"Huwag ka munang iinom. Mataas SGPT mo."

I felt dread when I heard those words from my doctor.

It's not because I can't drink alcohol. Sure, I did just buy a bottle of Sapporo and Guinness the weekend before the check-up, but not drinking alcohol comes easy to me. It's having to explain why I'm not drinking at a given moment. My next check-up would be after the conference, and the conference always ends with cocktails, and I would stick out like a sore thumb if I don't have wine or beer at hand.

This happened before. It was many years ago, and I was taking medicine after someone brought the tuberculosis bacteria to the office without disclosing it. I was also asked not to drink alcohol, and it coincided with post-conference cocktails. A colleague saw me holding a glass of iced tea. "Are you not going to drink?" he asked.

"I can't drink," I answered.

"Come on," he said.

"No, I can't," I said, somewhat embarrassed. "I'm taking medicine."

"Come on! Just one bottle!"

This time, though, I only had water, which sticks out more. I could've had iced tea. I'm one of the organizers. I could easily ask the banquet staff for that. Alas, I was zoning out, tired from weeks of carrying the whole thing on my back. But at least no one insisted I drink beer. People asked me why I was not drinking alcohol, and I simply answered, "doctor's orders," and nothing followed.

It's easy for me not to drink alcohol. I am not a heavy drinker, save for that one night in Cebu when I was compelled to drink seven bottles of San Mig Light because a client demanded so. (And one other instance that's I am keen to erase because, you know, it set off a chain of events.) It's unusual for me to have a second glass. So, it's easy for me not to drink beer for a week, and then a month, and then two months. I never even considered having even one pint when I flew to Singapore last week.

And then I was invited to do so.

Some colleagues and I were going home from the now very empty Clarke Quay. We had dinner at a Thai restaurant - we were a group of ten, and there was a surprising amount of leftovers, but thankfully the guy paying was happy to have them wrapped up to take to his hotel room - and we all went our separate ways for the night. These colleagues and I stayed in the same hotel, and instead of calling it a night, one of them asked me if I wanted to drink with them.

I was so ready to say "doctor's orders" but then I thought, you know, you don't get to do these things anyway. And besides, I'm in Singapore. Whatever happened to the whole "I drink a local beer whenever I'm in a foreign country" thing? Sure, Tiger is available in Manila, but that's brewed locally. This one's different.

"Sure," I said.

There's an outdoor... is it right to call it a beer garden? There's one such place just beside our hotel. Thai food, but more importantly, beer. Tiger beer. And they were paying, so of course I'd take it.

We got this set of skewers. Like, fifteen very random skewers. Grilled corn, grilled mushrooms, grilled meats, all duster with shichimi togarashi, I think. (Isn't this supposed to be Thai?) And the conversation was great. These were people I haven't really talked to before, and we just chatted about work, and I felt useful by providing my perspective as a communications major. They asked if I wanted a second pint, though, and I said no. Old habits are hard to break.

I wish I could say I went back to not drinking alcohol after that, but I did, again. My boss and I were supposed to fly back to Manila via Philippine Airlines, but our flight for eight in the evening was "retimed" to half past eleven. Not acceptable, so we somehow managed to move to a Singapore Airlines flight. And you know what that means: whatever drink you want (as long as it's available) with the dinner service. My chicken pasta dinner was accompanied by a dinner roll, what I think is a couscous salad, a cup of ice cream and, for some reason, a sachet of fresh milk. (Was it for coffee? I drank it as milk.) And I asked for beer. Tiger beer. Brewed in Singapore, not in Manila. Perfect while watching Triangle of Sadness.

I know I could ask for a second can, but again, old habits are hard to break.