Bring the Bottle Back

          Last night was sloppy in a few ways, most notably in that Emily wore two different boots home from the party. I was able to help reunite the stray boot with its owner (Erika's roommate) before leaving with Nathan for New Hampshire on the biggest alcohol run of my life. Alaric and Sean decided to stay home at the last minute and left the dirty work for us, and this turned out just fine. Nathan and I chatted and bonded on the ride out to Methuen, pausing to admire the highway sign flashing, "FINISH THE JOB - GO PATS!" We listened to a throwback pop channel on the way and pulled into the state liquor outlet late in the morning. Inside, I was like a kid in a candy shop. We purchased supplies for about 6 people, in excess of $500 worth; for myself, I settled on a bottle of red wine, a fancier variety of gin, a fifth of vanilla vodka, a different variety of Jeremiah Weed (sarsaparilla!) and a box of ginger beer to mix with. With the lack of taxes and a few discounts, we made out like bandits.
          We stopped at a sandwich place to sit down and figure out who owes what for which, take a few minutes and recharge. The trip home was all rock 'n roll and discussion thereof. This is another shared love for me and Nathan, though I prefer the Who to the Beatles and he is the opposite. We went home and laid out everything on the table in the kitchen, practically covering it with a bar-worthy array (including an order-high nine handles of Captain.) It wasn't long before we were grumbling about the walk over to Matthews, where the men's basketball team was taking on the Elon Phoenix. (Remind me again why we're in the same conference as a team from North Carolina?) At any rate, the Huskies rolled those scrubs. Walker had a huge game and made an enormous alley-oop dunk; we never trailed, and the final score was a decisive 80-61. I love the student section's new, poorly photoshopped "Skywalker" sign, featuring him dunking in a cloak and wielding a lightsaber.
          After the game, a gathering was held at our apartment. Alanna came to visit for the first time, followed by Jules, Nick, Malcolm, Luke, Haley and Cira. We tested some of the new alcohol, completed a transaction or two, and went undercover in Fiji. This was the first time Nick and I really hung out together, and it's more fun every time.

Let Us Cook

          The theme of Jared's 21st birthday was an enforced lack of theme. Jules, Emily and I acquired personal boxes of wine to carry around for the duration. Once again, Ryan L kept things moving on the dance floor, and once again, a lot of people got hammered. The place was packed; it took me two minutes to travel the six feet from the stairs to the basement stairs. I talked with Elizabeth and Maddie (wearing a bike helmet) down there for a while, but further attempts to spread people out were futile. I then traveled around the party and got everyone I could find to sign my wine box. When I wasn't doing that, I was either dancing or discussing band politics with Matt T, Justin, Jules, and Connor G. After some time had passed, Emily asked to leave and I lent her my keys. I stayed a while longer and left with Jules.
          We headed home, where I rang the bell several times, but no one woke. We only got inside and upstairs by virtue of another resident's kindness. Knocks on the door went unanswered; Alaric finally got home and let us in. We shook Emily awake and I finished out the last two episodes of Breaking Bad, in which events played out much as I expected. They were also fantastic television, some of the best I've seen. And now that I've watched the entirety of both, I have to judge that The Sopranos rates better overall. Both shows had mastermind creators -- someone recently described Vince Gilligan as an "evil genius" -- who paid loving attention to detail. Both had oft-unlikeable protagonists in harrowing marriages. Breaking Bad was perfectly paced. I think The Sopranos generally built characters of equal or greater complexity, but I have to concede that Hank feels more like a real person than any other character I can think of, from any show. Within his personality, the mixtures of bravado with tenderness, geniality with bullheaded tenacity, and cunning with simplicity are remarkably done. His role in the development of the plot is also excellent. Aside from him, my favorite characters were the enigmatic Gustavo, Mike (a/k/a the only level-headed character in the show), and beautiful, purple-crazed Marie. It feels good to finally discard my fear of having this show spoiled for me. On to The Wire!

