Sunday Funday, Monday Hungday

I am not a regular “Sunday Funday” kind of girl. I usually abstain from drinking activities on the eve of a work night – happy hours with friends, farewells for co-workers etc. – I just don’t go there.

This is because I am probably the worst person to deal with when hung over. I won’t go into extreme detail, but let’s just say I don’t look pretty, I probably don’t smell pretty and I could definitely have a prettier demeanor after a night of binge drinking. Since leaving college, a night of binge drinking for me now consists of three glasses of wine. I have been cursed with a post-graduate’s inability to drink large amounts of alcohol. But that topic is for another post altogether.

Today is Monday, February 4th. Other than it being the fateful date of Rosa Parks and Dan Quayle’s birthdays and the day Hitler took command of the German army, it is also serves a more important time in history - the day after the 42nd Annual Super Bowl. Which means, I am hung over. I woke up this morning with a dry mouth, headache, and a really unfortunate stomachache from all the nachos and hot wings I consumed last night. I didn’t understand why I felt like I had been run over by a truck until I remembered how my friends and I had made the Super Bowl into our own personal drinking game. Looking back probably not the wisest decision.



My hands even feel heavy and it has taken me over two hours to write this post. We all know that the only way to truly prevent the hangover that you feel like might result in your untimely death is abstinence. However, I think we all know that you’re not going to be thinking, “Wow, I should really listen to WG2 and put this shot of tequila down!” when you’re hanging out with that hottie five cubicles down at the bar after work. So from me to you, here are some tips on how to suffer through the workday with the aftermath of a true bender.

Fight drinking with more drinking.
And I don’t mean chug a cold one before getting on the subway. For me, the best way to prevent a hangover is drink at least three glasses of water before going to bed. Or stock up on drinks with electrolytes in them – Gatorade, Powerade, Accelerade – and try to drink them before bed as well as in the morning.

Kill the pain.
I’m a big believer in a little remedy I call a bottle of Excedrin. Two before bed, two in the morning.

Eat, eat, and eat some more.
This might just be me, but after a day of hard drinking I am so hungry I think I could eat a whole cow if asked. To appease my talking tummy, I usually head on over to McDonald’s – a #3 always does the trick for me. But you can pick your own poison – Chinese food, a meatball parm, a bagel loaded with cream cheese. I’m literally salivating on my keyboard.

Drown your sorrows…in the shower.
A scalding hot shower in the morning wakes you up and makes you feel less grimy. This solution is perfect for a work week hangover. You will smell less and look cleaner thereby being presentable for your colleagues.

The random remedies.
Over the years, I have been given some very odd cures of how to suppress the looming hangover. One roommate once told me a vanilla milkshake does the trick, I’ve been told apples are a quick way to feel better, or eating peanut butter before going out on the town. Vitamin C tablets, carbonated beverages, a large glass of cold chocolate milk. The list goes on and on.

And with that, I’m going to crawl under my desk and try to sneak a mini-nap.