Social repercussions of quitting alcohol??l

I never drink alcohol - as in zero. Some people express astonishment when they first find out, especially the French. Most folks appear to get over it soon enough, but perhaps silently they are thinking I’m really weird or something.

One of my colleagues at work can’t quite get over the surprise that I don’t drink, but she herself is a strict vegetarian. I just tell her that just I’ll drink a glass of wine just as soon as she orders and eats a prime rib. That seems to put it in terms she can understand.