Tal just to let you know that if you do drink before the meeting that it is okay, I know people in AA sober today who went to meetings drunk for a long time before they finally got sober.
The only requirement to be a member of AA is a desire to stop drinking, if you show up to the meeting drunk you will still be welcome and as long as you want to quit drinking you will always be welcome to an AA meeting anywhere in the world!
The one thing we all have in common in AA is that we are alcoholics and as a result we know that the one thing every alcoholic knows how to do is drink!!! We in AA have found a solution for our problem and love nothing more then to freely give to another alcoholic what we have to help them to get and stay sober.
Try not to drink before the meeting, but if you do still go, the people there will understand, a lot of them have gone to meetings drunk and still managed to get and stay sober. My first AA meeting I went to drunk on my butt!!! I was still welcomed by everyone there even though I was so drunk there was no hiding it.