There is a big party in fall every year for the Wall Street set. A bunch of people in my department at work were going and they invited me. I got all dressed up and was excited to meet some new people. I got to the party a little late but people were already having a good time. I found my friends and then the open bar. My friends and I started dancing and the drinks kept flowing. I met a guy from my company and we ended up dancing and drinking the night away. I got really drunk. Open bars and dancing don’t mix well for me. We got a cab and he was going to deep me off at home. I was drunk but not that drunk. Our cab driver decided to stop at a gas station and my friend got out. To get a drink. The cab driver gets. Back in the car and we were waiting for my new friend. I started to feel sick so I casually opened the door and let it all out. Then I felt fine. The cab driver of course got angry and kicked me out. I tried to tell him I was fine but he wouldn’t listen. So there I was standing outside of the gas station all dressed up and no one to take me home. My new friend finally came out and asked me where the cab was. We finally found another one and I made my way home.

The next morning I was so hung over. I’d never felt so bad in my entire life. I wasn’t the only one. You could hear the moans and the “Did I really drink that much? Why did I do that?” all day. Thankfully it was a Friday and we had the weekend to recover.

Submitted by Drunken Debbie

Image via Dealbreaker

Q: What’s the best way to get rid of a guy you have zero interest in at the bar? Especially when he keeps buying you drinks? Do you suck it up, play nice and allow him the occasional grope in exchange for free booze?

A: This is something you have to figure out for yourself, guy by guy. But here are some guidelines to help you decide.

• Free drinks are awesome, no doubt about that. But be careful if you are letting a guy buy you drinks. Especially if you don’t have any interest in him or get bad vibes. If you are letting a guy you’ve just met buy you drinks make sure you go to the bar with him and get the drink yourself so there is no opportunity for him to drug you. And if you get bad vibes steer clear. No need to hang around this guy even for free drinks. It’s best to stay on the safe side.
• Don’t take advantage. I think it is fine to let a guy buy you a drink as long as you take the time to talk to him and don’t disappear as soon as the drink is in your hand. Maybe you will end up liking him. You never know. And if he’s bought you two drinks and you don’t really don’t like him be polite and excuse yourself. Say it was nice talking to you but I have to find my friends, leave or whatever.
• You may decide that you don’t want to waste your time with someone you don’t like when there is the opportunity to find someone you do like who will buy you drinks. There might be someone else at the bar who could get along with this guy. It might be nice to allow someone else the opportunity to hang out with him and get to know him. Even if he is a douche bag.
• If it is someone you know who has always liked you but you do not feel the same way I would say no. Especially if they are drunk. It’s not really fair to lead them on and it will only complicate things.
• Sometimes a girl just needs a couple of drinks and a grope. Go for it! Even if it’s just for fun and you don’t like the guy you don’t have to take him home for the night or the rest of your life. Just be safe!

- Submitted by Drunken Debbie via formspring

Image via flickr TatianaGoldmannova

Q. What is the proper etiquette for when you awaken next to a person whilst still in a drunken haze from the night before and can’t remember their name?

A. I often forget people’s names even when I am not drunk. This is a great question.

First of all does it really matter? Do you care? Are you going to see them again? If you just want it to be a one night stand then I wouldn’t worry too much about it. But if you are interested in going there again here are some tips.

• If you are at their place and you wake up first, look around and see if you can find any clues for their name. You can do a visual scan of the room from the bed or wherever you have ended up. I really hope they don’t have any cheesy signs in their room with their name on it but it would solve the problem.
• If you think you can get up without waking them go into the bathroom and see if there are any prescriptions in the medicine cabinet. If you see a name that sounds familiar that could be it. But if you can get confirmation that is key. Checking the bathroom is best as you can do this with the door closed and probably won’t get caught and look creepy. Hopefully they won’t have any roommates as that complicates the process.
• If you can find some mail this is also helpful as it could help confirm their name and the address of where you are, if you don’t know where you ended up.
• You can also check their phone/smartphone and look for emails or texts that should have a name located somewhere. If they catch you looking at their phone you could always say that you were just putting your number in to save them the trouble. If it’s already there you could say you are a little drunk and forgot that it was already there. This would work if you were at your own home as well.
• If you are at your place and they are already awake you could check your phone to see if there are any new additions in the contacts. If not then you could hand them your phone and ask them to put the number in.
• If they make you put their number in you could quickly google it in quotes and you might find their name.
• You could ask if they have a card, although it would be last resort after you’ve done the deed. Formality kind of goes out the window at that point.
• Ask them if they are on twitter. Some people use their name as their twitter handle. If you have a smart phone you could check it out quickly and usually find their name in the bio section. Or you could hop on your computer, sign into your twitter and follow them.
• If all else fails BE HONEST. Sometimes you just have to fess up. Chances are if you are drunk and in bed with someone you’ve only just met they are probably drunk too and may not remember your name either. Tell them you are really sorry but you got super drunk last night and you remember the amazing time you had but for some reason their name has fallen into the black hole of your hangover. Tell them your name and ask them for theirs and laugh it off. It is just something that happens at times.

