Tag: drinking

Under pressure

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Boy, we had planned everything out so well for the wedding that I was certain that these last few days would be calm and relaxed; they are anything but.  Lots of last minute errands, lots of people in town, running around.  I can barely catch my breath.  Not in a bad way–it’s just busy.

Despite having 7 people stay at the house last night and most of the day today, we still managed to get a lot done.  Kelly and I were up early and took care of a few errands and chores.  Later in the morning, Doug, Rachel, me and the kids went over to one of the playgrounds here and let them play for a while.  I called the restaurant for the rehearsal and confirmed everything with them, so we are all set for tomorrow.

Kelly’s parents went to run some errands of their own and we headed over to Clarendon for lunch.  Chili!  Yum!  We took Kelly’s laptop to the Apple Store to have it looked at for a fan problem.  They couldn’t fix it under Apple Care because of some physical damage to the machine, and it’s not worth paying what they were asking for to fix it.  Oh well.  After that, we ran errands.  We picked up our tuxedoes and made sure they all fit.  (There was a minor issue with my jacket, but it was resolved quickly.)  We ran to Target to get an idea of price and availability of Rock Band.  (We didn’t buy anything.)  We went to Shoppers to get some beer.

By then, Mom and Dad had arrived into town so we headed home.  Doug and I headed up to Pentagon City to pick them up.  We got them back to the house and at that point, we really had a full house.  9 guests!

stubiebrother , Doug and I headed up to Lucky Strike for two hours of bowling and drinking.  It was a lot of fun.  I did good the first two games, two 114s.  Three strikes in one game.  But I tanked after that.  Jason ended up with the highest score of the night, breaking 170 (I think he finished with a 174).  We finished around 9 PM and headed back home to play Rock Band, which we borrowed from a friend for the evening.  (Thank you, Kevin!)  I played until about midnight, when I needed to call it quits.  Busy day tomorrow and I was tired.

Doug and Jason continued to play into the night.  I have no idea when they finally gave up.

The Friday night main events

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Yes, events as in plural. This was a long Friday night for an old feller like me, but a fun one. It began around 5 PM. Trevor was back in town for the weekend, visiting, and he came into the office on Friday. After work, a bunch of us headed over to Champps for a small happy hour in his honor. We managed to get a good corner table. Drinks were had by all and it was a lot of fun catching up with Trevor. It was almost like he was back here for good.

Todd and I had to leave at 7 PM in order to get over to the DC Improv. We were meeting a bunch of people there for a continuation of Carmen’s birthday celebration. We caught the Yellow Line to the Red Line and got to the Improv just after 7:30. Kelly got us in without having to wait in a long line and we found that we had a good table in the front corner with a good view of the stage. There was a 2-drink minimum there, and so I had a couple of Coronas. The featured headliner was Jake Johannsen and he was really funny. The only problem was that I was distracted by the Yankee score, which I kept checking on my iPhone throughout the show. Toward the very end of the show, I discovered the Yanks had lost in extra innings. Still, it was a fun evening. In additional to me and Kelly, Carmen was there, as was Todd, Ben and his girlfriend Mary (who plays softball with us), Adam and his friend, Kelly’s friend Sarah, and a few others I didn’t know so well.

When the show was over (somewhere around 10 PM), we walked up the street to a bar the name of which I can’t remember. It was packed but we squeezed our way in and spent the next two hours drinking, talking, and dancing. I didn’t drink or dance. I’d had as much to drink as I’d wanted and it fell below the limit required to get me to dance. But it was still a lot of fun. Carmen seemed to be having a great time. Jesseca joined us there, as did Jason for a little while.

We finally left sometime around midnight.

Leaving Venice

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Posted at 3:40 PM local time

With the exception of a few scattered dreams, I slept very well last night and when I finally woke up this morning, it was just about 7 AM. The skies around Venice were clear and blue and it was a bright, sunny morning.

I headed for a quick breakfast. I had scrambled eggs, bacon and some fruit, in preparation for a strength training workout. I also had orange juice and milk. The OJ was very sweet–almost too sweet, but I was thirsty. I didn’t like the milk. Maybe I’m used to American milk but this stuff, which looked as though it were in German packaging, tasted strange to me.

Shortly after breakfast, I headed up the the fitness center for my workout. I did a full arms and shoulders workout this morning, the whole thing taking me nearly an hour and a half. It was the best workout I’ve done in several weeks and I was very happy with how well I did and how I felt at the end. (Granted, I’ll probably be pretty sore tomorrow, but it just so happens that the first of my 4 massages are scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 4 PM.) The fitness center is impressive. It is on the 16th deck of the ship, way up toward the front and is circular in shape. All around the outer edges, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows with spectacular views are the cardio machines, bikes, ellipticals and treadmills. They are all high-end machines with TVs on them, but who wants to watch TV with the view you’ve got right in front of you!

After my workout, I put on my swim suit and headed for one of the pools, Neptune’s Reef. I got there around 9:30 AM and found a perfect spot to sit. I brought along The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I put on sunscreen and proceeded to relax, basking in the sun until noon. Deck waiters came by to take drink orders and during that time I had two “Ultimate” Mai-Tais. It was awesome. They were playing good music and it was totally relaxing.

