Friday, April 22, 2005
When All Around You Are Getting Drunk...
It's funny how a couple of pints proves to be enough oil to get the mind going and produce lots of words and ideas. At lunch I met Dave and Tom for a couple of pints in Clark's after a particularly uninspiring morning at work, and when I returned I felt like overflowing with creativity. Perhaps it was the bursting of the metaphorical dam of ideas, but I had notebook out and scribbled madly into its pages.
It was a slow day, because I knew I was going to be back in work at 3am for a software implementation and it was also the night of a celebration for Dave's new baby, Lily. I had a decision to make; go home early and go back to work in the early hours, or stay out in the pub until it was time to work and try not to drink too much.
I decided to stay out.
We met back at 4pm in Clark's and watched the horse racing from Chepstow while partaking in some beer. Then we moved to the Candy Bar on George Street where it became a battle of wills to stay sober. When some of the boys started ordering shots, pitchers and champagne with strawberries, my metal was well and truly tested. I stuck to vodka with Red Bull, but after 11 hours of the stuff it began to take a somewhat negative toll.
At around midnight, Dave realised he could hardly stand and the bouncers kindly escorted him to the exit. He got a cab and fled into the night along with a few others who had taken enough punishment. I was left to watch the others making fools of themselves and it really was a disgusting sight - when you are sober (almost).
When they all decided to go to Fingers Piano bar, I knew it would not belong before I would be leaving because Fingers is the hell-hole of all drinking establishments in Edinburgh. Imagine a couple of hundred pissed-up wankers crammed into a tiny space and you can see that it would be a real test of patience even when drunk. Try being relatively sober and you can imagine my desire to make a speedy exit.
I left about 1.30am and walked to work. I stopped off at an all night garage and bought some sandwiches, crisps and a bottle of Irn-Bru. Then I sat at my desk, read some poetry and logged onto my writing forum and waited until 3am.
The time between 3am and 6am dragged like no other three hour period of my life. I nodded off a few times after I did my business and waited for the business testers to do their bit. I even heard myself snore at my desk once or twice. My eyes were sore and heavy; let's face it - although it was at a reduced pace, I had still been in the pub since 12 noon that afternoon. I was sobering up and not enjoying my time.
The call eventually came in that everything was okay and so I called a cab and made my way home in daylight. I had been on the go for 23 hours, worked for 8 of them and drank the rest.When I got home there was one last surprise in store; Gail had slept the entire night in the house with the door snib undone. Instead of me having to unlock the door to get entry to our new house, I merely pressed the door and it swung open. A ticking off was swiftly handed out!
It was a slow day, because I knew I was going to be back in work at 3am for a software implementation and it was also the night of a celebration for Dave's new baby, Lily. I had a decision to make; go home early and go back to work in the early hours, or stay out in the pub until it was time to work and try not to drink too much.
I decided to stay out.
We met back at 4pm in Clark's and watched the horse racing from Chepstow while partaking in some beer. Then we moved to the Candy Bar on George Street where it became a battle of wills to stay sober. When some of the boys started ordering shots, pitchers and champagne with strawberries, my metal was well and truly tested. I stuck to vodka with Red Bull, but after 11 hours of the stuff it began to take a somewhat negative toll.
At around midnight, Dave realised he could hardly stand and the bouncers kindly escorted him to the exit. He got a cab and fled into the night along with a few others who had taken enough punishment. I was left to watch the others making fools of themselves and it really was a disgusting sight - when you are sober (almost).
When they all decided to go to Fingers Piano bar, I knew it would not belong before I would be leaving because Fingers is the hell-hole of all drinking establishments in Edinburgh. Imagine a couple of hundred pissed-up wankers crammed into a tiny space and you can see that it would be a real test of patience even when drunk. Try being relatively sober and you can imagine my desire to make a speedy exit.
I left about 1.30am and walked to work. I stopped off at an all night garage and bought some sandwiches, crisps and a bottle of Irn-Bru. Then I sat at my desk, read some poetry and logged onto my writing forum and waited until 3am.
The time between 3am and 6am dragged like no other three hour period of my life. I nodded off a few times after I did my business and waited for the business testers to do their bit. I even heard myself snore at my desk once or twice. My eyes were sore and heavy; let's face it - although it was at a reduced pace, I had still been in the pub since 12 noon that afternoon. I was sobering up and not enjoying my time.
The call eventually came in that everything was okay and so I called a cab and made my way home in daylight. I had been on the go for 23 hours, worked for 8 of them and drank the rest.When I got home there was one last surprise in store; Gail had slept the entire night in the house with the door snib undone. Instead of me having to unlock the door to get entry to our new house, I merely pressed the door and it swung open. A ticking off was swiftly handed out!
Colin 10:15 pm