Drunks Say the Darndest Things 5

TD: “‘Za is so good!’ should’ve made it.”
Me: “Yeah, well…You had one in there.”
TD: “Yeah, I know…”

Four years ago, it occurred to me that my drunken friends say some really stupid things. …Okay, okay; my drunken friends and I say some really stupid things. I threw together six or so quick examples to prove this thesis, and posted it without much more of a thought.

Fast-forward to January 2012; after posting a fourth edition of the now annual quotes write-up, my little-sister-from-another-mother was questioning my selection. It’s not like TD opened the blog post and was angered at finding I had published a quote of hers. No, her dispute was over the choice I had made among her personal catalog of drunken quotes. She wasn’t uptight over me putting one of her goofier moments on the internet; she was critical that it wasn’t the goofiest moment of hers that I could have used.

These are my friends. And this is just one of the many reasons why I love them.

In 2011, I finally had the good sense to keep a log on my phone of specific quotes as they happened—or, to be more accurate, I tried to keep a log. The best laid plans of mice and blotto men… This past year I was much better at it, and I compiled quite the hitlist for this edition of DSTDT in the process. If you said something to me (or around me) that isn’t listed below, you probably weren’t as funny as you thought. …Or I was just a lot drunker than you thought.

Without much further ado, here are more moments of drunken brilliance and brilliant drunkeness in my crew’s endless pursuit of the perfect buzz.

• This past St. Patrick’s Day, our girl Belle was injured before a single Car Bomb had been detonated. As she bled from Eve’s wound, we did our best to make her forget about it fun of her for it. While she and Jay Swag played against TJ and Rackt on Shannon’s W&J-Black-and-Red cornhole set, a thought came over me. “Wait…” I said, interrupting TJ’s throw. “Shouldn’t Belle be throwing the red bags?”
  
  
• One night in late summer, TJ called me to share one of his typically insane stories, the kind that only he could find himself involved in. The female antagonist in the tale, who had quite literally gone insane, was seemingly driven over the edge by Swag’s refusal to date her. A little later that night, I texted the man in question for background on this drama.
  
  Me: “Apparently your penis is the source of much magic and sorcery.”
  Swag: “lol. Just talked to [TJ] for 20 mins. Holy fuck.”
  Me: “Yeah. Insanity. All caused by you not being freer with the velvet rope you call a zipper.”
  Swag: “lol. She’s been avoiding me like the plague.
  A) I don’t care.
  B) You’re not attractive.
  C) I don’t play games, I’m a grown ass man.”
  Me: “LOL. The force is strong in this one.”
  Swag: “She’s stupid. You boob bang someone one time and they have to catch feelings. *sigh*”
  
  
• My girl Steph came into town in late April to visit and show off her very prominent baby bump. She gathered about 12 of her friends for dinner one night, including TJ, Dupa, and me. As we all B.S.’d around the table, her friend Molly brought up a cultural difference between companies in Europe and those here in the states: some European corporations keep beds in their offices so that employees can take naps. I immediately saw the number 1 reason why this idea would never work in the US. “There are too many sexual harassment laws for me to have a bed in my office.”
  
  
• During our night of revelry in Ybor City, TK uncovered a drinking issue that seems specific to massage therapists. Rackt was trying to describe an injury she had suffered at CrossFit, and as she stumbled in detailing the location of the strain, TK began rattling off Latin-worded diagnoses. Catching himself, he stopped and explained, “When I get drunk I start naming muscles.”
  
  
• As TK and I sat taking in the scene at Gaspar’s Grotto later in the night, a fella at the other end of the bar was romancin’ and b-boy stancin’. When he walked past a cute emo girl who was standing near us, drinking from a glass of clear liquid, he stopped to engage her in small talk.
  
  Guy: “What’re you drinking?”
  Girl: “Gin & Tonic.”
  Guy: *walking away* “Ah…classy bitch.”
  
  
• As I documented last summer, several of my friends took part in a kickball tournament one Saturday in August, and then hit the bar afterwards—hard. At Shady Grove, talk amongst some of the women in our group centered around Wall Street’s moment of glory, when an open bathroom door left him exposed in Alex’s glass-walled shower.
  