Libertines

          After class, Emily and I went to Coolidge Corner to do some shopping and went the wrong direction on the Green Line on the way back. I also found Breaking Bad's Hank in ads for his new role: Ben Franklin, in the Sons of Liberty miniseries (which also looks like something I'd enjoy.) Now there's a fun question to ask your folks: Is tarring and feathering torture? If so, were the Sons of Liberty technically terrorists? 
          Quotes of the day:
"Fox News, the number one cable news network out there... MSNBC isn't as popular, but they show a more liberal point of view... CNN likes to talk about planes. A lot." - Prof. Maness
"Canada, they're a humanitarian country. Switzerland, you can put your money in their country and they won't ask any questions. And they make watches." - Prof. Maness

ResLife

          I napped on and off throughout the day, decorating the apartment when I wasn't horizontal. For our second snow day, I strove to do absolutely nothing and easily succeeded. I also smoked and watched more of the insane fifth season of Breaking Bad; I have only two episodes remaining.
          Quote of the day:
"My calculations...! The bong constant! Of course!" - Alaric

Rough Riders

          In the midst of the storm, Nathan and I battled our way to campus so I could finally fulfill my obligation to Ryan D. I obtained and delivered two handles of the jankiest rum I've ever seen (Caldwell's, at a steep $17 per handle) and a 750 of mango pineapple Svedka, a treat from me to make up for my lateness. We paused to watch some thrill seekers skiing on the West Village E/Behrakis stairs. After stopping in IV to chat with some of the kids, we bought more Hawaiian beer and stopped by Iris's place. We chatted with her friends via Skype, bought a couple of pizzas at UHOP, and went home in a festive mood. Sean bailed for greener pastures, so Alaric, Nathan and I watched Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and hockey with brewskis. It may be chilly and stark outside, but the atmosphere at NASA seems anything but.

Cuiva nwalca Carnirassë!

          After a few hours of sleep, I ripped out a case brief for Constitutional Law. We finished Thirteen Days in Foreign Policy (spoiler: America wins) and my day went steadily downhill from there. I was sleepy as expected in International Political Economy, but the truly annoying circumstances were those surrounding the case brief. I left my Husky Card at home and was therefore shit out of luck at Snell, so I attempted many times to print it in the band office; the wifi in Curry decided this would be a good time to completely fail on my computer and the one wired up in the office, though I could see other students using the internet at the tables. I ended up late to class and without my paper in hand, but this is a practice run so hopefully it's not too big of a deal. I tried to put this behind me and went to the first meeting(!) of my Government & Politics in Latin America class, henceforth known as GPLat. Prof. Rivera-Ottenberger is airy and friendly, and I left in better spirits as the blizzard descended on Boston.

.     .     .     .     .

"Wake up cruel Redhorn! May your blood-stained horn fall upon the enemy-heads!" - Saruman

Wet Bandits

          I tried to organize a work party, but it kind of just turned into a party. Sabrina, Alaric and I Fiji'd it and put on the NHL All-Star Game, joined by Sean. Sabrina and I were both studying tortuously boring subjects and basically gave up. We were rooting for Team Toews, which "won" 17-12 over Team Foligno. There's no serious contact in the All-Star Game -- it's basically for the giggles -- and obviously a surplus of talent, so it's a much lighter vibe than a typical match. My boy Rick Nash scored twice, too. Downside: The hideous, neon green uniforms. Why?
          Still toasty and primed by all that scoring, we headed to broomball ready to dish out some punishment. We were matched against a horde of Asians for the Wet Bandits' debut game. Both goalies had moments of brilliance -- especially Jake C in his armor -- but the highlight was the opponent's tender stopping 3 or 4 attempts in a row, up in close. I have a decent idea of my skills now: a defensive mindset, some strategic IQ, and I can put on the afterburners quicker than most anyone on the team. Even when playing forward, I found myself dropping back to cover the other defender and break off passes. More or less everyone played their balls off, and the game ended in a 0-0 tie. After the game, I tried to get back into my reading and found it to be very slow going.

"Oh sail the ships back to Boston, laden with gold, see it gleam..."

          The second game of the Notre Dame weekend series was even better than the first. After a 1-1 tie for most of regulation, Aston-Reese scored twice in 10 seconds to make it 3-1, and the scoring eventually leveled out at a comfortable 4-2. Alanna unsurprisingly bailed on our plans to hang out, but it was okay. I watched The Truman Show with Malcolm, Clay, Sara, Alaric, Nathan, Maddie, and Emily, after which we talked on and off and listened to music.
          Quote of the day:
"I love Fiji!" - Maddie

Home of the Huskies

          In the afternoon, I sorted through and organized all of the remaining magazines destined for cannibalization. I felt recovered enough to play with the pep band at the men's hockey game versus Notre Dame, who wear overcompensatory gold helmets. The Huskies got up 2-0, surrendered the lead, and then pulled away with half a minute left to win 3-2, by which time I was considerably drunk. After the game, I went to Sabrina's for wine and then to Punter's with Sabrina, Peter, Matt S, Iris, and Sean. I had my first pitcher of Bud Medium and stayed out of the way of the drunk Wentworth hockey players. We shared a pizza and were joined by Hannah, Sarah, and Chris B, but I had already been itching to leave and didn't remain too much longer. I went home and straight to sleep.
          Quote of the day:
"I put my dick in your pizza!" - Wentworth hockey dude