The ship left Venice at 1 PM and we had to gather for muster at 12:30. We did that and then people were encouraged to gather on the port (left) side of the ship to watch as the shipped headed down the big canal, past Venice and out to sea. My plan was to sit by the pool some more while people watched. I got the best of both worlds. Jason found us deck chairs way a the top of the ship with a perfect view of Venice so we could lay there, catching rays which the ship departed. It really was spectacular. The ship is so tall that we towered over Venice as we left and we could see everything. Jason took pictures and I will post some of his when I have a chance, because it really is awesome to see.

I sat up there on the deck until 3 PM (drinking one more Mai Tai), at which point I decided I needed to head back to my cabin, shower, post these blog entries, and rest before our 6:15 PM dinner. Jason and I grabbed a quick hot dog and I headed back to my cabin, where I am right now. The view from my window is amazing, the sea rolling by, blue as can be, with no land in sight (I’m on the starboard–right–side of the ship). We dock in Dubrovnik, Croatia tomorrow and we are planning on getting off the ship and walking the city walls there.

I’ve got tons of pictures to post, but probably won’t get a chance until I am in Rome, a week and half from now, because the satellite internet connection on the ship is too slow and the cost/minute to too high. So you’ll have to wait a while for pictures but these blog entries will continue. I’ll post more later tonight and also try and reply to some of the comments that I’ve gotten.

Pre-happy hour

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The big (and now regular) happy hour is tomorrow after work, but because softball practice was canceled today (and a good thing, too, since it rained), Carmen, Leanna and I headed over to Champps for some drinks after work today. Leanna and I got there around 4:45 and Carmen showed up half an hour later. I stayed until 8:30. By then, John and Jesseca had also come by. I didn’t drink very much. (It’s a school night.) But it was a lot of fun, as usual.

I got home at 9 PM and found the September issue of ANALOG waiting for me. There was still some light in the sky (and would have been even more without the lingering rain clouds). When the train crossed the Potomac on the way home, the sun was just beginning to set, and surrounded by storm clouds, it looked impressive.

Seven more work-days until vacation!

Happy hours

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One of the reasons I fought off my dizzy-spell earlier today was that I didn’t want to miss happy hour this evening. It turned out to be a fun one. It started out at Crystal City Sports Pub with me and Leanna and Carmen and Kelly. We were there for a few hours and then decided to head over to the Ugly Mug in Eastern Market. On the way, I stopped back at work to pick up Kent, who is in town for a few weeks working on a project, and he came along with us. We were there for an hour or two and, among other things, I got to see the Yankees lose to the Mets.

I got home just after midnight, but I had a lot of fun.

Saturday in D.C.

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We were all up by about 8:30 AM and headed to IHOP for breakfast. After breakfast, we headed back to the house and then across the street to the park. Jason and I threw a ball around while Jen sat on a bench and read. It wasn’t too long before my right arm was aching and I needed to call it quits.

We walked around the neighborhood and through the gardens at the Riversdale Mansion, and then finally back to the house, where we watched TV for a while, while Jen took a nap.

Eventually, we headed downtown to Austin Grill, and sat outside, having some drinks and appetizers. The weather was perfect, especially in the shade, with a very nice breeze blowing and we sat around for a while soaking it all up. We had 5:30 PM tickets to see Ocean’s 13 and so after leaving the restaurant, we took a leisurely walk along the Mall, heading toward Foggy Bottom, and finally, Georgetown, where we saw the movie.

After the movie, we walked to the waterfront and eventually ended up a Sequoia, where we waited at the bar for about 45 minutes until our table was ready. We got an outdoor table, and had a leisurely, late dinner. I had the steak filet and it was delicious, as was the chocolate cake I had for dessert. By the time dinner was over, I think we were all pretty tired and we walked back to the Foggy Bottom metro station, and lucked out: we didn’t have to wait long for either of the trains we took back home. It was a fun day, but a long one.

A day in the city

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Jason left before 5 AM this morning to head to a NASCAR-thing that one of his client’s was sponsoring. Still, Jen and I were up pretty early and headed out for a walk in the park. We stopped to watch a few innings of a little league game, and then meandered through the park until we reached the Boathouse Restaurant, where we stopped for brunch. As usual, the Boathouse brunch was delicious. I had the steak and eggs, and it was the first time I can recall ever ordering steak and eggs off of a menu.

We continued through the park, finally relaxing on a bench for a while. Jen had called Jon and Hollie to see if they were around and they called us back while we were sitting, and we headed over to their place to visit. I got to meet William for the first time, who is a very cute, extremely well-behaved baby. And I got to see their place now that their kitchen remodeling was complete. We spent a few hours there and then headed back across to the park toward home.

We decided to stop at Mustang, and sat outside next to a large street fair on Second Ave. We had some drinks, and went through plenty of appetizers and desserts, spending a couple of hours sitting, talking, people watching. It was a lot of fun.

