connect the dots
Saturday, September 02, 2006
waking up with a throbbing headache earlier this morning reminded me of how i should never mix drinks (i'm slapping my forehead for the nth time). what more, it was even made worse by starting with beer and ending with hard! (nice one, lex.)
so, how did it start? i was at terri's place yesterday for poker night. just a typical night of booze and gambling (small time, mind you). had a couple of rounds of poker and enjoyed the company of old and new friends. the first round was fine. i just had a couple of beers by the end of it. but the second round, man -- that's where it kicked in. before the start of the game, i shifted to vodka (blame it on the host for opening a bottle of aboslut). thing was, i was getting lucky -- i was getting pairs for more than half of the time. how often can that happen? obviously, it had nothing to do with the drink but when your poker mates tell you its the vodka and it gets into your alcohol laden brain, then you drink more of it. they even called me the "drunken master" and i wore it like a badge. (oh, the viscious cycle!)
i actually placed second during this round. not bad for somebody whose synapses weren't working properly anymore. anyway, i actually felt good. and yet, when i stood up, that's when i felt it. the mild tipsiness was setting in and after a few minutes, it turned into a slightly more pronouced throb around my temples. and then, here's the kicker -- i was offered another drink. a sweet alcohol, i don't know what it was but it tasted like pinapple juice -- just a shot, anyway.
after a few minutes, i felt it -- my world was spinning. i wanted to vomit and take out all the alcohol in my body. salvage what there was left to salvage but i didn't wat to do it there. i had to save face. (probably if i could hear my body talking, it would have said, "just a shot, anyway?! you ass!") then i suddenly remembered this guy who made a fool of himself in a birthday party, rolling on the floor, being unable to carry himself. i knew if i had more of it, i would have been the same and before that happened, i left the place. i was slurring, but i didn't want to act that stupid.
i have made a fool of myself at my friend's house one time too many and i didn't want to add another one on the list. if i did another thing, i would probably have been blacklisted forever. and so, with that thought in mind, i took the longest drive of my life. everything was moving and shaking when i took the driver's seat, plus the headlamps of the other cars were too much to bear.
i don't know how i got home but all i remembered was the fact that i kept saying, "please, please, just let me get home safe." -- and i did get home safe, albeit a few minutes to spare before is started vomitting. face to face with the toilet bowl, it never felt more good to be in one piece.
nothing like a good kick in the butt to tell myself to drink more in moderation.
posted by lex @ 6:43 PM,
