It was dark when my eyes snapped open. My full bladder was swollen and complaining for release. Someone was lying next to me, facing away and snoring lightly - I didn't know who it was. I raised my head a little to get a better look at the face, but my glasses were off, so it was a big blurr. I thought I could make out dark hair and a cheesy mustache...
"Al?" I whispered.Whew. Just Al.
"I'm sleeping with you," Al responded.
"Oh," I replied, chuckling. (He so funny!)
But more important questions raced thru my mind, like, where did everyone go? and how did I get into bed? and why was Al warm and cozy under the warm comforter while I was left splayed on top of the bed with a thin blanket? and the matter of the bowl...
I got up to relieve my bladder, trying to piece the evening together. A few facts were certain:
1) I had had a party.
2) I had drank a lot.
3) There were chunks of my dinner lying next to me (I mean like a whole jalapeno pepper and some carrot slivers and other stuff).
4) ...?
Anyway, I went back to sleep for a while, then Jimbone, Gonzo, Karen and Al got up around 8AM to leave. For some reason, I felt fine the first time I woke up, but with the sun came the inevitable dehydration effect (i.e., hangover). My fellow DB's clammored out with minimal noise and I fell back into a deep slumber that finally broke around 1PM.
Al and I went out for food. "You need grease!" he said with the certainty of the experienced. 'Twas true. We headed for Mel's Diner and the first thing I ordered was a strawberry milk shake. When that was placed in front of me, I quickly slurped down a few strawfulls as the waitress took Al's food order. When she turned to me, a sudden and debilitating nausia came upon me and I couldn't even speak. My mouth filled with saliva as I struggled to overcome the urge to vomit. I stammerred for a few seconds, then the attack subsided as soon as it had started and I was able to order with no trouble.
We ate then went back to my apt to clean up.
It turns out that we went thru no less than 1-1/2 GALLONS of vodka. Plus varying amounts of beer and other liquor. Al had started making Cosmos around 9PM. He stopped sometime around 12:30AM when I started wretching.
I remember doing a shot of tequilla and crawling around on the floor trying to get back and forth to the bathroom. (I remember it seemed very logical at the time to crawl rather than walk - there were so many people and knew I could navigate more easily thru legs than bodies. I was a dog on a mission. If I crawled, then no one would see me either. The mind works in strange ways.) Apparantly, in the end tho, I preferred to vomit near my bed instead of the bathroom, but made the valiant attempt anyway.
Al, bless his little heart (and I mean little - that suckers a bit charred too), cleaned up after me. He then kicked everyone out, but Sully, that DB to the core (he and Kate brought their own glasses), refused to be intimidated by Al: "I came all the way from Napa to see my friend Gonzo and I ain't leaving!" :) Al ordered pizza for the group and then after Sully & Kate left, put everyone to bed.
I don't remember much, but everyone keeps telling me what a good time they (and I) had. There were a lot of DBs there: Sully & Kate, Gonzo, Jimbone, Mr. Glenfiddich, RobF, and myself, not to mention my drunken friends. Next time I'll try to stay conscious thru to the end of my own party! :) (I was pretty tired too - some sexy DB from OKC kept me up all night on the phone two days before...)
Oh, I forgot to tell you about the bean dip. I'll bet you're wondering about that. Well, I searched the entire apt and it was nowhere to be found. I just couldn't figure it out. When Al and I came back from the diner, we met my neighbor Albert in the hallway. He said, "Oh, Sondra, I have your bean dip!" Ah-ha. After Al kicked him out, he and Gonzo had taken the Doritos and bean dip and hung out in the hallway for a while. (Gonz - he says you're hysterical!) Well, mystery solved, then!
-s