Welcome Rocktober

I welcomed in Rocktober like a rock star. It was sort of unintentional-slash-stupid choices, but...

They are currently doing a late night show after ours which is like a theater version of American Idol. People come in and do an "audition" in front of 3 auditors and an audience. This audition includes a monologue, part of a song, and a movement piece. The audience votes for their favorite male and female participants who go on to Round 2 for more audition torture and then a winner is picked. The fellow running this had asked a group of actors from our show to come and do it, but honestly, auditions are my own personal hell - I do them 'cause I have to, but I want to rip off my own legs and flail them around the room while blood pumps uselessly from the torn sockets when I go do them, The thought of doing an audition, an audition with singing and dancing no less, in front of an audience is a little too much like being locked in a room and being forced to listen to Journey. Not nice for me, and not nice for the poor person I will kill to get the hell out of there.

But, as members of our cast were going to do this thing, I figured I would go in and watch, I would "represent", as the kids are saying. Erik and I were going to hang out and get drunk, but before I knew it Erik had gone. I nonetheless filled up my travel mug with Maker's Mark ('cause I'm classy) and sipped it in the audience.

Sipped a whole lotta lovin' whisky on an empty stomach. This is an issue that has come up before with me, and I have apparently not learned. Rock stars are not bright sometimes...

The show ended at about 1:15 and we made our way out of the theater and immediately charged to the bar so we could hit it before last call. I was in full rock star mode at this point; drunk, but not trashed, and rallying the troops for more booze while the getting was good. We hit the bar, and as last call was going to be quickly upon us, I ordered two drinks. Doubles...

Whatever, everything was fine. I drank my drinks, I talked, I realized I was fairly drunk and as the bar closed I walked with a cast member half the way back to my place.

We stopped where we were supposed to be parting ways. He was telling me a story that I could not focus or comment on, because it had suddenly dawned on me that I was probably going to throw up and pretty quick here. I was trying to force my eyes to reconcile his image into one, and was pretty much only nodding responses so as to keep my mouth closed and not tempt the regurgitation fates. He finished up, I stumbled away and began taking in those full, gasping breaths the rest of the way home.

Yes, I did throw up - not a lot, remember, empty stomach. Yes, I did fall asleep at the toilet, wrapped in a towel. Yes, I did eventually stumble to the couch when I woke up and attempted to watch a movie only to pass out again.

But, what made me feel like a rock star, what made me feel like I had welcomed in Rocktober with true aplomb, was that I later got my hung-over ass motivated to walk down to the store for milk for my coffee, I left the couch and the apartment well before noon. Yes, I had survived another one of the drunken escapades that are quickly fading into extinction. I was out, walking around on the first day of this new Rocktober, dutiful church goers backing away from my weary smile.