Umeboshi plums are plums pickled with salt. If you eat one after drinking too much it helps get rid of the hangover effects.

Kukicha Tea is a twig tea that also has centering properties. It does have some caffeine but not as much as coffee. You can drink it with some umeboshi plum paste or slice up a little bit of an umeboshi plum and put it in the tea. Make sure you let it steep for five minutes and drink all of the tea so you get the plum which normally settles at the bottom. I’ve seen it transform people who have had a few too many martinis.

Baking soda can be used in a couple of ways too. You can put a 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda in a 1/4 of a cup of water, stir it up and drink it. You can also soak in a tub with baking soda. It helps to draw out the toxins in your body from the excess alcohol.

Peppermint tea throughout the day helps with digestion.

Lavender has many uses in hangover cures. You can drink lavender tea or use lavender essential oils in an aromatherapy diffuser or in a hot bath. It will help you sleep and soothe your muscles. This is especially helpful if your path to destruction involved dancing.

I asked Bethenny Frankel last year what her favorite natural hangover remedies are and she said that Synergy kombucha and Emergen-C were her favorites, “But sometimes you just have to suffer.”

This is true. Sometimes you just have to suffer.

What are your favorite natural hangover remedies? And as always, we’d love to hear how you got to that hangover in the first place! Email us your stories info@crackoutblackout.com.

via Twitpic

Take care if you are planning to toast the New Year with champagne – the bubbles in this most celebratory of tipples really do get you drunk more quickly.

Many people say that champagne bubbles “go straight to their head”, making them giggly and light-headed. Researchers have now confirmed these inebriating effects in the lab for the first time.

Take for example, this fine young lady:

I usually prefer to drink hard liquor but I drank champagne twice and this stuff gets me plastered. The first time I drank champagne I had two bottles within a 30 minute period (which I don’t recommend…) and was blacked out for probably six hours. The second time was very similar except I was blacked out for EVEN longer. The 30 minutes or so I do remember, I was a very happy and giggly drunk. It was an ethereal buzz more than anything else. I felt like a very slurry fairy. That part I enjoyed and I was not sick at all or hungover in the morning. The only thing about champagne is it completely destroys my motor skills which is why I don’t drink it often. I was told later that as I was “flitting” around like a tiny person with wings, I tried interjecting a game of beer pong with my amazing skills only to stumble directly onto the table, faceplanted and knocked over all of the cups in the process. I don’t recommend doing that either. Beer pong-ers can get mighty angry.

~submitted by Drunken Debbie (article via New Scientist)

Crackout Blackout from Crackout Blackout on Vimeo.

A few years ago I went to the company fancy dress Christmas party in London. I got sick on the way there and had to take a Claritin after we landed. I ran around the city all afternoon before the party and realized I hadn’t eaten since the middle of the night before on the plane. I had no idea this would turn out to be a horrible mistake.

I must say partying with the Brits is the best. They love to drink and know how to have a good time. We arrived at the party and immediately got to drinking. I had one glass of champagne and quickly moved on to glass number two, followed soon after by an endless supply of red and white wine with dinner. I never saw the bottom of either glass.

We went back to the hotel at 2:30 AM after clubbing with one of the Brits in tow where we drank ourselves silly in Jessica’s room. The next thing I knew it was morning and bottles were everywhere. “How did I end up in frat house?” I wondered. Then I realized I was not in a frat house… I was passed out cold in Jessica’s bed. And she was right next to me.

I said without thinking, “Oh no, I didn’t make it back to my room?” I didn’t expect a response but Jessica said sheepishly, “No, you fell asleep and we couldn’t wake you up.”

That was my cue to leave. I went back to my room mortified. On the way I noticed I had hot pink dye on my cheek and collar bone from someone’s feather boa that I had passed out wearing. Finally in my room, I noticed something was different. Someone had slept in the other bed. Then I noticed the towels in the bathroom were everywhere. I wondered where Goldilocks was and then I went back to sleep in my own bed.

A little while later, I tried to scrub the dye off my cheek with no success when I realized it could be disguised with blush. I took some smartly packed Advil and made my way into the office extremely late, hung-over and without a voice.

Once there, I tracked down Jane, the Brit who took us to the club. “Um, what happened last night?” I asked a few times until she understood my squeaking. The look on her face told me I wasn’t getting the whole story. At least not from her.

“Well, we went to a club after the party was over. I’m surprised they didn’t kick us out. Some of the guys picked up Jessica and were holding her up over their heads. We were pretty wild,” said Jane. Either she didn’t remember anything else or she wasn’t telling me the rest.

Once I found Jessica I got some more information. I made out with an Indian guy at the club and the guys had raided everyone’s mini bars once we got back to the hotel. Turns out the guy I was sitting a few computers away from had slept in my room when he finally remembered my room number at 6:30 AM and they couldn’t wake me. I thought maybe my mini bar was safe since they didn’t know my room number but I found out they went through it once the mystery of my room number was solved.

I still don’t know all the events of the evening but most of the company knows I slept in my female colleagues bed. Now that is what I call a successful company Christmas party.

- as told to Crackout Blackout