Jason got home later in the evening and we headed to a local Italian place for dinner and by that time, I was pretty beat. We watched some TV after we got back to their place, but it wasn’t long before we were getting ready for bed.

El Cholo

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So last night, after work, a bunch of us headed over to El Cholo for an extended happy hour. Me and Pam and Will headed over. We were met there eventually, by Rita, Carol, Cord, Jon, Michelle, Lisa, Carmen and possibly others that I am forgetting about at the moment.

It was lots of fun. I forgot how good the margaritas are at that place–certainly the best I’ve ever had. People wandered in and out. I’m not sure what time I left, but I think it was around 9 PM. I walked with Lisa, Michelle and Carmen to P.F. Chang’s where we had dinner. I have only vague recollections of this. After dinner, Lisa and Michelle caught a cab. I walked Carmen back to her hotel and then walked by to my hotel.

I drank half a liter of water and went to bed.

Even so, I was up at 5 AM this morning and did a light cardio workout. And I was into the office just after 6 AM. I have an all-day “retreat” today so my updates will be pretty infrequent.

Happy Hour

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I drank more than I intended at happy hour last night, knowing I had to get up early this morning to head down to Richmond for Ravencon. However, I drank ten or fifteen times as much water as anything else which minimized the damage. In fact, the 2 beers and 4 shots I had was quite a lot for me. But I from about 8 PM until I left sometime close to 10 PM, I had nothing but water. And I had an additional 1.5 liters of water when I got home to be safe. I woke up at 5 AM with a little bit of that funny feeling, but I had more water (and Advil) and it passed, and now, at 7 AM, I’m ready to get started on the day.

Regardless, it was a fun time last night. Another is being planned in 2 weeks, but I think I’m going to skip that one. Dad will be coming into town.

I watched A-Rod hit 2 more home runs last night, but when I got home, I was disappointed to see that the Yankees lost after the Red Sox rallied. Ah, well…

Late night, late morning

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Happy hour began at 5:30 PM last night and ended with me getting home at 1 AM. In between, we found ourselves at 2 bars, one in Pentagon Row, then other on 23rd street in Crystal City. I had more to drink than I intended, but I stopped drinking alcohol before we left the first bar and drank nothing but Sprite and water thereafter. When I finally got home, I drank an additional two thirds of a liter of water and I felt no deleterious after-effects. I did, however, sleep in this morning, staying in bed until a remarkable (for me) 10:30 AM.

It was a fun evening, but there is one problem with bars in Virginia and that is that they all allow smoking. Aside from the obvious health reasons, I hate this because your clothes wreak of smoke thereafter. And when you spend 6+ hours at said bars, your hair and skin also begin to smell of smoke. When I got home, I tossed my clothes in the laundry (I considered just finishing the job and burning them) and then got into the shower. When you are tired, it’s no fun getting into the shower but I did not want to go to bed smelling like smoke.

When I finally got up, I headed out to get some breakfast. I think I have some yard work to this weekend. The lawn is definitely going to need a mowing. I have other errands to run as well. Fortunately, it’s nice out today and for now, I think I’m going to sit out in the front yard and read for a while.

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for…

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The b/b’ette parties turned out to be really fun, because most of the time we were all together. Things got started in the lobby of the Dolphin hotel, where everyone was meeting. There were 8 guys: me, Norm, Andy, Scott, Bob and Matt, Norm’s boss. There were also several girls: Lisa, Vicky and Mandy. After a drink, we all got into a stretch Hummer limo with a mission of picking up several other people. The Limo was stocked with all kinds of drinks and over the next hour and half or so, we picked up several other people: Steve, Ken, JJ (Vicky’s Maid of Honor), Julie and at least one other person, if I remember correctly. When all was said and done, there were 14 of us in the limo.

We then headed for a place called the Blue Martini, or something like that, a typical Floria-style club/martini bar. Inside, we watched the ladies dance for a while. Even Andy got out onto the dance floor (he might have been the only guy aside from Norm to do so) which was a sight to see. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of this because by this time, the battery in my new camera had died and I left my charger and spare battery at home. So from this point forward, I have to depend on everyone else’s pictures.

Norm’s boss, Matt, bought everyone a Kamikaze shot. We watched the dancing for a little while longer and then the gentlemen left the ladies at the club while we headed back to the limo for a 20 minute drive to a place, the name of which I can’t recall at the moment, but which I’m sure someone who reads this and was there will remember.

Andy and Scott had arranged for us to get a stage-side table, and indeed we did. We had a few rounds of drinks, watched the show, and in general, tried to make sure that Norm had a good time. It was fun (albeit, smokey), but it was not quite the same as Olympic Gardens in Las Vegas. Still, we had a good time, but after about an hour and a half, we had to leave in order to pick up the girls and start dropping people off at their respective hotels. (We only had the limo until 2 AM). We headed back to the martini bar and loaded the girls, all of whom were giddy and giggling, back into the limo, and then started making stops. Ours was the last stop and we were dropped off just before the clock struck 2 AM.

The plan for tomorrow is to spend half the day at Animal Kingdom and the other half at Epcot. Once again, we’re planning on an early start. We’ll see how that goes.