I don't know if I can remember enough of this to make the posting worthwhile or not. Oh well. I suppose that worthwhile isn't something that's expected to go with this type of post anyway.

I was in Louisville, getting ready to check out the new building that I'm moving into for work.

While I was walking up the sidewalk I ran into my cousin, and I invited him to come along.

So we went into the building and took a little self-guided tour. When I was ready to leave my cousin went and opened this one door. I knew that it was a door that I wasn't allowed to use because, even though my company owns the building, there were still some parts that were off-limits to peons like me.

Beyond the forbidden door there was a big fancy room, like a hotel lobby or something. And beyond that there was a fancy restaurant. I kept trying to get my cousin to leave before I got into trouble, but he walked purposefully to a table and sat.

He kept thanking me for bringing him to that place, telling me how much it meant to him and how long he'd dreamed of being there.

It was about then that I remembered two things:

1. It was New Years Eve.
2. My cousin was a lunatic.

I decided to ditch the psycho and I started looking for an exit. At one point I found myself in a glass elevator with a few other people. All of a sudden my cousin was in the elevator too. He was wearing a bathrobe and doing a really bad Elvis impersonation.

The other people in the elevator were groaning and telling him to shut up, and he starting waxing philosophically about some bullshit or other and he whipped open his bathrobe.

The crowd gasped.

My cousin had mutilated his genitals. His penis was just a bloody stub, and his testicles were just hanging there with nothing around them. Just blood and gore.

Yes, it was gross.

Yes, I got the fuck out of that elevator.

I went running out into the street. I was going to flag down a cop, but then I remembered that it was New Years Eve and they probably had better things to do.

The other day after work I had a beer that was new to me:

Rogue Imperial Porter

(draft) Pretty good. This reminded me of Bell's Kalamazoo Stout more than anything else. A slight slant toward the coffee side of the flavor spectrum as opposed to the chocolate side. The fairly high ABV is very well hidden.

Friday night was SassyGirl's going-away party. After an after-work nap that lasted about an hour longer than I'd wanted it to, I packed up some beer and headed to the boonies.

Parties at SassyGirl's have always consisted of two or three people that I know and a bunch of strangers. It's a lot like Rich O's I suppose, except that at these parties the strangers have been screened a little better.

To drink, I had two bottles of yummy Rogue Chocolate Stout (1050) and two yummy bottles of Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier (1497). Not all at the same time though. I stretched them out for several hours.

It was a very subdued affair as parties go. There was some drama fairly late that made everyone feel uncomfortable, and so I came home a little after 2:00.

Saturday night, because my sister's party was cancelled, I went to Rich O's. SassyGirl and JauntyGirl were there with some of their friends, most notably TrainGirl who I hadn't seen in a long time. So that was cool.

I sat in the throne and had a pint of the aforementioned Rogue Imperial Porter (40).

Then there was more drama. SassyGirl almost got herself 86ed from the place, on her last night, by carrying a lit cigarette through the nonsmoking section. It's a good thing nobody died.

At some point I had another Rogue (60).

Once the girls had left some PBDs came over and sat with me in the living room area. One of them told me that I'm in trouble for offending someone with one of my comics. My response is basically don't look if you don't like it.

I was going to have another Rogue, but it's pretty strong (7.77%) so I only drank half (70) and I gave the rest to CoffeeDude.

I stopped on the way home at this little bar to see if VigilanteGirl was there, but she wasn't. I ended up staying and having a bottle of slightly skunked Newcastle.

This morning I'm just incredibly hung-over.

So tonight I said goodbye to SassyGirl. She's fleeing the country and I probably won't ever see her again - despite promises to the contrary.

I feel like such a shithead.

I will miss SassyGirl very much. I will miss her more than I could describe here, in this journal.

But, and this bothers me to feel this way just as it bothers me to write this, but in the grand scheme of things this is nothing.

Nothing at all.

SassyGirl leaving, my best friend leaving, this is just another straw dropped onto this poor camel's back. But this camel's back has been broken for a very long time. One more straw means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

You know what her leaving does to me?

Go ahead, guess.

What it does to me is this - it reminds me of another time, almost two years ago, when another girl left. When another girl left and I died inside.

Tonight, I hugged SassyGirl goodbye. I told her to take care of herself. I kissed her cheek. I told her to keep in touch. I told her I loved her.

Two years ago, someone else left my life. I didn't get to say goodbye. I didn't get to hug her. I didn't get to kiss her cheek. I didn't get to tell her I loved her.

I didn't get to do shit.

Except die inside. I fucking nailed that.

Tonight, I said goodbye to SassyGirl. Tonight this should have been important. This should have been memorable.

But it wasn't.

Instead, it was a reminder. A reminder of someone else.

I'm such a shithead.

I will miss SassyGirl very much.

But I miss, I will continue to miss another the way a flower misses the Sun and the rain.

This is who I am. This is what I do.

I don't have to like it very much, but I do have to accept it.

Eventually, maybe I'll manage that feat.

Today after finishing up some work crap, I slept all damn day.

I hate it when I do this. Especially on a day that, on the outside at least, is as beautiful as this one is.

To be fair, I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night. I didn't get home from SassyGirl's party until after 3:00, then I had to work at 8:00. So I was tired.

