Congrats on your 20 days!! That is huge!
Harsh you wrote:
"How does one continue to be social when drinking is the social event?"
I think that your question is the answer. If drinking is the social then non drinkers can't be social by that definition. I think I am older than most participants here except for a few regulars here. Most won't go near a place or activity that centers on drinking. I don't either even though my wife drinks every night moderately and there is scotch in the house. I also quit smoking and there is a carton of cigarettes here too. I have no issue with being here alone with them and really never think about them. It has been a year and to be honest I don't get cravings at all any more. Now it is more a function of keeping myself from even imagining I can ever drink and control it again. This I take for a fact, but from my talks with relapsed people from here and AA they all did fine until something triggered them.
But newly sober I think that you are asking for trouble if you hang out with them again.
Now you already said that they are not your friends and you only go out with them after work once in a while and then only to get a buzz on.
Umm did we tell you the bad news? That if you define social as drunk or drinking at all, which for us is the same thing, well you can't be social by that definition.
If you define social as getting together with friends for cookouts, evening social events like theater tickets, concerts, miniature golf, go kart racing, ski'ing either water or snow, diving either Scuba or sky, hiking, climbing, bike riding (motorized or pedal) Dog walking, competing in whatever, going out to eat, dancing ( yes they have dance halls without drunks in many places) in my part of the country hunting, fishing, dirt track racing, 4 wheeling, going to art galleries and museums, traveling for a weekend, camping, RVing, deep sea fishing, organizing a movement for whatever, organizing church functions, community functions, volunteering for charitable fund raising or work, and a million other things then you are OK!
Going out with "work only acquaintances" that are getting drunk or buzzed you can do too, only the odds are you won't be sober anymore.
If you are asking how to handle it, tell them all you are on a new diet. I am of course assuming you are of the female persuasion, because even if you don't need to lose weight, those of the female persuasion are always trying out a new diet.
Tell them that you are working out and that the friend who told you about the diet lost all kinds of weight and that aside from exercising just a bit more, just not drinking alcohol or sugary soft drinks worked!
Just not drinking is a lot different than saying quitting. They will understand. Heck if you do lose weight from not drinking odds are that many of them will join you and then you can organize the non-drinking activities for the group that joins you.
I am serious here not sarcastic or making fun at all.
Good luck and again congrats on your 20 days!