The Coyote

          Still not feeling remotely 100%, I dove back into work to try and stay on top of my classes. In U.S. Foreign Policy, we started a movie called Thirteen Days, featuring the worst, fakest Boston accent ever by Kevin Costner. It's a telling of the Cuban Missile Crisis and is a decent, suspenseful film outside of the accent. After class, I did some reading in the band office and was happy to discover that International Political Economy (henceforth IPE) had been canceled. I struggled through my last class with a ringing headache, went home and slept deeply. This means I was forced to miss the council's troubleshooting meeting with JL, where I had hoped to lend my strength. Instead, I rested and read Sharp Teeth, a delightful free-verse book about werewolves lent to me by Matt. Once I felt better, I crushed Ian at Trivia Crack a few times and trash talked a bit, too. I had trouble falling asleep later, no doubt because I've slept more than I've been awake in the past couple of days.

Old Testament

          I watched the brutal Amores Perros (approximately: "love's a bitch") for my Latin America class. This is an interlocking series of tales that could be called love stories, except that phrase conjures up the wrong image. There are stabbings, shootings and dogfights, and even uglier emotional confrontations throughout. I felt progressively worse as the movie continued, and when it was over, I was sick as a dog myself. I slept it off for almost the entire day and woke to a call from my mother. My father suffered a heart attack at work and managed to drive himself to the hospital. He's alive and resting, but he'll need to stop working for a while, so we'll see what happens. This series of infirmities sent me to bed feeling very scared.

Filthy Philly

          We continued our previous game night at Claire's, finally finishing that game of Eldritch Horror after roughly 8 hours of play. We were all murdered by Cthulhu and his minions so I can't really call it a success. Also, the Rangers took down the Senators 3-2 in OT and the Flyers halted the Penguins 3-2 in regulation.

"Make certain that no stone stands, that no creature crawls. I command you to let loose the last of the Titans."

          Another men's basketball game awaited us today, but this would not be as positive an experience as other recent games. In a fast-paced, furious game, the Huskies led the Detroit Titans until the last minute, when they tied it up to force overtime at 60-60. The magic that was driving our team faded almost tangibly -- I swear I could hear a sucking sound as our shot at victory went down the drain. Falling apart and completely bushed, we were outscored 21-9 in the final 5 minutes for an ignominious 81-69 defeat. My anger at JL is approaching fever pitch due to some moves he made without council approval, including the removal of certain band members (on the basis of an overpopulation of drummers.) I agree with this in principle, but it seems like JL is going for a more unilateral type of power, the kind he was used to at UMass. I'm doing my best to maintain what I consider to be a healthy balance between director autonomy and council discretion.

Darkstar

          Emily and I went to the MFA today, intending to visit the Goya exhibit with the provocative title of "Order and Disorder". (Did you detect the sarcasm there?) We waited in line for about half an hour because everyone and their brother had the same idea. We did get in to the Goya show, but didn't remain long; about 25% of his work speaks to me, typically the darker, more surreal stuff, and there were a billion people crowded in there. Instead, we spent more time on our own favorites -- older portraits for her, and contemporary art for me. I can't get enough of that gluey, preserved smell on the third floor. The Rangers put the hurt on the Penguins (again) to perfect my evening, 5-2.

Ducks Fly Together!

          The men's basketball team managed to hold down the College of Charleston, 69-67, after the Cougars nearly overtook us late in the game. Sabrina, Peter, and Maddie came to watch a movie with me -- I need to watch a few for class -- but once again, we blew that. Instead, we sat on cushions and played Kings on the floor, stopping in Fiji along the way. Also: the Maple Leafs were shut out once again and the Ducks beat the Kings in the shootout. It looks like those guys are going straight for the kill in the Pacific Division. (Maddie unintentionally paid them homage by creating a duckbill with pringles. Coincidence?)

