drinkmorethinkless.com | Its not all sad and tragic

The Limelight, Downtown Sacramento, January 2002 The Limelight is clammy on a Saturday night. The usually sedate bar is packed with a bunch of guys with matching haircuts and black leather jackets. If they weren't busily scoping the crowd for available women they'd be easily mistaken for your local gay scene. Well, that and the fact that they all have that "hover zone" that they try to maintain to keep each other at a close but comfortably safe distance. The scene on the patio is better, but something like this: Girl (hair teased all high, make up and clothing costing a small fortune and meticulously done. Her look says "hootchie", as does her demeanor): "I'm so DRUNK!" This much does not really need to be said -- this is very American of her. The patio does not notice or pass judgement, so she says it again: "I'm SO DRUNK." Frat dude: "If you...and your friend...wrestled...who do you think would win?" Girl, looking for all the world like the guy has asked her for a three-way (which, in essence...): Oh, sheya. Whatever.

The scene is changing, as am I. This used to be my idea of a good time. I was watching the Real World and the stupid chick was blind drunk and all belligerent and I thought "I remember those days."

This is not to say that I don't have my moments -- I was having a nice conversation with Ralph just the day after Christmas. (I would have puked Christmas night, but somehow that takes all the romance out of the yuletide bar roam.) I had a girlfriend who once asked me "aren't you a bit too old for that" about five years ago and I think the answer is still "no, I'm still just as retarded as I used to be."

Just the same, I think its time to move on. The well is a bit dry here, and I'm glad for it. It makes room for other things. My friend Molly gave me the idea for this whole mess back in the dorms in 1992. It was during a remarkably lucid moment over the sandwich bar that she said "you know, you should write this all down."

The idea would ferment until I started dicking around with HTML in 1997 for work and did a little project on the side. It sort of grew from there as I tried to get down those years while we were still close enough to 'em. College for me was a remarkable time and some funny stories came out of it.

Those years are mostly past, though, and while I still have my moments where suddenly I realize that, no, not everybody's Reno bachelor party involves going out and deciding that everyone needs to buy handguns to shoot in the desert, they are of a bit different and more intense nature than the wanton rampage described herein.

There's lots of adventures ahead, and I'm sure some of them will find their way here or elsewhere.

Until then...

Your Pal,

Charlie Bill

Dedicated to Roy McGivven for giving the Chico culture the phrase that graces this website and for all my friends over the years who dropped by for a spell.