Good for Nothing

Today's weather has been conducive to doing nothing but lie around, which is a good thing; I overindulged at my son's gig last night, and lying around is all I've felt like doing. Nights when I go out to see his band play are the only times I drink. I usually stick to a strict limit, but it was a weird night. Everyone kept buying me drinks -- mostly beer, but someone did get me a shooter -- and my friend and I went to dinner first, where I had two martinis. Fortunately, my friend didn't drink any alcohol, so she insisted on driving me home. I think that's the first time ever I've left my car at a bar. As we left, I handed my keys to my son's girlfriend and asked them to bring my car back today. They were fine with that, and Fernando is now happily at home.

When we went into the pub where the band was playing, I decided to start a tab. At the end of the night, my bill was five dollars. I suppose I payed for only one beer. Some icky guy bought me a drink and thought that gave him the right to sit close and chat me up. I told him those particular seats were taken by two of my son's friends. The icky guy said, "Well, they're not here." I had seen them and knew they were, but I couldn't find them right at that moment. When I saw one of them, I ran over to him and said, "You and Thomas have to come sit with us! Some gross guy won't leave us alone," to which he said, "Not my responsibility!" I said, "But we're old!" He replied, "Old and hot! You gotta stop leaving home looking so hot!" I cracked up. What was really funny is that the other guy, Thomas, got wind of what was going on and came over to sit next to me. He's a pretty tall guy and I suppose he could look intimidating; just his talking to me and sitting there a while scared icky guy away. It was pretty funny.

Then, in another weird twist to the night, my friend and I had invited our server (from the restaurant where we ate) over to the gig. It was such a beautiful evening and we had sat outside, and he had thanked us for sitting out there so he could get fresh air instead of being stuck inside. He was a nice guy with a good sense of humor -- but very young -- so we didn't really expect him to show up. But the pub was in very short walking distance to the restaurant. Once my friend and I got to the pub, I never thought again about the server, but suddenly he was at our table, lemon drop shooters for the three of us. (I didn't know this before last night, but my friend is diabetic and doesn't drink, other than a little sip on rare occasions.) Next thing I knew, he was buying me a beer. Now, I should mention that this guy was in his twenties. I think my friend was trying to "cougar" him; she said something about getting him to drive my car home then following him back and giving him a ride home. A short time later, he had ordered a cab and was heading out, kind of a slap in the face to my friend. Besides, although the guy seemed nice, I don't know him. He could have taken my car and just driven off!

I wasn't a sloppy drunk mess, and I had a great time, but I knew I wasn't okay to drive. Sometimes I think about what an embarrassment I'd be to my volunteer groups and the college where I teach, not to mention to myself. That's really the least of my worries when it comes to driving impaired; if I hurt someone else because of my bad choice, I'd never forgive myself. Leaving the car was no problem, and I was lucky to have a way to get it back easily, and lucky to have the luxury of lying around all day. (If you are a young(ish) person reading this, be mindful that when you get older, recovering from a night out takes a lot longer!) It was the most fun I've had in a long time, and -- now that my hangover has mostly worn off -- I can honestly say it was worth feeling like crap most of the day.