  Wall Street: “I should’ve pressed my cock against the glass.”
  Me: *sipping from my Manhattan* “If you had looked closely, you would’ve seen the imprints from all of the other guys who’ve pressed their cocks against the glass in Alex’s shower.”
  
  
• The following Monday, I texted Alex to ask if she had caught The Newsroom the night prior. But her hangover from Saturday’s fun, it seemed, had handicapped her well into the night. “I think right about then,” she texted back, “I was laying on my hardwood floor praying for god to just take me.”
  
  
• TK was barhopping around St. Pete and Treasure Island one night last year, and in doing so managed to spill a drink on his shirt. When he happened upon a random, unattractive chick, she called him out.
  
  Chick: “Is that cum on your shirt?”
  TK: “No, but you want some on your face?”
  Chick: “Yeah!”
  TK: *blank stare*
  
  
• With cold germs and flu bugs wreaking havoc on the East Coast in the month of December, all three of my team members at work were sick at different times during a two-week period. Since all four of us sit in the same small, open-plan section of the office, it was a minor miracle that I avoided coming down with something. When this fact occurred to my manager, she asked, “How didn’t YOU get sick?” With a grin, I answered, “I disinfect myself every night.”
  
  
• The Saturday before NYE found several of us at TD & Boy Toy’s house for a night day of boozing. During a furious game of (drunken) Catch Phrase, Boy Toy tossed out clues to try to bring his teammates closer to his given word. TD wasn’t on his team, but wasn’t about to let that—or inhibitions—stop her.
  
  Boy Toy: “Uh…ok. When I come to something, I come…?”
  TD: “BUCKETS!”
  
  
• My friend Ton’s wedding was a blur of booze, dancing, lewd behavior in the photo booth, and more booze, all in the wilds of Eastern Ohio. The next morning I awoke in a room at the Days Inn—next to a pizza, courtesy of Dupa. Although my travelling companion hadn’t passed out quite as early as I had, his recollection of the previous night’s events was no less clouded. He hopped out of his bed and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. As I put the pizza box on the dresser, Dupa called out, “Apparently I ate a piece of pizza while pissing; there’s a crust in here.”
  
  
• Jay Swag’s 30th birthday was a three-day murder scene, where everyone put his or her liver in a pit and ordered it to put the lotion—and a can of Four Loko Watermelon—in the basket. As things got underway on Thursday evening, I cracked open a Loko, sat down on the couch, and snapped a picture of the can with my phone. When everyone in the room stared at me, I looked up and explained, “I’m going to want to know why tomorrow.”
  
  
• The pace of our intake hadn’t slowed down one bit by the following Saturday. Collette’s drunk wasn’t satisfied with sadistically torturing her internal organs; it even projected racist stereotypes onto her.She asked for a sip of my Loko, having never had tried it before. She smacked her lips, examining the flavor. “Is that watermelon,” she asked, “or does it just taste like that because I’m Black?”
  

Florida State of Mind

It’s just like riding a bicycle. In other words, I’ve never learned.

Beginning in 2003, my former company sent me to a different city of its choosing within the contiguous United States every October. Some of the locations of the annual fall conference were fantastic: the bright lights of Las Vegas are always a win; as is San Diego, with its beautiful weather and scenery; even, surprisingly, Minneapolis and Charlotte, which both manage to combine legitimate nightlife and a small-town feel. Other host cities, however, were god awful: I’ve already talked of my distaste for Vancouver, WA; when I was 11 I saw Orlando as a waste of Earth and tourist money, and nothing changed when I was 30; Pittsburgh…because, well, I already lived here. It was behind in the game before the opening kickoff.

Recent business decisions, made by people with yearly salaries bigger than my lifetime earnings, made it likely that the 2012 event will be the organization’s last. So where better to throw your life away send off fond memories with a bang than St. Petersburg, FL?

I last visited the area in 2008, when a different conference brought me to Tampa. And after five days of strippers, Maker’s Mark, sunshine, and gambling, it’s a miracle that anything brought me back. But a lot has changed since then. The economy tanked. TJ moved to Pittsburgh. I discovered my addiction to Hispanic women. …Hell, all of those things happened by the end of 2008.