But, problem is, being tired is only half the reason I slept the day away. Maybe not even half. Maybe it's no reason at all.

Maybe it's just an excuse.

An excuse for what?

Even if I knew, I don't think I'd allow myself to say. Not to myself, and not to this journal.

Found out yesterday morning that I'm on-call this week. This sucks extra hard because (a) SassyGirl's going away party is Friday night, and (b) My sister is having a party on Saturday.

I absolutely will not miss SassyGirl's party, and my sister may kill me if I miss yet another one of her parties, so I've pleaded with my coworkers to trade some on-call days and cover for me from Friday evening until Sunday morning. No response yet.

There is absolutely nothing else going on. There probably should be, but there isn't.

I went to Rich O's after work yesterday, and had an NABC Artemsia (300). I also managed to put myself into one of the best moods I've felt in a very long time. I was able, for a half hour or so, to forget that the last two years ever happened. It was nice.

Then today I went after work to see SassyGirl. I had a Smithwick's (1152).

This is boring.

It was at about this time last year that writing was effortless for me.

At least I think it was this time last year. To actually go and check would be like, hard and stuff. Plus I might find out that I'm wrong and that would totally invalidate my opening sentence.

And what's an entry without an opening sentence?

Not very much, that's what. Just a title and a timestamp. And maybe a category or two. But that's it.

But I digress.

I've had this damn entry title in my head since April. For five months I've known what I wanted to write about, but I didn't know what I wanted to write.

And now, now recent events have brought the entire matter to a head. I need to write something about it, if only to get my head wrapped around it. It is important that I know what I'm doing here. Life has offered me a second chance. I doubt that there'll be a third.

I still don't know what I want to write though. That's why I'm rambling on here. I'm waiting for a flash of inspiration or something. Anything. Please.

Okay.

Once upon a time there was this guy. Not a knight or a prince or anything cool like that. Just a regular guy.

Nope. That sucks.

Maybe I'm just not supposed to write about this. People might actually read it, if I wrote something. She might actually read it.

I guess I should think about this some more.

Man I'm so behind on these things. But I don't feel like writing so I'm just going to rush through this.

---

On Tuesday, I went to Rich O's to see SassyGirl and JauntyGirl. This could be the last time I get to see them in that place, so it was kind of bittersweet for me. I took a picture to remember them by.

To drink, I had myself three glasses of Delirium Tremens (712).

After the girls left I stuck around and talked to CoffeeDude for quite a while. I think I bored him with my stories, but at least we didn't talk about coffee. I also tried to get MixedSignalGirl (yes, we're talking again) to come but we got into a fight instead.

---

Wednesday night, I was in Broomfield Colorado. There was a brewpub right next to my hotel. I think it was called CB & Potts, but it was the Big horn Brewery too. Or maybe Ram brewing. It was quite confusing.

Anyway, I had myself a yummy steak dinner, and with it I had a couple of beers:

Big Horn Hefeweizen (20)

(draft) Served in a glass that was way too cold. There were ice crystals in the beer. Once it had thawed out a little, this was a pretty good beer. Very much a German-style wheat, but with the tiniest little bite of hops in the finish. I liked it.

Big Horn Total Disorder Porter (20)

(draft) Very nice. Chocolately and roasty and malty. If this was available near my home it would be one of my favorite beers.

While I was there I talked to the hot bartender and I had several phone conversations with MixedSignalGirl. To drink, I had a 24-ounce glass of Fat Tire (403) and then a regular 16-ounce glass of Newcastle (2348). Then I ordered some chicken tenders and went back to the hotel.

---

Thursday I didn't drink anything. I didn't do anything except go to class and then read a book in my room.

---

Friday I didn't drink anything. All I did was check my email every 10 seconds and try to avoid having a total meltdown.

---

Saturday I flew back home.

After a nice meal at the haunted Burger King, I went to Rich O's and got there at about 8:00. I waved at MusicalHippyDude and GlassesGirl who were sitting at the island, and I sat in the throne and talked to a couple that seemed to know me. I will now christen then Scarecrow and HopGirl.

I had a Delirium Tremens (722).

After a while everybody around me started talking about boring stuff so I moved up to the island. This was about the time I had another Delirium Tremens (732).

Then those people started talking about boring stuff. I realized that I was just bored and that it had nothing to do with anyone else. So I texted HatGirl on the off-chance that she'd come to Rich O's.

Well it worked! I got a reply back that they'd be coming in! Yay!

I think that this was about when I ordered my third Delirium Tremens (742).

After a million years, during which I tried somewhat successfully to lure MusicalHippyDude into interesting conversations, HatGirl came in to say "Hi." She and her sister and LuckyFucker were sitting out front. So after a suitable interval I went out to sit with them.

HatGirl!

Yay!

I spent the next hour or two migrating back and forth between the island and the front area.

Sometime during that period I had a fourth Delirium Tremens (752).

After HatGirl and company left I moved back to the island for good. WomanRepellant had snuck in at some point, as had Bubbles and NoNickNameDude. So I finished my beer and talked with them for a while. I also had a couple Diet Cokes to give the beer time to wear off.

I came home at 12:30 or so.

...limiting the amount of hotness that any one girl can exude.

That is all.