I am exhausted. I am operating on just a few hours of sleep. Last night was a great success. Even if it took an hour to crawl through overturned-truck accident traffic on the Interstate. Lucky for me, I had my sister in the car with me, and let me tell you — she really knows how to turn an hour-long drive into five or six hours. The amount of complaining made it feel like a voyage to the bottom of the ocean with a claustrophobic hydrophobe. We made it into the city by 7:30, miraculously found a parking spot mere feet from Ian’s apartment, and met him for a slice of pizza on the corner. We were soon joined by Mike and Jon, who came from a bar down the street. The five of us cabbed it up to The Ginger Man. It was…it was between 8:30 and 9:00. My sister’s friend Liz, and our family friend Tammy were waiting for us. That’s when the drinking began.
A pint of Victory Abbey 8 courtesy of Tammy started my evening off quite nicely. As I waited for my drink, my dear old friend Matt G. showed up — having just stepped off a train from Boston — already with a beer in his hand. Nat arrived a few minutes later, and the six of us (guys, the girls stayed at the bar) moved to a couch/table in the back room at the bar. Bret came, too. One of my old camp friends, Dan, brought along his friend Tim. Second beer of the night was Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Ale. Nicci’s sister Sarah and two of her friends stopped by, too! Another old camp friend, Josh (who I hadn’t seen in ten years) surprised both Dan and myself with his presence. Elissa got me a shot of Black Bush. My next beer was an Avery The Czar, but when I went to take the shot Matt chugged it. Instead I opted for a Brooklyn Intensified Coffee Stout. Josh got us both a shot of Patron. Adam, who I went to pre-school and then camp with, stopped by with his friend Joe. We made a few new friends. Tim’s ex-girlfriend turned up at the bar with some of her gals. Tim handled it like a professional. What an awkward coincidence!
Z came from Brooklyn. Ken, Katie and Jackie came from band practice and Jersey, as did Vera and her boyfriend. Another round of shots consumed. Something and lime, I don’t remember who ordered them. Another Avery The Czar was ordered after Ian finished my Coffee Stout. After that, things began getting hazy. Someone got a bratwurst platter. There was a fistfight right outside the bar that originated the bar a few doors down the street. I ate two bites of one brat. As 2am rolled around, Ian let us know that he wasn’t feeling well, and later he informed us that he had puked. That’s when the night started to slow down a bit. People started…disappearing. Matt, Ian and I left the bar around 3am. The place was clearing out, but we still left a few stragglers from the party behind. Maybe they left at the same time as us. I don’t really remember.
Ian looked like shit in the cab on the way home. We hit up a bodega and got a few bottles of water. Ian puked twice more at his apartment. Look at how swollen his eyes were. He’s pretty sure he was sickened by something he ate, because…I mean, he only had four beers. He can’t be that much of a lightweight, right? Matt and I played with George, Ian’s dog for a few minutes. We flipped back and forth between Predator 2 and Alien Sex Files 3: Aliens Gone Wild. Sometime close to 4:00am, Matt up and decided he was going to take the train back to Boston. This left me to sleep on Ian’s couch. Ian had just passed out in his bed. I woke up shortly before 7:00am and couldn’t get back to sleep. An hour later, Ian’s dog awoke and Ian took it for a walk. When he got back, he said he was going back to sleep for a few hours. I figured I would try to sleep a little more. At 10:00am I awoke again. This time, I felt like complete shit. Who knew that those two extra hours of sleep would so devastate my body.
Breakfast occurred at a place near Ian’s apartment. Goat cheese and sun-dried tomato omelets were consumed. Jon found us and the three of us went record shopping in Brooklyn. I only dropped fifty bucks today. I found new copies of The True Story Of Abner Jay, Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal. I also found copies of Wolf Eyes’ Burned Mind (unlistenable, so I’m not sure why I paid for it) and the second Archers Of Loaf LP, Vee Vee. After beginning our trip to Greenpoint, we bumped into Z and Kristie in Williamsburg (but we did not encounter the Hipster Grifter), then returned to Manhattan. Too many douche chills in Brooklyn. I dropped the guys back off at their apartments and returned to Jersey. Upon entering the house, my uncle poured me a mint julep. We watched the Kentucky Derby, ate some homemade chili, and now I feel as if my body is rejecting me. I am very exhausted. I’ll be back tomorrow with something new.
Neil Young – Yonder Stands The Sinner
Love – Que Vida
Mighty Voices Of Wonder – I Thank The Lord
Abner Jay – Don’t Mess With Me Baby
Tomorrow – Real Life Permanent Dream