One swing towards the positive, though, was TK’s southern migration. Our favorite goofball moved to the area in the summer of 2011 in search of a better life amongst beaches and tanned blondes. When I alerted him to my travel plans, he happily agreed to be my tour guide/chaperone/co-defendant for any and every night of the October trip when my schedule would permit some time away from work.

My first day in town, a Monday, was not going to be such a night—especially since I had to be up at 5:30 the next morning. But a day of air travel and annoying coworkers soon changed my attitude towards getting away for a few hours. And when TK texted me around 3 p.m. with designs on getting buzzed like a bored housewife on a Thursday afternoon, I decided to join him that evening for dinner and drinks. By 7 I was hopping into the same old, beat up Alero that had once cruised western PA, and we were setting a course for Treasure Island.

Warm air and a coastal sunset will cure many an ill, including work stress. Alcohol is still the more effective remedy, of course; but Florida’s top two attractions—well, top two family-friendly attractions—come home a respectable second. Thankfully, all of these medications can be taken at the same time, and we hit up Sloppy Joe’s to do just that. We were shown to seats at the outdoor bar of the beachside restaurant, which was populated by a modest dinner crowd enjoying ocean breezes and light beer. As we walked past a long table on the deck, we both spotted a boxed cake, which sat alone on a cart as though it was awaiting further orders. Joking, TK pointed at it and said, “It’s my birthday, can I have that cake?” I quickly responded, “That’s a wedding cake, dumbass.”

Although I said the words, I somehow did it without processing their meaning.

As I took healthy swigs of Corona and discussed the sexy blonde bartender’s physical attributes with TK, I soon noticed a large group of people finding themselves seats at the aforementioned long table. When I spotted the white dress, I almost choked on beer. TK caught wind of it all at the same time, and it was all we could do just to reaffirm each other’s faith in our own eyesight.

TK: “There’s…a wedding reception?”
Me: “…At Sloppy Joe’s?”
TK: “…On a Monday?”

The bride wore the strapless, full-length white gown that you might expect; the groom wore a white dress shirt and khaki shorts. Guests munched on nachos. TK attempted to sneak a picture of the bride from over his shoulder when she wasn’t looking—and then froze with panic when his flash went off. Someone’s uncle randomly yelled excitedly about cheese. And I looked on in amazement, all while washing down an oversized Cuban sandwich and cheese sticks with several more Coronas.

Ahh, Tampa. (…/St. Pete/Treasure Island. Same thing.)

After dinner we decided to head back to St. Pete, and respectfully congratulated the bride and groom as we walked past them on our way to the doors. Once back in St. Pete, we parked amid a string of bars in downtown, and pulled up seats at a sidewalk table at 5 Bucks Drinkery. And on that table we sat two draughts of Bud Light big enough to cure a redneck’s erectile dysfunction. We didn’t set the town on fire that night—I was back in my hotel room by 10:30 p.m.—but I was definitely eased into my groove.

Tuesday saw a predawn-to-sunset workday, which closed with a poolside reception for all of our customers. I began the event drinking Heinekens, and eventually switched to scotch once I had gotten some dinner in me. TK and I had made plans for the next night—dinner and a more thorough night of debauchery with Racktacular in Tampa—so instead of tagging along with coworkers and/or customers headed to various nearby bars and restaurants, I thought it better to play it low key. Heading back to my room to check emails, work on a spreadsheet or two, and get some rest would be the responsible thing to do.

But then I remembered that the hotel bar had bourbon.

As quickly as I had sat down with a glass of Maker's & Coke, a group of coworkers and customers were inviting me to join them at their table. I convened with their assemblage for a half hour or so; then, as I was again about to head back to my room, I ran into three of my managers, who—along with my team manager’s husband—were sitting at the bar downing drinks. As I sat down and my program manager ordered me another Maker's & Coke, my team manager introduced me to her hubby. “Have you met Bart?” He and I reminded her that we had met previously, and she returned to her glass of wine. After another 10 minutes of conversation, she turned to me and said, “Hey, have you met Bart?”

My program manager was a fellow lover of American whiskey. I ordered another Maker's & Coke, but he stopped the bartender and told her to change it to what he was drinking: Basil Hayden’s, neat. The smooth bourbon rubbed my shoulders and whispered sweet nothings to my consciousness. Fantastic stuff, that. I added one last Maker's & Coke to my body count, and then slipped off to my room. Two relatively quiet St. Pete nights in a row; I felt like such a cocktail tease.

