OH, WHAT A NIGHT

Damn, I feel like New Year's Eve went by on fast forward. It was fun though, really fun. The night began how some others end on New Year's Eve, namely, puking. Not because I was drunk (promise!) but because my friends and I decided to shoot a few rounds of Jim Beam (ugh - that idea is making my stomach churn as I write this) and the last shot I did didn't go down well, in fact, it came right back up (gross!).

Ah well, we were ready to go, when someone (not me - I swear!) suggested we grab a few beers "for the road". Since we were walking to our festive destination, and didn't have to take a cab or anything, I agreed. Why not? Shit, in the Summer it's not uncommon to walk down the street with a beer, or maybe even a cocktail in hand (on side streets, that is). What's the worst that could happen, it's not really against the law, right?

Wrong. Friends and I were jovially walking down a side street, but when we got to a main road, Chicago's finest saw us, hit the brakes and proceeded to "pull us over". Fuck! Ah well, as the two female officers approached us, I poured the rest of my beer out. However, one of my other friends asked one of the cops if he should pour his out. She responded "how fast can you drink it?" which he took as his cue to start chugging it.

Not a good idea. The other officer went slightly mental, and started screaming at us, threatening to throw us "in the slammer" (yes, that is a direct quote). Here's another gem, also from my beer chugging friend "uh, don't you have anything better to do tonight?". (Slaps hand to forehead) Doh! I tried not to laugh, but it was impossible. She took our ID's, ran them in the system, then after realizing that we were harmless, let us go with a warning. Thanks!

Our destination was the local German-American Cultural Exchange Center, where a band called the Polka-Holics were set to play (think punk band with an accordian). This, my friends, is how to spend a New Year's Eve in Chicago. Although I didn't really dig it last year, this year I very much enjoyed myself. We drank, spilled beer on each other, bitched about not being able to smoke, and watched other people dance. One of my friends even joined an impromptu conga line. Word!

Right before midnight someone suggested we do more shots of whiskey (OK - I'll admit, it was my idea this time) but to our collective disbelief, they had none. "No whiskey? The fuck?" was my response. However, the bartender suggested an alternative, a personal creation of his called "kill-a-bitch". I shit you not. He claimed there was deer blood in it, by which I think he meant Jaggermeister, and possibly even Rumplemintz. Or maybe really blood. Ugh. Somehow, I kept it down, but it was sick, as you could imagine.

Eventually, after exhausting our drink tickets, we decided to call it, and walked back to my place. On my street, my friend found a $100 bill, while another one stumbled up the stairs, and nearly broke several pictures on my wall. I passed out in my boxer briefs, next to a girl in my bed (a friend - I ain't playing for the other team, haha). All in all, it was a great night - and cheap, somehow I only spent $33.00! Happy New Year!