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2016

31 December 2015, 18:18

It’s almost upon us.
2016. Wow. Time goes fast. Faster when you’re older. Another year gone, and well, good riddance to 2015, I think. There were some good memories, but mostly ups and downs. I won’t go into a lot of them – hell, you can go to the archives and read most of it. Suffice it to say, 2016 should be better. It would be a wicked poopy if it were worse. New Year’s hasn’t ever been a big thing for me. Not since 1996. When I was younger, it was pretty debaucherous. I would spend it at my favorite little dive joint, The Fieldhouse (right next to WSU), and as a regular, I would get perks like a free couple of bottles of champagne, access to after hours partytime, and the free ride home if I were just too inebriated to remember which was my car. Back when I was in my 20s, drinking was an occupation, one at which I excelled. And it came with no really horrid after effects. Even a truckload of tequila wouldn’t waylay me from Sunday afternoon Chiefs game drinking. Ahhh, to be young and invincible again.

Yup. The good old days. To the right. Yup. That was me (the guy is my friend Mike). New Year’s 1992, and working on my third bottle of Asti Spumanti. AUUGHHH. Dear sweet baby Jesus. Don’t ask me what I was thinking, because it doesn’t look like it was worth the effort of remembering.

I don’t drink now. Not much anyway. I have a cheap bottle of champagne I’m swilling out of whilst I write this. Accompanied by some fairly potent sinus flu OTC medication, I can barely breathe, and well, barely type. I’m sitting here, fending off sickness, watching the last installment of PBS’s “Prohibition” while Doug is googling how to fix a 1991 Mercedes 450 SEL (something like that.) The biggest thing I’ve done for the holiday is that 2016 graphic at the top of this.

New Year’s hasn’t been a thing for me since 1996, as I said. During the Ken years, I was teetotaler, except for one week out of the year at Macworld where I spend the majority of the time wasted. Don’t know why, just stopped drinking. And now, during these last couple of Dougie years, I have stopped drinking almost altogether, also. I’m sure some shrink could have a field day with that one. I hardly ever imbibe and when I do, I’m a goner after three to five Bass Ales. Tonight, I make an exception, after all, it’s the HOLIDAYS. Right. New Year’s has always been pretty uneventful, and anticlimatic. Even during the biggest January 1st of the century, I spent it in bed, watching TV. WHHEEEE.

I think if I were the type of person, who could stomach other people for hours, we’d do more of that partying down. But neither of us do well intoxicated in public, so it’s avoided as neither of us want to get beat up or thrown in jail. Plus, well. I can’t stand loud noise or folks (especially SOUTHERN folks) so I try to steer clear of those whenever possible. If we had some close friends (ones who are easy going and tolerant) that might be a doable situation. Small gathering of friends for the purpose of drinking might be a tolerable thing to me. And if I weren’t so sick and mucus laden, it would also be enjoyable. But tonight is a homebound evening. I’m listening to fireworks that are sending the dogs into a frenzy, and every slug of this bottle makes the contents taste better and better.

It really doesn’t bother me that I’m not the picture of tradition, where I’m all dressed up, boozing it up at a party or saloon. It doesn’t make me a sad loser that I don’t prefer to just jam with a bunch of strangers that I am only able to tolerate because I’m soused with alcohol. Others do feel like he’s just a sad sod for not being that picture of normal. You know what I say to that? Meh.

(I’ve changed the station to watch the Doctor Who Marathon)

I would LOVE IT TO NO END if all my Wichita buds, some of my NC folks, and Macworld friends were all in this house, we had a raging bonfire going, the dogs weren’t attacking people and we all were a’drinkin’ ringing in the new year, but it’s not killing me that I’m not. Or maybe we could have seen Star Wars again, but Doug hates the movie theater crowds. I’m just glad that all is relatively well, and that tomorrow is a new day and a new year. I’m not looking forward to the hellacious hangover I’ll have from the bad booze. But thank you lord that is the only big regret I’ll have tomorrow.

This is really kinda rambling. I’ll have a little looksee at it in the morning, and either change or delete it.

So, till then, Happy New Year. May the upcoming year be better than the outgoing one.