All the Pretty Horses

          All I did today was smoke and decorate. It rocks having Fridays off. Later, I drank with Jared, Erika, Julia and Peter; we failed to watch a movie and went to Tasty Burger instead, where Erika became the next convert to butta burger nation. On the way home, the more intoxicated of us sang fragments of "Kokomo". Key Largo, Montego, baby why don't we go...
          Hockey: everything went the way I wanted it to. The Rangers beat Columbus 2-1. Winnipeg put down the Blackhawks for the third straight time, 4-2. The Predators rallied to top the Capitals in Barry Trotz's first game back in Nashville. The Ducks demolished the Devils 5-1 and continue to please. Plus, the Islanders slapped the Penguins around and the Canucks shut out the Hurricanes to solidify the Western lead over the Kings. This is an improvement after two Rangers shutout losses.
          Quote of the day:
Julia: "Hold on to your horses."
Me: "I have no horses."
Julia: "That's because you didn't hold on to them!"

Star Command

          I slept on the couch without an alarm set, and happily woke up early. After reading for U.S. Foreign Policy, I felt appropriately prepared for once and continued to be productive after class. Next up: two classes, the latter of which (Constitutional Law, henceforth CLaw) had completely slipped my mind. I made it through and journeyed to the hardware store, where I procured a variety of apartment necessities: dishwasher soap, mousetraps, command hooks, blue tape (because someone in the apartment used and then lost my other roll), and a Milky Way for me. I'd brought along coupons from the college coupon book; in line, I did my good turn for the day and gave the spare coupon to the folks behind me. Back at home, I finished season 4 of Breaking Bad with Emily, premiered season 5, and went to sleep not long after the Bruins shut out the Rangers, three to zip.
          Quote of the day
"McKinley got shot in Buffalo, so that's what they've got going on in Buffalo. Also, lake effect snow. And that's about it." - Prof. Maness
"$20 on Amazon, and it doubles as an assault weapon." - PJ, re: his huge watch
"That reminds me of my favorite dictator." - Prof. Rodine-Hardy

oooooohhhhh, the clawwwwww

"Not those fuckin' ducks again!"

          U.S. Foreign Policy went okay, but a monster headache set in during class. I went to the band office, laid down on the couch and slept for 5 hours, missing Constitutional Law. Every year, I manage to miss at least one class in the first week! I got up and went home, feeling much improved.
          At Matthews, the men's basketball team beat down Hofstra, the current #1 team, 91-83! A buzzer beater at the end of the first half set the mood, and Hofstra never got within five points of the Huskies. The band got new baseball caps for a new uniform component, and people were messing with the attached stickers for most of the game. Hockey news: The Ducks blew away Toronto, 4-0, on the strength of a Corey Perry hat trick. At home, I neared the end of season 4 of Breaking Bad and drifted off to sleep on the couch.
          Quotes of the day:
"Netanyahu is basically the Dick Cheney of Israel." - Prof. Maness
"Is that a vacuum in your pants, or do you just suck?" - me
"You smell bad! Your face is ugly!" - Malcolm, to a player taking a free throw

Speed, I Am Speed

          My first Tuesday of the spring semester was relatively quiet. Even without classes, I barely got Brian to the bus on time.

Nigma Please

There were some updates to the entries for 1/6, 1/7, 1/8, and 1/11. "The work waits!" - Sweeney Todd.

          After an effective all-nighter watching Breaking Bad, I went to my first class: U.S. Foreign Policy with Prof. Maness. He has an informal style and seems likeable enough. Shreya was in this class as well, but she says she's thinking about dropping it. Every day that I'm in class, I have an hour or three to eat lunch, and today I picked up sushi in Curry. My second class, International Political Economy, was less satisfying. This is one of my two 100-minute classes, it's in a soulless Snell basement classroom, and Prof. Rodine-Hardy opened with her belief in a technology-free classroom. I'm not exactly a hot shot at economics and this is right after lunch, so without some level of distraction, I expect to pass out often. At least John W is in this one with me. My third class, Constitutional Law, is like getting the BAND back together. There are people in there from Budgeting & Taxation, U.S. Congress, and a bunch of other past classes. Prof. Tolley seems like he knows his stuff and is a pleasant, animated guy. The band rehearsal this evening was whatever, but the funky trumpet licks in our new arrangement of "Uptown Funk" sound great already.
          Quotes of the day:
"Canada's not really a big deal. They're exactly like us, except they say 'eh' and have universal healthcare." - Prof. Maness
"Yup, there's no class on ...Patriot's Day... as well. And that is also 4/20, so." - Prof. Maness
"It may offend some of you, but I am indeed ginger." - PJ

