The Afternoon Drink

Snuggling up in a wool sweater next to a large bay window to watch the snow fall is a rare opportunity in the northwest. However, after nearly a week of this type of weather, its illustrious beauty begins to become a bit of a drag when you realize that this "beauty" has resulted in you being snowed in for the last few days without any external human contact. 

While pondering my isolation, I have taken up a myriad of tasks. Aside from already completing a couple of books, I have started blogging and researching specific clothing and electronic items that I would be interested in adding to my Christmas list. I have also began to lament the state of my Blackberry Pearl, which is beginning to show signs of deterioration. However, there is only so much online shopping that one can do before deciding that these future possessions are only fleeting pleasures.  It is for this reason that I have began to drink.

While it is just past two in the afternoon and the only person who woudn't frown at me is the alcoholic down the street; I have made it my personal mission to partake in perhaps one of the more classic past times.

After a quick search on wikipedia, I was able to instantly garner a brief history of alcohol consumption. Reaching back to as far as 9,000 years ago in the village of Jiahu, in the Henan province of Northern China, fermented alcoholic beverages first took hold. With a deep rooted history in many regions and religions, drinking an alcoholic beverage with family or friends is a classic mode of enjoying oneself.

During my brief research, I learned that drinks containing alcohol were often the beverage of choice in Medieval Europe because it allowed one to quench the thirst while simultaneosly avoiding many water-borne diseases such as cholera.

Today, I proudly take part in an ancient tradition by enjoying my mid-day drink. Cheers.