Some night, wha?

So Friday was very large. When we headed down to Kelly's, I had had seven beers and a few rye and gingers. I learned that I should never sing Spencer Davis Group (not that this is a valid defence, but when you have the spins and can't read the words on the screen, what do you do?) Bon Jovi is no longer alone on the blooper reel.

Spins, shmins, though, for afterwards we headed to the Trinity Pub. Met up with another crowd of friends and decided to shoot Sambuca. The attempt to light the shot on fire in my mouth didn't turn into the cool-blue-flame spectacle that usually results, but more of a scorching of my upper lip. Thankfully I was too far gone to really feel it. Headed back to my place for a cup of tea. And then I realized it was 6am. That's probably the latest I've stayed up on a winter bender. It's weird not having the sunrise to tell you how late/early it is.

The rest of the weekend was (necessarily) pretty relaxing. Shot some pool for the first time in ages on Saturday night. And on Sunday, nothing was done. Now for some motivation to make next weekend just a smidge more productive:

Resolution recap

Cook more/lunches - This has been going fairly well, with a lunch packed at least three days a week now. And Tim's has become my latest take-out destination, as its cheaper and not quite so bad for me (plus it comes with good coffee!) I have gone to a lot of restaurants for supper lately, but most of those were social outings. I still haven't really tried many new recipes -- so I gotta get on that. But I'm still cooking two or three times a week -- a marked improvement from a few months ago.

Half-hour of housework per night - This started out fairly well, but it's shrank to about 15 minutes a night now.

Electronics lab - I've got a massive Digikey order in the works. I've just been trying to think of other things to add before I finalize it. Probably just as well to do that now, cuz Lord knows there'll be a few things forgotten.

One woodworking project per two months - I'm actually ahead of the curve on this one. I've got a pair of plant stands in the works, with only two edges left to stain. So hopefully they'll be done for the weekend. It drives me nuts; I can get the actual "forming" done in a few hours. Then it's just days of sand, stain, sand, stain. I wish I were more of a morning person, since I'd be able to apply a coat then and have it be dry by the time I get back from work.

Keep it up with piano - OK, so I'm giving up on improvising for now, as I think this is the sort of thing that requires a teacher. But I still practice at least 15-30 minutes a night, sometimes closer to an hour. Over the last month, I've learned a new piece and almost memorized it.

All in all, not bad, but could be better. We'll see how it goes next recap.

Another January bites the dust

I (along with many others) despise January, what with the post-Christmas blahs, short days, no prospect of a long weekend till Easter, terrible weather, etc. This one wasn't so bad, I thought, but I'm happy to have winter that much more over with.

The weekend was pretty entertaining. Started out with a happy hour at Arriba's, and then to my cousin's MBA bowling fundraiser. It was BYOB, which made the experience all the more unique. I found that bowling is one of those activities that I do better when I get a little drunk, but quickly goes to shit after that (sorta like pool and speaking French).

After this bowling episode, some of us decided to continue on -- and my karaoke* suggestion was a big hit. After I stated I would not do it, my cousin went up and belted out Roxanne. It was interesting being on the receiving end of such an act. (Good God, this is what I've been doing to people? I'm a monster!) And then a few of the b'ys headed up for Don't Stop Believing by Journey. Quite the spectacle.

Saturday was a little tamer, but my head appreciated the break. A few drinks at my place with a couple of friends -- can't ask for much more, eh?

Sunday was the Superbowl. First, a big thanks to Hanz for providing a few of us with a 50" HDTV to watch the game on. Alas, he was in Curaçao on business. Holy moley, what a game. Or I should say, what a finish. A sour one for the Pats, no doubt, but I guess you gotta respect the grit of the Giants (says this incensed Packers fan as their playoff blood was spilled at the hands of said Giants).

I was going to do a resolution recap now, but this entry is long enough, and I could use a few more days to enact some of these resolutions. And I'm aware of the irony of procrastinating a task of "self-improvement", so don't bother pointing it out.



* I'm fully aware this keeps happening -- but I can't help it, it's just too much goddamn fun!