Ending the Year Appropriately

I bid goodbye to 2011, and I did so with both flying colors and style. (That's from an old running "gag" between me and some of my friends and consistent blog readers.) The final days of the year have been relatively more quiet, but quite alcohol-fueled (for various reasons) and they were about as memorable as most of the year.

The good thing about the final days of the year is that the most of it have been unplanned, and involved people that most likely I'll be seeing a lot of in the coming year.

Christmas Day.

I had quite a Christmas Eve. being a guy who's on the move 98% of the time, I welcomed the isolation and the silence that only Christmas eve could provide. Since the family does not traditionally celebrate the overrated holiday, I loved myself up in my room and for the first time in a long time, I slept. (After having a ludicrous amount of drinks with The Big Man, of course.) The following day, Christmas day itself, I had a surprise visit from the Island Girl. We had another one of those talks, one wherein I never could quite express myself properly. (I've always had that problem. I could wise crack anyone until the cows went home, when it comes to verbally expressing my emotions, I stutter like some retard on meth.)

Still, it was peaceful, and after she went home, I went to see the Big Man and the Critic (who were reportedly drinking at the time), hopefully to get my holiday buzz on and get some dimsum while i was at it. They were already passed out when I got there, so I took a long walk, glad that the fucking holidays were over.

The Day After Christmas with The Scoobies.

The following night was spent with The Scoobies (or some of them). I have come to realize that my days without the Scoobies have become more and more rare. Still, it was a good night as usual. We drank, ate, laughed and shared ghost stories. There was also a bunch of extras from that Asiong Salonga movie there, and hearing the anecdotes were amusing. There's something about hanging out with the Scoobies that relaxes me, even though most of the time nothing noteworthy occurs. I'm guessing it's a feeling of contentment I don't sully get with others, plus the fact that I've always regarded them as grown ups, even back in college, the expectations of a good night are different. Not lower or higher, but different. Whatever it is, being without he Scoobies feels right, which is one of the many reasons I'm celebrating my 30th with them.

Marbles once more.

I actually went to the office after Christmas, hoping that there was something to do. (And of course, to try and get to spend some time with Erin, which, unsurprisingly, I didn't get to do.) What was supposed to be a productive night turned into a night at marbles as a teammate, bored out of her gourd, wanted to go out drinking. The night was especially revealing. We talked about our sex lives and past relationships, as well as future plans of degeneracy. I'm looking forward to it, personally, and getting to have Mind erasers at Marbles before the year ended seemed like the right thing to do.

Another Road Trip with The Breakfast Club.

Incidentally, one of the last days of the year also was the last day of employment for a beloved teammate of ours. In fact, the team's unofficial name was based off of his person's nickname (one we made up, of course). So, it was off to Laguna with the Breakfast Club for an event many were pessimistic would actually take place. But there we were, playing billiards, drinking tequila, cracking jokes and for some reason sharing ghost stories. The way I see it, that initial trip to Tagaytay turned us into a team, that team incentive competition thingy turned us into peers, the events surrounding the Christmas party turned us into friends, and that night in Laguna turned us into some dysfunctional family unit. On our way back home, we parted ways one by one, and I'm hoping that every single one of them feels as optimistic about the bond as I am. From this point on, regardless of what happens (even if I get fired, which is a certainty I face every two months) I'm sticking around this bunch.

Lighting the Sky on Fire.

Much like Christmas Eve, I had planned on sleeping in during New Year's Eve. However, in typical fashion, Jo F'n Regis put me in a position to shift my plans. And I was glad to do so. He, like me, was spending the holidays alone, and he wanted to company. So I showed up, and the year ended with us at the balcony of their three story home in Sucat, with a clear of the sky as it lit up, signaling the end of the year. From our vantage point, we saw fireworks as far as The Fort, and for thirty minutes we gazed at that spectacle, each lost in thought. I was going over the events of the past year, and Jo, well, I'm guessing he was just happy he's starting the new year back together with The Therapist. She even called him, and hearing Jo say the words "It's going to be our year" to the woman he loves was the perfect thing to go with the fireworks. Once the fireworks died down, we geeked out, drinking Bailey's and watching a couple of scary movies like the bro-geeks that we were.

Of course, those activities led to my first official stupid act of the year: urinating from the third floor balcony down to the vacant lot behind their home. As I peed, I swear to god, I was stating the words I've found myself stating time and time again form the moment I met the guy: "Damn you Jo Regis."