The Blue Stuff

          Another day, another load of Breaking Bad episodes. Through no fault of his own, Malcolm sat on and obliterated the Green Goblin. There's an emptiness there now, and I take responsibility for putting it on the chair in the first place. I experimented, attached some of the broken pieces to an apple and built a semi-organic, temporary piece; this requires a hilarious procedure to use. We also cooked a batch of brownies together, which went well aside from my little plastic shovel getting melted.
          Quotes of the day:
"We need to cook." - everyone
"We can fix him. We have the technology!" - me, re: the Goblin

Ryan Takes a Sip of Alcohol For the First Time

          Following more Breaking Bad and cleaning, Brian and I went to Ryan L's 21st birthday party out in the suburban boonies. The travel was a challenge, but when we got there, the party was already off the hook. Maddie and David were doing a dance called "look at your butt". I drank some, but spent more time out in the cold, smoking a cigar with Eric, Alaric, Ryan L and others.

Boss Nass

          Brian and I straightened up most of the apartment in preparation for the party later. We returned some returnables, trashed the trash, washed dishes, and did basically everything to get ready. We also went to the men's hockey game versus Boston College, which ended in a nailbiting 1-1 tie in OT after an Eagles goal late in regulation. Becky and Benji appeared in the Doghouse wearing BU gear, and were predictably booed out of it. They moved to the left side of the band, but Paws followed and continued to harass them. I felt bad about it, but they definitely created the situation. After the game, I rushed home and tried to get everything perfect for the Model Year End Sales Event. I manned the bar for a good portion of the party, and got some confidence in our new system. It works much better re: reimbursement for alcohol -- I love throwing parties but paying for people just murders your money clip. All manner of friends came and went, but I hardly remember any of it. What I do recall is this: we asked that guests not wear sequins, and Niki did just that, and look! They're all over the apartment, just like last year.

Science Bitch!

          Brian and I did nothing but marathon Breaking Bad and smoke today, with a couple of breaks to obtain food downstairs. Everyone seems happy with this arrangement. I did register for classes, a month late as usual, and ended up with no classes on Tuesday or Friday. I'll be taking U.S. Foreign Policy, International Political Economy, Government and Politics in Latin America, and Constitutional Law (my first 4000 course!) With 3 out of 4 classes on foreign affairs and such an intense schedule for 3 out of 5 days, I have no idea how this semester is going to play out.

Flashdance

          I finished the second of the Flash/Arrow crossover episodes today. It was solid, if not as good as the first one; I'd suggest that this is because Arrow allows less room for silliness. Brian and I spent the rest of the day on a Breaking Bad marathon. We're moving right along through the second season. In the evening, some folks came over to watch Exam, always suspenseful even knowing the ending. We also just realized that the Invigilator is played by the same guy as Walter in Arrow! Aside: my ticket for the Andrew Jackson Jihad show in March just arrived!
          Quote of the day:
"I liked White when he was convulsing." - Brian

.     .     .     .     .

Dark: "I thought you were a gambler."
Brown: "All soldiers are gamblers."

Lyon, Cheatin' and Stealin'

Corrections made 5/11/15. Thank you, Nathan and Iris!

          Before long, we picked up Brian and were on the road to Boston. After we dropped our stuff, the two of us got lunch at Tasty Burger and napped for a while to regain our strength. In the evening, Nathan and I attended the men's hockey game vs. Yale as fans -- my first time doing so! -- in which the Huskies clawed back a 2-goal deficit for a 3-2 win. Highlights: Matt's impossibly loud heckling of Yale's goalie, Lyon. "2-0! It was 2-0! I know you can hear me!" The tying goals came within two minutes of each other! Malcolm and I also sled raced against two guys from the Doghouse, but when we took off, the string broke off the sled and then the entire thing shattered when we hit the boards on the other end. I think it was an inside job by Athletics. Post-game, Becky, Malcolm, Sara, Alaric, Nathan and Iris came back to drink, watch hockey, and coerce me into watching Bob's Burgers. It took three two years, but Iris finally finished Brian's scarf! The remainder of the night was spent arranging a pickup and finally starting Breaking Bad.

