"When In Rome..."

I figured after the "New Year's Fiasco," I wouldn't be able to drink again. Just the smell of Captain Morgan would probably give me the gags -- and beer wasn't too far off the mark, either.

It was late February until I had my first drink -- a simple Miller Lite. Since then and up 'til now, I was taking 'er easy.

Until last weekend.

My old South Dakota buddy and once-college roommate Josh was throwing a house-warming party for a new home that he and his wife had just built. Josh's instructions were: "BYOB, plan to spend the night." My eyes opened, knowing that my tolerance was shit. But I figured -- what the hell.

As the night wore on, I was extremely relaxed, although I was getting fairly tired. Late-night sprees went hand-in-hand with my past life style, but now -- with a career and a huge responsibility -- that all went to the wayside. If I had it my way, I probably would have been in bed before midnight. But I trudged on, continuing to watch the NCAA tournaments on TV, drinking Miller Lites and socializing as much as I could.

At one point during the night, I almost lost it due to the smell of Josh's Bacardi. The wave of the smell, and even the offer for a sip, almost sent me running for the bathroom. After removing myself from the poker table (I did not play), then my stomach came back to normal.

I'm not completely sure what time I actually crashed, but we did manage to close down the local bar at 2 in the morning, then stayed up a little while afterwards and got to see the many phases that Josh goes through during a period of heavy drinking. It's all good:

• Mellow Josh
• Happy Josh
• Kissy Josh
• Dancing Josh
• Sweaty Josh
• Hometown Hero Josh
• Fighting Josh
• Snoring Josh

All-in-all, great fun. Although I didn't drink a whole lot, I sure felt it the next morning. I slept and slept and slept, like I never slept before. I didn't want to wake up, but when I did -- my head sure felt it. Slightly shaky, I managed to get by through lunch.

Then, I had another obligation.

An old classmate of mine was having a softball fund-raiser at a bar and lounge. For 5 bucks, you could drink all of the tap beer you wanted (5 kegs in all). Prizes were also given out, like t-shirts, caps, signs, lava lamps, glasses, and even a TV. In the end, I didn't win anything, but I was nervous showing up in my state -- still a little shaky with a headache -- knowing that tap beer could possibly be the "end-all" for me.

But as it turned out, it was a-ok. Jarrod was the "master of ceremonies" of sort, drunk as usual, and Mike and Lacey even made an appearance. Another old friend, Jason (who we affectionately call "Mac") was there, catching up on old times. The highlight of the night was when Mac and I were talking movies, and "Anchorman" was brought up. The quote from the movie, When in Rome... was widely used -- every story, every witty comment -- When in Rome... was used. Good times...had to be there!

Surprisingly enough, the tap beer was tolerable. I had my fill, even ate some supper, then towards the end of the night, I gave it and downed a Morgan (luckily for me, it was fairly weak). I had planned on staying on another night at Jarrod's place, but I was completely pooped from the night before.

A great weekend to start back up. I needed a great weekend like that, considering what's currently happening right now in TonyTimes. Weddings are just around the corner, softball is starting to gear up, and the future is looking optimistic.