how much do you drink how fast?
when i first started drinking i was 15. i remember having about 12 shots and then we moved on to chugging old, stale wine (don't take this to run counter to me "thinking clearly", i was in control--as in i was completely aware of my environment and what was going on--but i was also 15, excited about drinking, and an idiot, so even while thinking clearly i was still thinking poorly). we were outside talking and i just stood up and very matter of factly let everyone know that i was about to throw up, went over to the edge of the porch, did my business and then hosed everything down.
actually, when i was younger i think i handled it better than i do now (23). i remember i was at a friends house and she laid out more shots, i just started downing them no problem and was relatively fine.
now days... after work i sometimes go across the street to a sports bar with some co-workers. i'll have anywhere from 3-6 well vodkas with sprite, sometimes a few will be doubles (within 45 minutes to an hour and a half), and the only thing that i notice is that i may have to concentrate on making my tongue make the necessary shapes in order to not slur. that's odd to me though, because i'm aware that i'm at a point where my speech could be impaired if i let it, but i'm still capable of holding it in check--furthermore, i'm still cognitive enough to even be aware in the first place. i'm usually the one who doesn't like to go to bars or parties or friends houses who like to act like drunk idiots because of this; after a while i'm just sitting there still trying to talk to people but they're acting like morons. and they're not even the funny kind, just the sort that don't realize that they're annoying or not funny but somehow everyone else is drunk enough to enjoy their show. if i give myself... say, at least an hour, most of the effects are gone and i just feel sort of mentally strung out and tired, not at all talkative--just drained.
edit: someone in my family described this sort of thing the same way, at least the part about gaining a ton of energy from drinking (like your entire body feels like a springboard that's been tensed). he said it did the same thing to him and he also had problems with alcoholism. so i wonder if there's a connection between, oh i don't know, say the amount of the enzyme in a person that alters how it effects their body when drinking--not to mention that it would allow for them to use it as a crutch since it's pretty compatible to begin with--and alcoholism. plus, i've heard that alcohol is the second preferred source of energy for the human body, which would also go along with how it was such a prevalent practice for war-like people (germans, vikings, celts) to drink copious amounts and then go into battle...