The Dreaded Drunk Dial

drunk dial
Pronunciation: /'dr&[ng]k /'dI(-&)l
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English drincan; akin to Old High German trinkan to drink; Middle English dyal, from Medieval Latin dialis clock wheel revolving daily, from Latin dies day
Definition: To telephone a member of the opposite sex, with whom the person has a current or past relationship, while inebriated. ex. Jennifer drunk dialed her ex-boyfriend to tell him that she is still in love with him even though he is now married with a baby on the way.

While in college I observed many a girlfriend make the fatal error of drunk dialing, I even successfully prevented a few friends from making that fatal error. I, however, was always careful not to drink and dial. That is until recently.........

What is interesting was that at the time I didn't realize that I was drunk. I haven't been drinking much lately and apparently I have no tolerance anymore. After only 2 drinks I called an ex-boyfriend and dumped a huge emotional load in his lap before drifting off to sleep. The next morning I had a vague recollection of a phone call, but very little memory of the content of the conversation. I could only assume that I had said exactly what I had been feeling that day prior to the call. One sober call later my worst fears were confirmed.

I had said pretty much everything that had been on my heart and mind that day, which of course is something I probably wouldn't have done completely sober. Thanks to the inhibition negating powers of alcohol none of what was said was untrue, but still not the best way to have the discussion. What's odd in a way is that I probably would not have shared much at all with him and I probably should have, so in some ways the alcohol did me a favor, but oh, so painful a way to go about it. I guess at the end of the day I really needed him, I needed to talk to him and I did. Even so, from now on I'll be mindful not to drink and dial.