"Oh what a night..........."

I was all psyched to go do stuff tonight...........and everything turned out backwards.

Work went smoothly, Danny and I flew through the dishes so we could get to the work party at 8 (I don't normally leave till 8:30). However, as I was leaving, I got swamped by a dining room full of 200+ cub scouts and family and residents. Not cool.

Our party was at Feldy's. I finally showed up "fashionably late" to the party at 8:15 Got to give my present to Josie (I used my connections with Kathy to fix the Secret Santa gift exchange [all's fair in love and war...]) and she really liked it. I got a sw33t Steve Miller CD from Danny. Ken, my boss, shared his gift (a bottle of Jack Daniels) with everybody. Yes, everybody. Tasted like liquid sandpaper, but hey, it was only a little bit. Unlike last year, where I got teased for leaving before my "bedtime," this year, I stayed out past my bedtime.

I had planned on leaving in time to go see LOTR: Return of the King at midnight, but I also had planned on going with Josie. We're both LOTR fans, and it was a way for me to spend some time with her, because I really like her. It was not to be. I finally took a hint (1 try can be a coincidence, 2 is pushing it, 3.........well, 3 is just downright depressing) and she told me she was *sorta* seeing somebody, whatever that means. So I spend the majority of the remainder of the evening trying to be happy instead of depressed.

Instead of a movie, we went bowling at Cherry Grove. I played 3 games and scored 104, 94. and 130, respectively. The only people that stayed up to have some fun after the party divided into two teams. Our "team" (Me, Bill, Don, and Wendy) played the "other team" (Kathy, Mike, Josie, and Danny) 3 games, and we lost 2, one by 5 pins (that's Josie for ya). I finally beat Mike (the high scorer in the first two games) 130 to 115, only to be beaten by Kathy by 1 freaking pin. Grrrrrrr.......... However, the entire group was so impressed by my high score in the last game that they bought me a victory beer. I only took a slurp, but I feel it was significant on several levels...........I felt more "adult," more accepted by my co-workers, had fun, enjoyed life a little (while still staying well within the limits), stopped being such a robot from school, and I earned the respect of 7 drunk adults.

I came home (mind you, I was supposed to be at LOTR, so I'm 2 hours early here), and everybody's asleep. I smell like cigarettes and cheap beer, and I'm avoiding my calculus and english homework. Later today (today??? yes, today) I have school and then I have to give blood........then I'm gonna call somebody and try to go see LOTR, unless I fall asleep like I did last time I gave blood.