. However, to give a final verdict on the debate regarding whether alcohol is a stimulant or depressant, it would not be unfair to say that alcohol is definitely a depressant in the end. The stimulating effects are initial and short-lived whereas the depressant effects, that set in later, are longer lasting and are experienced the most by victims of alcoholism. After all, a drunkard is better identified by his faltering steps and slurry speech rather than his garrulous confidence and ruddy glow!
www.buzzle.com/articles/is-alcohol-a-stimulant-or-depressant...

By Ishani Chatterjee Shukla
Last Updated: 12/30/2011

_______________________________________________

I agree that TV can be a real depressant

wessongroup - 4-3-2013 at 05:40 PM

Thanks much ....... how one wants to live their life .... is their life

Enjoy it how ya want .... it's yours after all