It's Shaping Up To Be A Long Year

Oh my aching head...

New Year's Eve started off civilized. We had a few people over to our place for a wine-tasting before going out to dinner.

We're not wine snobs, but we do go through a fair amount of the stuff (my wife is such a lush...). So when I ran across this site I thought I'd give it a try (with the twin good intentions of helping burgeoning entrepreneurs and saving a few bucks).

Anyway, the wine was good. One bottle was outstanding, one was pretty good, and the other was drinkable - not bad for less than $10 per bottle. We had snacks laid out, and there were five couples, so when we left for dinner everyone was in a good mood, but no one had over-indulged.

Yet...

Off to dinner we went, at the only restaurant in our tiny little community. We all had a cocktail before dinner, and a couple of bottles of wine shared among everyone with our meal - again, very civilized behavior. Then some fool (not me) ordered a pitcher of martinis.

Things went downhill from there...

We were in two large SUVs, and two of the wives had volunteered to be designated drivers. While that was noble behavior on their part, it shifted the burden of finishing off that pitcher onto the rest of us.

Fortunately(?!?), we were up to the task.

After dinner we went to another couple's house to have some champagne and watch the ball drop. Things were getting a little rocky at this point, especially after the third (or was it the fourth?) bottle of bubbly was opened. However, everyone was still hanging in there.

Then our host brought out the tequila.

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

This wasn't just any rotgut tequila. It was Don Julio 1942 - truly a nectar of the gods. A warm, smooth, magnificent drink, made for sipping - nay, savoring.

But it was still tequila. And there's something about tequila wherein one sip leads to another, slightly larger sip, which in turn leads to yet another sip -- well, more of a gulp, actually -- which leads to ... well, you get the idea.

The end result was something like this.

To top things off, we have a wedding reception to go to tonight.

If this trend continues, 2013 is going to be a long -- and painful -- year...