I had a good lunch yesterday. We went to the Mongolian Barbeque and it was a nice meal and you could eat as much as you like, which included me eating some crocodile. Not your normal Christmas meat, I admit, but quite nice nonetheless.
The thing that bothered me about it all though was settling the bill. We had already paid a £10 deposit and my head of unit was paying a hefty contribution towards the alcohol and the people working out the money then asked for another £20 each which was more than the cost of my meal, all that I had drunk and the tip. I did say that as a non-drinker I was being penalised, whereas everyone else was paying rather less than the amount they owed, I was paying more than mine had come to and subsidising them. It wasn’t the money that bothered me, it wasn’t about me being tight, it was that I didn’t see why I should subsidise other people’s drinking, when that was already being subsidised and I really do not like alcohol. Why should I be paying for others to drink when I don’t actually particularly like other people drinking? I think they just thought I didn’t want to pay so much money, which wasn’t what it was about at all – but I shouldn’t have to explain to them why I have an issue with alcohol. That’s my private business but people make assumptions and think that everyone will willing go along with it and you end up sounding awkward or mean if you raise an objection. I was in a really bad mood when I went home because I just thought it was a bit unfair that I had had to try and justify myself. It was a good meal but that just summed up for me how people treat non-drinkers – thoughtlessly.
Anyway… I have another festive event tomorrow, which means going to stay with some of G’s friends and eating lots of food and generally having a very nice time. Of course, the end of today should have been the start of my three weeks of leave, but due to having to go into work on Tuesday I have a long weekend ahead of me and then a brief return to work and then I go on leave. Nearly there… Nearly there…
1 comment:
That's a shame about the way you've been treated. I don't drink alcohol but I've always found that other people I'm with always say to me just to pay for what I had rather than a share.
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