And the Cradle Will Rock

It's Sunday, 2:47 AM and I just woke up from having passed out from an early night of drinking. Now I'm totally loaded after smoking a big fat bowl. It all began around 3:00 PM, a couple hours after my return from Long Beach. I was on a home hunt and figured I would take a friends suggestion and look in the Wrigley area of downtown Long Beach. I had lived down in that area when I was 21. It wasn't a good area then and it's not a good area now. There are lot's of nice houses but I could just hear the clamor of gunshots against the hum of the night. The city is supposed to be 'upgrading' with all of it's redevelopment money. Aside from a few new restaurants I couldn't see any visible upgrades except a bigger, angrier population. I'm looking in North Long Beach tomorrow. Actually it would be today wouldn't it? When I got back home, I took a piss, sat down, started looking for more listings on the internet. About 10 minutes go by and my ex-housemate walks in and tells me that two kids were about to walk into the house before he caught them. He supposedly scared them off by saying that the owner shot a couple people for trespassing about 3 years ago.

The place I live looks like a Tiki Lounge. A perfect place to make a Mai Tai. I take that back. It's a perfect place to make several Mai Tai's. In fact, that has been the drink as of late. Mai Tai's with strong rum. I lose time when I drink. Everything seems to fast forward very quickly. Then I pass out, wake up and try to trace the sequence of events before passing out. For me it was waking up to find a full pint of beer next to my bed. I took a swig. It was warm. Then I noticed that my breath reeked. It must have been the pasta meal with a ton of garlic that I don't recall making. Had it not been for the stack of dishes in the sink and the marinara and pesto splattered on the counter, I would have never remembered.

One thing I've noticed lately is that I don't wake up with hangovers anymore. I can drink beers, wine and then start pouring down the whiskey. Then next day... sure I feel a little groggy but am I puking? No. Am I contorted in pain from a jack hammer headache? No. It's as if all my organs know precisely how to metabolize the alcohol now. After years of hard training it knows the most effecient method of taking that alcohol and storing it away. Storing it away like a squirrel does right before winter. With that thought, I'm going to make myself another drink...