I knew, though, that Wednesday would certainly bring a return to normalcy. By the end of the business day, I was ready to drink away anything work-related; “sloppy-drunk” was my affirmed goal. And before long, TK and that black Alero were there to whisk me off to a place made for just that objective: Ybor City.

We found Rackt at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company, and quickly got caught up while ordering dinner. Conversation steered towards work; I explained my woes, but TK’s professional life was a much different world. The young man, you see, is a certified massage therapist. And, while I’m sure you can envision the benefits that might come from having such a job in Florida, it also leaves him vulnerable to an unlimited amount of jokes involving sexual innuendo. And that is something squarely in Rackt's and my respective wheelhouses.

Me: “Do you ever have to massage hot chicks?”
TK: “Yeah, I massage hot chicks.”
Rackt: “Do you get a boner?”
TK: *flustered* “They can’t SEE it!”

After dinner and a few delicious draughts, we strolled through the streets of Ybor, eventually finding our way to Gaspar’s Grotto. We grabbed seats at the bar on the patio, and drained more draughts while I caught Rackt up on the happenings in Pittsburgh over the seven months since she had last visited. She eventually had to call it an early night, but TK and I were in it for the long haul.

An Ybor bar crowd on a random weeknight doesn’t disappoint. It’s the single malt of people-watching; you just sit back and savor it. And, as we were about to learn, things only get better when the bar is having an open-mic night. There was soon a middle-aged white man—wearing a jean jacket that seemed to have been relieved of its sleeves by a pair of gardening sheers—singing a blues song while a barefoot guy in a tie-dye t-shirt emphatically strummed a guitar. Later, women in burlesque-style heels, garters, and bustiers walked through the crowd handing out fliers to their show while a garage band—and a guy playing bongos—banged out a set. TK and I clinked our draught glasses.

After some time we moved down the street to Doppel Decker. Here we found a much sparser, but younger and more attractive crowd. That included the bartender, a beautiful, petite blonde who looked all of 17. We decided to do shots, and as TK went to order, she walked off towards another customer. Matter-of-factly, TK looked at me and said, “I’m not aggressive at bars.”

When she was back within earshot, I called her over and ordered two shots of whiskey. The bartender informed me, though, that Jager Bombs were buy-two-get-one-free. Hell of a saleswoman, that gal—and the thong peeking out from the back of her low-rise jeans was quite the capable wingman. I ordered up the $20 “bargain”, and gave the third shot to our lovely personal shopper. As she tossed it back, the thought that I had probably just bought and handed alcohol to a 17-year-old briefly crossed my mind.

After finishing our beers, TK and I moved on down 7th Ave., and wandered into The Dog's Bollocks. Count this as the first—but hopefully not the last—time I’ve ever set foot in a soccer bar. Such a thing doesn’t exist in Pittsburgh, to the best of my knowledge; but I wish it did. There were no soccer games that night, and as such no hooliganism. But the atmosphere within that bar was positively engrossing. The bar is dark but inviting; looming but non-threatening. Sitting at a barstool, you don’t feel like you’re sitting in a place of Tampa nightlife so much as you feel like you’re sitting in a child’s treehouse. A treehouse that serves lots and lots of tasty beers.

I marveled at graffiti in the bathroom, and then found a spot at the bar in the backroom with TK, where we ordered 24 oz draughts—a serving size the folks at 5 Bucks Drinkery would probably consider quite adequate. Dog's Bollocks serves these draughts in giant plastic mugs; there may or may not have been such a mug tucked into a thigh pocket of my cargo shorts when I stumbled back into my hotel room that night. I can only imagine a bartender chuckled at me straight-legging it out the door, while he muttered “tourist” and reached into a box of 200 more mugs just like it.

The airport the next afternoon…yeah. Hangovers that take place during air travel are far from new to me, but experience doesn’t stop the room from spinning. Having arrived at the airport about three hours before my flight, I got some lunch into me, followed by some Starbucks, and then set up camp at the gate. Fantasy football on my laptop, Joe Budden on my iPod, and an abundance of Florida’s top export walking past helped me to somehow keep it together. I watched a MILF in a sundress glide through the terminal, past the college girls’ volleyball team that was huddled around an iPad at the next gate, and suddenly remembered: The Ex is from Florida, too.

