I claimed this weekend in the name of Fritschie

THURSDAY

My mom came to visit me. We went out to eat at McNellies and had a blast. I made a futile attempt to pay for dinner, but Mom informed me that it's gonna still be a while before I could wrestle the check away from her. In retrospect, I should've put a couple more drinks on the tab, but hey...

FRIDAY

I took Friday morning off so Mom and I could settle the car loan at the bank. But first, we had breakfast at Blue Dome Diner, which is now becoming a tradition whenever Mom comes to town.

I'm all set up at my new bank. Once the checks and debit card are in my possession, I can bid farewell to BOK once and for all. Time for me to bank with people who give a shit about me.

Work in the afternoon was pretty light, and seemed to pass with no problems whatsoever. After work, I went to Target to pick up a few things, and wound up running into a couple friends of mine, so we went shopping together...also gave me a sneak preview of their birthday presents to me.

Treated myself to some Chinese food for dinner. Chicken Pad Thai is my new heroin lately. Then, off to Borders where I bought myself the Watchmen graphic novel. Never read it before, and I wanted to get a copy before they slapped the "Soon to be a major motion picture" label on it. Damn, this is this a good novel, and my expectations are really high now for the movie.

SATURDAY

Brunch with friends at Blue Dome, grocery shopping, and preparing for the party. We had a dive-in movie at Gene's mom's house. We had a screen set up over the pool, and we watched Jaws, the Life Aquatic, and Pirates of the Caribbean. I had an absolute blast with my friends, I grilled up some fantastic food, and got drunker than I have in recent memory.

About 2 a.m., just after we started watching Pirates, I got myself my eight or ninth shot of Jameson's. That's about when things started turning a wee bit fuzzy. I realized that my equilibrium was a bit off, so I decided to sit down. Just then, I had a strange feeling like I was the center of the universe, and by that I meant that everything around me started revolving, with my head being the axis point.

Gee, maybe lying down on the sofa would solve this. Then, the invisible weights were attached to my eyelids. Hard as I might, I could not hold them open. I wasn't asleep...I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. After a few minutes, or perhaps an hour Earth time, I became painfully aware of some urgent pressure on my bladder. I rushed myself to the bathroom to take care of the situation, mildly interrupted by knocks on the bathroom door from friends asking if I was alright. I was...just needed to pee really badly, and since it was bad enough that I knew I was gonna be passing out soon, I'd rather not have soiling furniture thrown into the mix.

So back to the sofa, where everything in my body completely shut down for routine maintenance...except for my sense of hearing and ability to understand words. I was incapable of reacting to such stimuli, but I could hear what my friends were doing, and ponder what it will be like to wake up in the morning. The last word I remember was "Sharpie".

SUNDAY

Woke up on the sofa, thankfully still clothed and magic-marker-free. However, I did have about thirty stuffed animals piled on top of me. I'm still unclear how so many stuffed animals became available to my friends the previous night, but i gotta give them all credit for originality.

I took a few minutes to get my bearings back, which was difficult with the four-alarm headache, stiff back and the feeling like the back of my throat had been sandblasted. I had a moment of panic when I couldn't find my camera. It was like, "Oh shit! Someone might have my camera, and by virtue of the digital format not only doesn't have to have the pictures developed, but they might already be plastered all over cyberspace."

I packed up my stuff and drove home, stopping at QuikTrip to get a tanker of Gatorade. I down 52 ounces of that stuff by the time I got home, and went straight back to bed.

I woke up around one, and felt much better; nothing a few dozen Tylenol and some caffeine couldn't cure. So, I went to Alisee Momo for the Tulsa Creative Network meeting, and my buddy Corey hooked me up with some grub and Pepsi. I stepped out for a smoke and wound up having to call an ambulance for a bum complaining of chest pains. Just to look at him, I think a little tightness in the chest was the least of his problems. There was sand and gravel stuck on his face, his clothes were ripped in various places, and it looked like he'd been doing some self-medicating and, as per usual with this practice, seriously got the dosage wrong.

Later, a bunch of us observed my birthday tradition: a movie. Namely, The Dark Knight at the IMAX. Pretty. Fucking. Sweet. This was my third time for this movie, and seeing it five stories tall just kicked ass. What a lovely way to finish up my birthday.

Now, I'm home and using up the last of my cigarettes. Tomorrow, I start off my 33rd year on this planet with nicotine patches and hopes to finally give my whitening toothpaste a fighting chance. Wish me luck.