Today's rambling: The recap...good and bad
Written on Monday, Mar. 01, 2004 at 6:33 p.m.
while feeling a bit

Would you like to hear about my weekend in Pittsburgh? Of course you would! Though the end of it brings another one of those "this is why you should never drink" lessons. I will hear no "I told you so"s, however, because I always berate myself more than enough for my stupidity. So with that said, on with the story!

We got to Pittsburgh around 5, but then we got completely lost and weren't able to find Whitney's apartment until 6! We went straight from there to the Hard Rock Cafe, which was a fun time. Well, it was a little awkward 'cause all the other Pitt PSP people were there before us, so we didn't really talk to too many people at the other tables. There was one guy I wanted to go up to because he was wearing a Zeppelin shirt, but of course I'm too nervous for that. I ended up getting to know him later anyway, heh!

There was this other guy who kept coming over to talk to us, and he was SOOO good-looking. Of course, he seemed to pay more attention to Lindsy, because she's skinny and blonde and all that (not exactly pretty, but cute in her own clueless way...and yes, she is VERY ditzy). Anyway, his name was Jay. You'll need to remember that, 'cause he'll be appearing again later in the story.

After eating, we went back to Whitney's apartment (she shares it with I think 3 other girls), and they had a party. I guess technically there were 2 parties, 'cause there was one in Whitney's for awhile and then it all spilled over into the apartment next door. Jackie, who was one of the girls that came with us, doesn't drink at all. And all they had was beer, so I didn't drink, either. Nobody really made much of an effort to chat with us, so it was really awkward and I was feeling homesick (for college, ironically) and wanting the weekend to be over. It got better later on when Mike (the guy with the Zeppelin T-shirt) and some others decided to play Trivial Pursuit. Of course, they kicked my team's butt, but then we kept playing against the other team to see who got second place...and didn't finish 'til nearly 3 am! It was the longest game in the world, I think.

Saturday afternoon, I went out sightseeing with Karen, Lindsy, and Jackie. Jackie and I had never been to Pittsburgh before, so we were snapping pictures all over the place, lol...We went to the Point and hung out there for a little while, then took the bus back to Oakland, where Whitney's apartment was. I called Mom and talked to her for a little while, and then we all went off to the meeting place for the scavenger hunt. That started at 7, and I was put on a team with 4 people who I'd never met before. That made it a little weird, 'cause Karen and Jackie got put together (so I was wishing Lindsy and I could've been together too, lol!). I guess it was a good thing, though, because it forced me to be social.

That part was fun, but I didn't really want to stay for the party that happened afterward. I had one rum and Coke, and almost asked this one girl if she could take me back with the few other people who weren't staying for the party. But Karen and Jackie hadn't returned yet, so I decided to wait for them.

I definitely shouldn't have. And here's where the lesson starts, folks. ;)

I had a few glasses of rum and Coke, but then the rum ran out (insert PotC quote here), so I substituted vodka. Which normally, I hate. The stuff's like paint remover. But I was so gone at that point that I didn't even care. I think I only had one glass of that, because then the Coke was gone. And even in the state I was in, I knew I couldn't drink any of that stuff straight. So what did I, in my alcohol-induced wisdom, do? Tapped the keg, of course! X_X

I don't like beer. It looks like urine and tastes like vomit. But again, I was so far gone that I didn't even care. So I was drinking it and being quite the little socialite, going up to people that I didn't even know and striking up conversations. I chatted with one guy from Penn State and he text-messaged my phone with his AIM screen name (after I asked, hehe), and then I decided that I wanted to go out and dance.

If you recall, Berry does not dance. She feels like a retard with no rhythm when put out on the dance floor. But not only was she dancing, it was that ridiculous 'grinding' sort of dancing that people enjoy doing nowadays. And she was doing it with dear old Jay. Jackie told me last night that we danced for like 5 songs straight, but I only remember one, heh! X_X

What did me in (as if none of that other stuff would have) was when I walked up to the 'bar', I think just to talk to people. But someone thrust a plastic cup in my face and said "Do this shot of tequila!" And like an idiot, I did. I immediately knew that that was going to make me sick, but I didn't actually become sick until we got back to Whitney's apartment, I think. And then yes, I became very familiar with their bathroom. *sighs*

You know what was really nice, though? That guy Mike came home later and stayed there with me for goodness knows how long. He was there rubbing my back and forcing me to drink water (in the hope that maybe I'd just vomit everything up and feel better), and then he told Jackie to make sure she checked on me at least once an hour. He was like, "Don't let her pass out," 'cause I guess that wouldn't have been a very good thing. :P I know it's not nice that the whole thing happened, but I thought it was so awesome of him to have taken care of me like he did. There I was, this virtual stranger to him, and he definitely didn't have to stay there with me. He could've been like Karen and Lindsy, who were both like, "There's nothing we can do for her, we're going to bed," but he didn't. And dear little Jackie set an alarm to wake her up every hour to check on me. I feel like I can't even thank her enough for what she did.

I was sick all day yesterday, of course, but I didn't upchuck anymore, at least. Still, it was like the worst feeling in the world. This is the first time I was actually crying in the aftermath, heh...I remember Mike coming in at one point, while I was slumped over the bathtub (yes, the tub), and I started crying...he started rubbing my back and kept saying, "Don't cry, it's alright!" And then the next day, Jackie said something to me and I just started crying again. And THEN I talked to Mom later last night, and started crying again! I think the reason I was like that was because I was so miserable before the scavenger hunt. When I'd been talking to Mom, I'd almost cried there. So I think it was just all of that coming back to haunt me.

The funny thing is, the last time I got this sick was last semester during ALF. And y'know what? The situation was exactly the same. I was around people that I didn't know very well at all, and I don't know if I wanted to 'impress' them or just what, but either way I knew that the only way I'd be comfortable was if I got buzzed. And like the ALF party, I went way too far. I'm not saying it's an excuse, it's just that I'm starting to figure out what situations make me go overboard like that. And now that I know, I can keep a better check on myself if such a situation ever occurs again. :P

So anyway, yeah. That was my weekend in a (rather large) nutshell. Learning my lesson very slowly, but at least I am learning! Actually, you'd think I'd just learn not to drink ever again, but I can't help myself. >_< Still, I don't plan on letting myself go that far again...All I have to say is, thank God for the wonderful friends I have, because I'm not sure I would've made it through as well as I did if not for them!