Ouch

Not much happening today. As I mentioned on the last posting, I went out to a sports bar to watch Dodgers/Brewers with a pal. Dodgers 6, Brewers 2. I had feared that like so many other establishments in town that tout their plasma screens and sports acumen, this place would fail me. Wrong I was. My buddy Mark and I went to the Home Plate Bar and Grill on Blue Diamond and Decatur, now one of the fastest developing areas in town. Friendly bartender, flat screens with The Game on just about every screen (Note to bartenders/restaurant owners: ESPN does not have a monopoly on televised sports. Please check your local listings each day and note which channel is televising which game. You paid big money for flat screens. Give people a reason to look at them). Good food. And, unfortunately, dangerously cold beer.

I like to drink. I usually save my drinking time for the occasional outings with the fellas. I almost never drink at home, nor do I sit and sip when Pumpkin and I go out for dinner. Working the 4a-12p shift for the last 11 years has meant that I've been able to step out for a martini matinee every so often. Mark, my usual partner in the drinking endeavor, has similar hours. We also have a similar problem: We don't know when to stop. I know what the punishment is for d.u.i., both monetarily and the effect it can have on my future employment and my home life. Far too often in the last 24 years (drinking age in Wisconsin when I was growing up was 18) I've been "over served" and have gotten behind the wheel. My argument is that I bear down and concentrate more, knowing that if I get pulled over for speeding the jig is up. That's weak, I know.

Today, I just feel stupid. I took my first sip of beer at 10:15am and got home just before 4pm. The game ended just after 1pm, for cryin' out loud! What the hell are we doing staying there for an extra three hours??? I think I looked at yesterday as possibly the last time that I'd be able to knock a few back during the weekday. In three weeks, I will be able to return to the broadcast industry without fear of reprisal from my old company. Maybe I looked at yesterday as a last hurrah, the end of an era. Whatever the reason, I'm disappointed in myself. I know better. And one of these days, I'm going to pay for it. Not with just a hangover either.

I've read that if you drink and drink and don't get hung over, that means you're an alcoholic. I'm hurting today. Badly. I guess that means I'm not. Still, I wonder.....