Fear and Loathing in Hanover

So, it's the day after a party-type atmosphere. At least, it seemed like a party. Though there were only 7 of us there, it was still ripe with laughter and enjoyment by most everyone.

At first, there were 8: the aforementioned 7, plus Dallas. We all gathered like the old days of high school. It seemed like nothing had changed. Though, I have to admit it was a bit strange to see Tim and Kasie with a baby. I guess it's just one of those "growing up" things I have to get used to. Anyway, we all set out to Hometown Pizza where we sat, ate, and talked. If memory serves (and it usually does), I had 6 cups of coffee, plus one glass of mountain dew. I was feeling pretty good. After an hour or so of reminiscing and catching-up, we all headed to the one place everyone is sure to have a good time. That's right...I'm talking about the one and only Bowling Alley.

Some dude I remember from high school was working the counter. I kind of felt sorry for him. While we were bowling, our lane kept fucking up. So, ol' dude at the counter had to jump on his walkie talkie so he could get his boys in the back to go to work on our lane. Five minutes later, we had a fully operational bowling lane...for about 10 minutes. All in all, bowling sucked, but it was all made much better by the kick ass game of Cut-throat played by Zach, Tim, and I. It was a good one.

After the game, it was "so, Eric, tell us what kind of alcohol you want so we can get it for you" time. I hadn't thought about it, but I knew I had to go all out tonight. For some reason, the only thing that could come to mind, and actually be agreed upon by myself, was vodka. I love the vodka...and it loves me back. I've never once been sick off vodka, but I have certainly been extremely EXTREMELY drunk off it. I believe last night was a testament to that.

Bearing in mind that I haven't really had a night of hardcore drinking in a while (I'd say a year or so), it might surprise you to know that I finished my pint of vodka in about 2 hours. Sure, in the past I could drink a fifth in one night, but all those fifths could not come close to the feeling of victory I had over my little Smirnoff tumbler bottle. It was one of those "Eric's BACK!" kind of feelings. Happiness abound.

That is, until the realization of "Hey...Me and Zach are the only single people here...That sucks..." came around.

I'm sure the negativity was amplified by the potato-based spirit, but I didn't really care. I just cared about being alone, and how completely shitty it was.

I was talking to Zach and he gave me one of the best pep-talks I've ever received from someone who locked themself in the bathroom so they could catch a mouse. He said something along the lines of:

"Man, what you're feeling right now is normal. It might take a few weeks, or a few months of being single, but eventually you're just gonna be happy to be single."

Word.

Now, while it really has nothing at all to do with anything, I feel I should relay one of the more interesting events from last night. There was a group of us outside on the landing (kind of like a small porch that's about 4 feet by 4 feet) by the back door. Leaning on the landing was a thick piece of wood. I don't remember exactly, but I'd guess it was something like 8 inches wide, and 2 or 3 inches thick. Anyway, it was leaning on the landing like a kind of ramp. I don't know who initiated it, but someone thought it would be a good idea to get a group of people on this piece of wood, and see if we could find the center of gravity (see...This is what happens when a bunch of geeks get drunk. We do physics experiments.). At one point, I recall Zach, Sarah, Brandon, and myself all on this piece of wood trying to not shift our weight too much as to throw the system off balance. Though not everyone was there everytime we did this, I do know for a fact that I partook in the experiment for about 45 minutes, total. It was fun, and I certainly laughed my ass off a lot. I think we kept the system in equilibrium for a few brief moments, but nothing long enough to actually say that we fully accomplished our goal. By the way, it gets MUCH more interesting if you're holding your drink in one hand, and trying to not spill it.

On a side note, Saturday Night Live is nothing like it used to be. There are too many new faces on the show, and the bad part is, when I see the faces, they're not funny. I see no future Mike Myers', Eddie Murphy's, or Chevy Chase's coming from this line-up. Also, if there's one thing that you must never EVER forget in life, it's that Bono is, and always will be, the main focus of the performance.

As the evening wound down, and the last drinks were taken, I found myself on in the living room with Zach watching Farenheit 9/11. I vaguely remember key parts of the movie, and I didn't catch all of it because I fell asleep, but I've made it MORE of a point to actually sit down and watch it sometime. I can never fully immerse myself in anything (aside from music...both listening to, and performing) when I'm drunk.

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Since this week brings about Thanksgiving, I don't think I'll post anything else until I get back from home. It's a sad state of affairs when you go home for Thanksgiving and intend to spend the majority of your time AWAY from home. Perhaps my sense of family values hasn't kicked in yet...

Until next time.