wow I'm reading this and I realise I was close to getting VERY involved with an alcoholic.. after a long time of struggling with a drug addict.. like you said, drinking doesn't mess his life alot right now, he has a job and an apparently notmal life, but at night, every night, he can't live without lots of beers or alot of absinthe.. doesn't get violent when drunk, but he does get weird/over emotional. He drinks and plays online games all night.. though I never really considered him an alcoholic, in my head, he was supposed to be permanently drunk and unaware 24/7 to be called like that. and the worse is that he always pushed me to drink and get drunk with him also, even though I wouldn't listen to him..
I think too that things will get worse as time passes, and I have a feeling his new girlfriend likes to drink too. I drink at parties but seriously, EVERY NIGHT? it makes me sad to see him like that, he is a very intelligent man, but he does stupid things.