It was that time of the year again between Christmas and New Year's when you never know exactly what to do with your free time. Old habits die hard and back when I was a shiftless uni student I would spend much of this time (the night portion anyway), on the internet or watching Foxtel (occasionally I would go for late night run or bike ride as well). Foxtel seemed like a good option even more so because of the four rounds of EPL over the Christmas period. I was looking forward to it, however, I had realised that all of Arsenal's fixtures were early morning so I had to record them and speed watch them the next morning. This was disappointing. NYE soon came around and I was wary not to make the same mistake as last year. I would actually do something this year and head out.
New Year's Eve
It was a Thursday night and like any other Thursday night I was on the prowl, but for what? The game plan was to catch the train into the city and meet up with the other boys. I fulfilled my end of the bargain and waited patiently across the road from Tigerlil's. Soon I was joined by the gang and there were whispers of a high potent bottle of alcohol which I would be encouraged to drink. Conjecture soon past and I was able to evade this ominous challenge.
The streets were quiet and I begrudgingly paid the $100 VIP entry fee at Tigerlil's for the NYE beach cocktail party. Expensive perhaps, for unlimited punch and some inauspicious food. I paid the bill and headed south. It wasn't busy at all but I certainly wasn't complaining as there is normally no room to move. Some of the food was good I must admit and I enjoyed the punch.
We had been hitting the sherp so to speak, and we were all enjoying the unusually quiet surroundings. Soon the punch was gone and I started to panic. I drank what I could and stayed clear of the beer. Time passed quick and soon it was midnight. The atmosphere loosened and the drinks became abundant whether I liked it or not. One or two of the boys disappeared but there were still four of us; Snr, Sull and Vesper. It was around 0130 and we kept on drinking but I was feeling fairly tired and also quite drunk so I decided it was time to make my move. I walked out onto Murray St and headed up to West Perth to freshen up and charge my phone at work before catching the train back to Fremantle. I was struggling to stay awake whilst my phone charge and almost gave up.
I kept pushing on and caught a train back to Fremantle. I couldn't wait to jump into a taxi and to head home but there were none around so I had to line up with all the 18 year olds at the taxi rank outside of Metros Freo. The young blokes were talking about getting sherp'd, chasing sheilas and mates who dog each other. It had been so long since I had waited this late at night for a taxi and especially for one outside of Metros. The taxi dropped me off on Cockburn Road and I walked a few hundred metres until I got to our house. It was after 4am and the sun had started to come up.
My drinks dossier from NYE
It's safe to say that I was fairly hungover / tired the next day but definitely not as bad as the night at Tigerlil's three weeks earlier.
January
Two days later it was time for Goat's engagement party at his new house in Wembley. Goat's house was very nice and I very much enjoyed the night.
I went back to work on the Monday. I started running in Kings Park one night a week after work. I started doing this because I had been seeing recurring numbers every time I checked the time on my phone or looked at a clock. I didn't know what this meant but I thought I would start running.
Australia Day
It was a Tuesday and the plan was to go to Sull's for lunch, a drink or two and FIFA. I wore some old clothes and made the journey north. This is what we mainly did but to my surprise there were a few other people there and I was not appropriately dressed. Jas and I ended up on the foreshore in Burswood and played soccer until it was time for the fireworks. There were a few bogans there and also a conspicuous pair from Armadale. Their intentions were good but the bloke caused havoc and the myopic patriotism from the bogans was not well received. I enjoyed the show (both of them) but I knew the real event was about to start. I left the crew at 2025 and ran to my car. I was apprehensive and slightly scared. I focused the whole way home and managed to avoid all of the traffic which could have ruined my night. I did well.
February
Nothing overly exciting or unexpected happened, just the usual i.e. work, study, exercise, eat, sleep, tv (only in moderation), go out every third Saturday when Sull is back to the races followed by Tigerlil's / Lost Society etc. Jas, Sull and myself did discuss our America trip (more of a Vegas trip judging by our discussions), nothing really eventuated though.
March
Probably slightly busier than February and the weather was more forgiving. Dad discovered a staircase nearby called Manning Steps. I started running there once a week late at night.A couple of nights out with the gang and I slept in my car for the second time this year and third time in the last three months. I slept outside of Sull's this time as opposed to outside of work in West Perth.
April
Work had become increasingly busy and that accompanied by the notion of study made for a stressful month. I hit the sherp twice in April, first for Mal's bucks party - a good day at the races followed by a night drinking watching sport in Northbridge. The following Friday was take two - Mal's wedding. The wedding was at Joondalup Resort and it was a really nice day / night. I managed to catch a lift back to Como / Applecross where I caught a lift home with Dad. I consumed a reasonable amount of vodka towards the end of the night but luckily I wasn't too hungover the next day, just tired.
The following week I had study leave for a tough exam and my parents are in Europe so I also had to prepare food for myself. Time will tell if my intentions were true but I do hope that I did not fail this exam again.