Nope, I've never learned.

Fail Tale

My first thought was to make this a "Social Drinking Excellence" post, but two things changed my mind:

1. I can't verify that this guy was drunk when he did this.
2. There's not a whole lot of story here, just a horrible fail.
   

Not only that, but he dropped and wasted beer. And I simply cannot reward such crimes against humanity.

From Tampa Bay Online:

Authorities are looking for a bungling beer bandit who stumbled during the getaway, dropping his purloined potables.

Polk County sheriff's detectives are seeking information about a man stole two cases of Bud Light from the E-Z Food Store at 15 Acuff Road on Wednesday.

The man ran out of the store with the beer but apparently tripped over his own low-hanging pants. He dropped the beer but dived into the back seat of a waiting black Chevy Malibu that then sped off.

Rumors that Racktacular was the getaway driver have yet to be substantiated.

Don't Sleep

...'cause sleep is the cousin of death. And of ocean travel, apparently.

From The Huffington Post:

A man who apparently passed out on a pool float at a Tampa area beach ended up drifting about a mile from Florida's shore in the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the man, identified as Jerry Whipple, on Wednesday afternoon.

Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Mariana O'Leary says they suspect the man was very drunk.

No word on whether or not he was covered in oil when they retrieved him.

Random Scraps of Fantastic

Is it just me, or does that title sound like the name of a rock band?

I laid low this past weekend (not entirely by my choosing, but oh well), so there’s no got-drunk-and-streaked-through-city-hall stories for you to shake your heads at; not this week, at least. I thought I’d take this opportunity to catch up on some small stories and postscripts related to recent blogs of mine that haven’t been reported yet.

• The St. Patrick's Day Massacre – I had thought that I left the Irish cap from the picture behind before we left Shannon’s apartment that afternoon; I distinctly remembered leaving it on a doorknob in her place. But, apparently, I was wearing it all day. I know this now because:
  
  At some point in the day an unknown trespasser kicked down Shan’s front door; he or she then closed it again without taking anything from her apartment. When I came by that night to see if anyone was home and found the door locked (oblivious to the damage done by the force-in, or the footprint left on the door), I left the hat on the doorknob outside and walked off to my car. So some of my friends, upon returning to her place and finding the scene, assumed it was me who kicked in the door. Let’s be real, though; I’m not saying I would never kick a door in, but I definitely would never leave incriminating evidence behind. Even when I’m drunk, I’m not that stupid.
• B-Day – When Tony saw me heading for the bathroom, he rushed in and found me at the sink and the random victim of my digestive acrobatics standing there in shock. Looking to keep the guy calm, he said, “I’m sorry man; it’s his birthday.” Then, as he was turning to leave behind me (I was getting kicked out, of course), he pointed to the stack of white t-shirts that the bathroom attendant was selling, and suggested, “You should probably grab a shirt off him.”
• 5 Nights in Tampa – One of our customers (“L-Boogie”), who I usually only see at the conference, is a tall, leggy blonde with large breasts who is a lot of fun to hang out with—not like that, you heathens; she’s a married woman (shut up TJ). Last year, my birthday was the last day of the conference. So that night she and some other friends of ours took me out on the town in Austin, TX. At one bar, I was talking to one of my coworkers when I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around, I saw that L-Boogie had a shot glass full of liquor sitting neatly in the cleavage of her tank-top. And all she said was, “Let’s go.” When I said she was fun, you had no idea, right? Fast-forward to this past March, and the St. Patrick’s Day reception on the first day of the conference. She was wearing a business suit, the skirt of which was blissfully short. “Long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to keep it interesting” was how one of my friends put it. My department manager was talking with her; he called me over and asked, “Have you met [L-Boogie]?” The green beer told me to glance down at her chest and say, “You better BELIEVE it!” But I remembered that this was the man who authorizes my paycheck, so I bit my lip, smiled at her, and said, “Yes, we’ve met.”
• 
  5 Nights in Tampa – The favorite pastime at “The Club” was a touch screen game called “Wordster” (I know this sounds odd in an establishment that features dancing, nearly-naked women, but don’t underestimate the addictiveness of video puzzle games). TJ, the manager (what’s good “Big Poppa Ike”?), one of the bar regulars, Sage, a few of the other dancers, and I would all sit around the machine scrambling to come up with words that we had learned in 12th grade English class. When I would take a seat in one of the barstools in front of the game, it wouldn't be long before one of the dancers playing would climb up onto my lap. I honestly didn’t notice it while it was going on—partly because of the Makers & Cokes that S-Money was mixing, and partly because I was intently focused on the game (okay, now it’s even sounding a little sad to me, too)—but a majority of the time that I was seated, I had a dancer sitting in my lap. A week or so later, while talking with TJ and looking back on the trip, I came to a realization: “I was like the strip club Santa Claus.” I owe him another bottle of Parrot Bay.
• O.P.P. in V.I.P. – While standing at the bar with my friends, I noticed an attractive girl walk by who I had first met months ago. She gave me her number, but drunken a** that I am, I never called her. Wanting to be sure it was her, but unsure of how she would react to seeing a jerk who never called her, I yelled out her name and then quickly looked in the other direction. She turned around to see who had called her, thus confirming that (a.) I had correctly remembered her name, and (b.) I am a 29 year old child. Later in the night I saw her again, and this time I actually talked to her (novel idea, I know). Luckily for me, she’s a really nice girl (or she took pity on me because she thought I was mentally-challenged) and she gave me her number once again.

