Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk

So I finished working on the web series today.  It was actually sad, because I knew it meant that I no longer had a paycheck coming in at the end of the week.  Hopefully I will find something again soon, because I sort of need money to ya know, survive! 

What I want to mention though... is what happens almost the instant the official 'wrap' of the show is called.  Out come the beers.  Now, if they want to drink, that is fine.  Drink away.  

But don't drive home.  I don't care if it was "only one beer" or not.  It still impairs your judgment.

I feel kind of bad because I think I made one of the actors feel incredibly uncomfortable as everyone was standing around chatting, all with a beer in hand.  But maybe it was good for him to think a little more carefully about it.  I was walking past and he said, "Wow, no beer?"  I said almost curtly, "No, I don't drink."  Surprised, he added, "Wow, I think you are the only crew I have ever known who doesn't drink!"  He caught me at a particularly frustrated moment of the evening (because it seriously bothers the heck out of me that this is after ANY show wraps - it was the same way with HSM3 last year, too) so my immediate reply to his surprise that I don't drink was "my dad was hit and paralyzed by a drunk driver, and it actually really bothers me that everyone drinks after a show and then drives home."  Okay, maybe that was a tad blunt.  But if it got him to think twice next time, then I did my job.  There was that moment of awkward silence, and then he said "Okay, can we rewind that conversation?  You did a great job this week!"  I went along with his 'rewind' of conversation and left soon after.  I didn't want to stay and chat with people as they stood, sipping on their beers only to see them all drive away in the end...  

Seriously, don't be stupid. If you're going to drink, either have a designated driver, or call someone to come and get you. One drink or ten, you are still at risk, and it is ALWAYS stupid to drive after having any level of alcohol!! You are not immune to accidents. You could be the next unfortunate one who changes someone's life forever by crashing into them because you chose to drive afterwards. Don't be the cause of something like what Jacqueline Saburido has to now go through each and every day of her life.