I felt very sober a few minutes ago...

I began the night with a quiet dinner with my parents in a western style roadhouse/bar/restaurant in Paterson, with food that was heavy but good. The only odd part was the Bulgarian singing that erupted halfway through our meal, as part of the private party that encompassed the whole place before we even got through our appetizers. The younger kids ran, the teens and young adults danced, and the uncles drank from bottles held by champaigne buckets and communed on whatever common events were worth speaking of. Very similar to any ethnic family event, except those uncles were drinking bottles of Johnny Walker Black Whiskey out of those champaigne buckets, instead of champaigne. And they were throwing down.

After that, it was on my way to NYC for a night out.

If any of you have been out drinking (oh! scandal!!), you know that a serious event during a night of drinking can call you out of your stupor and into action... it's commonly termed as a "sobering event."

Well a sobering event has come and gone for me, and interestingly enough, the sober feeling went away just as soon as things calmed down. It wasn't really that big a deal: we were riding the subway home in NYC after a night of drinking and my friend started to demonstrate that he wasn't feeling so good due to the amount of liquor he had... all over his seat and all over just about everything in a 5 foot radius.

Me, sitting four feet away, decided to stand and get a little distance from him to keep my jeans from getting in worse shape. We got off the train to give him a chance to get away from the motion sickness that caused the train-wide disturbance. I was quickly handed his keys and sent to the next train, and asked to wait at the apartment. Now this wouldn't be that big a deal if I lived in NYC, or if I hadn't left my cel phone home in Jersey. But hey, I'm a worrier, so I went to his apartment with the keys in hand, no way to contact him, and with just time to keep me company. A few minutes after I came in safe and sound, he did too, although not feeling good at all. My buddy is fast asleep now, and hopefully his hangover won't be too painful. I wish the same for me too, though I think it's less likely I'll have a headache in the morning than him. That being said, I won't be sober for a few hours, I'm sure.

So, to conclude:

Sobering events don't necessarily sober you up.

Beer before liquor, never been sicker.

And lastly, stand clear of a guy who's feeling a little queasy on the train after a few chocolate margaritas.

My best friend: here's to a night we'll be able to laugh about in a matter of hours.