‘Tis all for now. Don’t forget to tip your servers.

5 Nights in Tampa

This is coming to On the Rocks a little late. But quite frankly, how do you reign in the immensity of such a historical event with only a keyboard? Such a temptation of the apocalypse (or is that an apocalypse of temptations?) as me bringing my drinking prowess onto TJ’s home turf?

Three weeks ago I flew to Tampa (or as I now refer to it, “My Freak on the Side”) on a business trip. Never before have work, play, alcohol, beautiful women, perfect weather, and financial irresponsibility blended together into such a rich and finely-woven tapestry. Now if only I could lay that fine work of art out before you, and allow you to gaze upon and feel each of the delicate folds…

…But this is the paradox of alcohol. It provides such unequivocal release of stress, tension, and worry, while creating these wonderful experiences for us, its loyal subjects; and, simultaneously, it severely decreases the likelihood that you will be able to save this magic in your memory banks. I know that, for every fantastic story that I can pull from my mental archives, where I and/or my friends have engaged in a nearly cinematic escapade, there are another two tales, as good or better, that have been erased from my mind forever. It’s the sad plight of a novelist who writes his masterpieces with a blowtorch.

Given the limitations of my recollection, as well as the need for appropriate editing (this page, after all, has a specific theme; and, more often than not, things such as conversations with coworkers during a break, or sleeping alongside a beautiful exotic dancer from Wisconsin—hi, Sage—just don’t fit the mold), I have decided to simply give you some of the many smaller episodes that contributed to each of the chapters of this novella.

