Boy, do I need to learn not to let big Sikhs talk me into drinking too much! We had a lunchtime party to celebrate our 1.5 release yesterday. We went to Rio Grande in LoDo, where they make some fantastic margaritas. I didn’t have any breakfast, so I already should have exercised more caution. I kept falling behind in my margarita-drinking, so I kept having to drain the last half in one gulp. I had three big margaritas there at the Rio Grande, and then when they kicked us out to clean up before the dinner crowd, we decided to go over to Old Chicago for more drinks.

I was getting kind of picked on by Harman, Rana, and Shiraz, our three Indian staff members, so I decided to start matching whatever Harman drank. Harman is taller than I by almost 6 inches, outweighs me by about 90 pounds, and is a career alcoholic besides. So here I am, trying to down Crown Royal and soda at the same rate he is, and doing a fairly decent job.

About 5:30 or so, Harman and the others took off, leaving me there with David, Janet, and Patti. I went in to use the restroom at about 6:00, and I didn’t emerge until abut 7:45. In the meantime I spent far more quality time with a public restroom toilet than I ever care to again. I was pretty freaked out – one of the restaurant managers came in and asked if I was okay, and I got him to call the paramedics. I thought for sure I was emergency-room bound. By the time Fire Rescue got there, I was already sobering up – I guess most of the drinks never made it into my system. Luckily, David stuck around the whole time, although he was supposed to go to the Nuggets–Kings game that evening. His friends had cancelled on him, or I might have been in a real jam.

David helped me get home, and he stuck around and watched some TV while I passed out in my room. I slept like the dead until about 5:00 this morning, when I got up and started getting ready to face the day. Of course, I was sorely tempted not to come in, more because I didn’t want to face the humiliation than anything. Patti had stuck around most of the time I was rediscovering my prayer life, and she of course told Harman and everyone else. They’ve been fairly good-natured about it – they didn’t make my life too hellish.

I feel pretty stupid. I’d never been that messed up before, not even on my 21st birthday. Of course, I had eaten three square meals on my birthday. Right now, just the thought of tequila or whiskey makes me queasy.

So aside from the fact that I probably dropped 4 IQ points yesterday, things are going pretty well. I just got a new cell phone today – a Nokia 8260. It’s at home charging right now. The Avalanche swept their first round against the Vancouver Canucks. Things seem to be going well with Jennie. We went to the Rockies game together on Saturday, and I went up Monday to watch the Avalanche game with her and some other friends. We’re more or less officially dating. We’re supposed to go out again just as soon as we can. This weekend’s not going to work, though. I’m helping out with Security at StarFest again, like I did back in September.