Candlelight Vigil

          I stayed home and stayed awake to decorate and completely rearrange my room. I dragged Ian's clunky computer desk in there, moved my dresser, ditched the door I was using as my previous desk, and consolidated my bottle collection, opting to dispose of roughly a quarter of it. Ideally, it will be meticulously neat when I return to Boston, so that anything that appears in there when I'm gone will stick out immediately. I went out on the roof to survey my domain and took in the beauty of the mountains and the purity of the air. Later, I went inside and crushed Ian in a chess match after a few vicious sacrifices. I like to think I have something of an attack-first, swashbuckling style when it comes to chess (or most any game.) We had to use coins for some of the missing pieces, which made the game confusing at times and forced me to pay better attention to positioning. I return to Boston tomorrow, and Brian is coming with me! Now, to convince Ian to come along as well.

.     .     .     .     .

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." - Nelson Mandela

Benchwarmers

          My family went to Christina's for dinner, and Judy, Steve, Grandma and Brian came as well. I sipped a caramel appletini -- regretfully, vermouth is not my style -- and watched Judy grill Brian about every aspect of fraternity life. I successfully drank or thought about drinking without feeling physically sick! After I was good and stuffed, I went to Sara's house to see her and Camille. We played Settlers of Catan, in which Sara rolled everyone and I more or less tied with Camille (not bad for my first game.) Some things never change. In time, I returned to Brian's for another conversation out on the swing, and then we swung home. Brian stuck around long enough to watch the Oilers beat the Islanders 5-2, and we idly chatted about hockey and basketball. He's trying to get me to be a Heat and/or Nets fan, neither of which particularly appeal to me, but why not?

Toxic

          When I woke for real, it was with a crushing hangover. I've been getting carsick since coming home, and I couldn't read in the van without feeling nauseous, something that was never a problem for me. The point is, it's good that Matt was driving me home because at the time, I wasn't qualified to operate a lawn mower. I laid down on the couch and ended up vomiting at home, though I did manage to stay incognito. The trouble really started when my aunt Judy came to pick me up for some late Christmas shopping. On the way into Kingston, I felt progressively worse and finally had to ask her to stop so I could get out and hurl. This helped for a little while, and I my aunt bought me a few great presents: shirts, pants, a tie clip, a Duck Dynasty tie (marked down 90%!), a tie clip, a pair of headphones packaged with a shirt for $12 (shirt graphic: "Totally Amped!"), and even some money. We took the haul home, just as I was beginning to feel better, and I went down for a nap to recover. All I could think all day was that I'm never drinking again, though of course that is false.

Other People's Descriptions

          My mother, brothers and I spent a few hours at the Hudson Valley Mall today. I picked up NHL 13 for $13, a gift that's theoretically for Ryan even if I have a controlling interest. I also had an eye exam, which was excessively difficult for some reason; that air-puff machine was never such a struggle for me before. Apparently my prescription changed slightly, but just enough where I was pushed into "special lenses" territory; instead of machining them on site (heh heh) they'll have to be shipped to me in Boston, a couple weeks from now. I've waited a year with these shitty, scratched up ones, so a couple more weeks won't kill me. I also got new sneakers, exactly the same as my old and collapsed ones.
          I stayed the night at Matt's, just like old times. He finally redecorated his room(!) to a pleasing effect. We drank a huge amount of Fireball, vodka or another featureless hard liquor, and cider in a disastrous rotation of Purple. I don't remember what we talked about, or really even what we did. In fact, this turned into my first-ever blackout; one minute I was on the floor in Matt's room, and the next I was waking up in the living room. Interesting that his home was already the setting of a few firsts for me: saying the word "bastard" and throwing up from being too drunk, among others.

Coldhands

          A new year is on us again, and the last one seemed over before it was properly begun. I finally went home. We sat around the Christmas tree -- it looks magnificent this year! -- and I opened my presents. I got a useful assortment of stuff, including snacks, personal care products, and a handsome forest green shirt. Many chocolate kisses entered my stomach. Everyone seems to be doing all right.
          Predictably, Brian and I decided to hang out after the long drought. We debated the merits of cleaning up the garage, since his brother always leaves it impossibly cluttered with engine parts and pieces of deer. Just moving stuff around was a doable proposition, but we balked at the smell of several garbage bags that were left in there to not-aerate. Instead, we snuck across the road, on to his neighbor's property and up a hill to sit on their porch swing. It overlooks the road coming from two directions, is blocked from the other side by the tree, and is generally just awesome. After a lengthy conversation, we became paranoid about the creaky branch the swing was mounted on; this led to a decision to go to Wal-Mart for foodstuffs. Brian paid for the alcohol, but I was asked for ID by an employee and had an awkward journey out to the car for it. We went back to my house, played PS2 with Ian, and I drank a new favorite cider called Smith & Forge. I was not paid for this or any other endorsement...