• The Monday of the conference was St. Patrick’s Day (the official one). The organizers held a reception that evening, and decided to use a St. Patty’s theme. This meant green beer. As a matter of protocol, such events are never open-bar; not only that, but the prices are outstandingly high (ex.: $6 for a Heineken, where as the Tampa average is about $4). Some glorious individual, however, had decided to make the green beer complimentary. It’s enough to make you start humming “Oh Danny Boy.” Many of the conference attendees were from other nations and cultures. They viewed the green beer as a strange novelty, and sipped at their cups cautiously. The large, uncouth Americans such as me, however, tossed them back like Dixie Cups of water along a marathon route.
• At a second reception that night, my ex-boss and his wife were in attendance. His wife is a fun, spirited older woman, who my coworkers and I love to hang out with at these events. We often share innocent jokes, but I was full of green beer and managed to stupefy her with this:
  o Her: “So what have you been up to lately besides work?”
  o Me: “Drinking.”
  o Her: *shocked pause* “Anything besides that?”
  o Me: “What else is there?”
• I packed for the trip like a lobotomy patient (I left the day after St. Patty’s in Pittsburgh, sooooo…), and needed TJ to take me to a mall so I could buy myself a pair of jeans. Sage came along, and as we left the mall she jumped on his back for a piggyback ride through the parking lot. I trailed slightly behind them, and suddenly had the notion that her bottom needed a firm reminder of who I was. Telepathy is an amazing thing; just as I stealthily approached to deliver the palm of my hand, TJ instantly stopped in his tracks to add emphasis to the smack. The sound resonated throughout the quiet parking lot like a gunshot.
• That night, TJ took me to his private oasis, i.e. "The Club". The place is full of a cast of characters; and I love all of them like family now. Which would make “S-Money” the hot distant cousin that makes you think, “hmmmm…” She bartends at "The Club," but on this night she was off-duty and had been out celebrating the holiday. Hard. When TJ introduced me to her, she enthusiastically jumped up and hugged me with her legs wrapped around me. The exact thought that went through my head at that moment? “I love this place.”
• The bottoms of a couple more dancers were introduced to my palm as the week went on. The girls seemed to like it, and management didn't care. A girl who can't sit down isn't wasting company time, I guess.
• We ended the night kicking it at TJ’s. Sage prefers herbal stimulation to the kind that comes in fifths, but didn’t have a bowl. Weedheads are always creative, though; a weedhead can make a bong out of a paper clip, a roll of toilet paper, and two onions if need be. But TJ’s apartment didn’t yield any good materials. She decided to knock on the door of his neighbor, who he had never met before. A 20-something, five-foot-nothing girl answered the door. When Sage asked if she had an apple, she said, “No, but I have a bowl you can use.” I guess weedheads always know one of their own.
• Tuesday, one of my company’s larger customers had a large party at Hattricks, an Irish hockey bar. The max capacity of the establishment, however, was about 100 people; the party consisted of about 200 people. I got TJ, Sage, and some others in, and all of us took advantage of the open bar. Makers & Coke doubles, baby. At one point, two waitresses were standing near us at the bar, somewhat bored, when they decided that they needed to do shots. TJ and I were recruited to join them, but he balked because the shots were Irish Car Bombs, and he’s afraid of beer.
  
• My ex-boss and his wife were at the party, too. Early in the night, she told me she was going to keep count of how many drinks I had, to make sure I behaved myself and didn't have too many. A couple of hours later, when they were leaving, I looked at her from across the bar and held up five fingers; she laughed and shook her head.
• By the end of the night I was hammered, and found myself reclined in the passenger seat of TJ’s car getting a shoulder massage from Sage, who was sitting in the back; next to her was Codi, a fellow dancer, who was ordering McDonalds from a drive-thru window. I thought about this scene as I sat in a business luncheon the next day, and the dichotomy almost made my head explode.
• Thursday was my last night in town, so we did it up to the best of our abilities (and our wallets’ limits). We started with a few pregaming drinks in my hotel room (Makers on the rocks for me, Parrot Bay on the rocks for TJ). Next we hit 5 Guys for a quick dinner, and then moved on to the Hard Rock Casino. I spent a grand total of 20 minutes at the poker table (embarrassing, to say the least), and then we went to "The Club" so I could drown my shame in beautiful women and more Makers. S-Money was behind the bar, so the Makers-to-Coke ratio was righteous. I considered the very real possibility that she was my soulmate.
• One of the dancers, Lexi, has a unique and phenomenal talent. Standing straight on one leg, she can lift the other into the air 180 degrees; while talking to her by the bar, TJ suggested that she put her foot next to my head. She did, with a simple shrug of her shoulders and an evil smile on her face. I considered the very real possibility that a man can have two soulmates.
• As an early birthday gift, TJ bought me a dance from Erin, a beautiful brunette. She waited until a two-for-one special was announced on private dances before she led me by the hand to the private room. I sat with a glass of Makers & Coke, while she plied her trade with graceful perfection. A soulmate harem, perhaps?
• As closing time approached, the club DJ, his girlfriend, S-Money, the manager, and TJ were all trying to convince me to move to Tampa. The DJ’s girlfriend showed me pictures of the apartment that they had just moved into on the beach in Clearwater, noting that there were still a couple of units available in their building; the manager and S-Money told me about “hurricane parties,” when everyone gathered together in one secure location during a storm and drank themselves fearless. By the time I got back to my hotel, I couldn’t remember why I don’t live down there.

Now if only I could get my harem up to Pittsburgh.