"the drink"

i once read a quote somewhere that said, "the worst thing that ever happened to ireland was the drink." the irish do, indeed, drink a lot. it's a big part of their culture. walking around this afternoon, we already saw plenty of stumbling, bumbling, mid-day drunks. and everywhere you turn there is pub, after pub, after pub. tonight for dinner, a bunch of us went to one, and in the spirit of embracing irish culture (or, for some, in taking advantage of the 18-year-old drinking age) we all got a pint of guinness. now, i'm not a big drinker--as in i've never had more than a sip of red wine or beer--and after tonight, that still remains to be true. the first sip was gross, the second was even worse, and the third was my last. three drinks, that's all i could do. i am a shame to the irish. i have decided that "the worst thing that ever happened to my taste buds was the drink." you can quote me on that. basically, beer is not for me, but tomorrow i'm going to find out how it's made at the guiness factory. maybe i'll appreciate it more after that. until then, isle be seeing you...