Another drinking story.
Last time I wrote about the time I first got drunk. Today I thought I'd share another drinking story, this one about the first time I blacked out.
Anyone who's gotten drunk and then continues to drink like they arn't drunk and trying to get that way will know what I'm talking about. For the few who may not be familar with it, blacking out is pretty much when time passes completely and you have no memory of it. You're awake, alive, and probably doing some activity but yet you will not recall it.
The first time I blacked out was May 1, 1998. I remember that date for 3 reasons:
- It was a fraternity brother's 21st birthday (actual name not used - we'll use "Mark")
- It was the end of finals week
- It was my fraternity's 150th anniversary
Those three facts combined with me being only 18 demanded that I get drunk at some point during the night.
I didn't get drunk right away. Mark wanted to celebrate his birthday by going to Pleasure Island and getting drunk. So Mark, myself, the brother who was driving ("Gary"), and another brother ("Hector") all pile into Gary's car and drive down. We get there and imemdiately Mark starts letting loose and having a good time. I only got a few drinks because I didn't have that much money and I wasn't going to ask Mark to pay for my drinks on his birthday.
One memorable moment was when we were all in the Rock and Roll Beach Club and they announced Mark's birthday. They play "chumbawumba" and as he goes up to the bar to get a drink, a young girl stops him and asks if he'll go buy a drink for her. He tells her he's not buying her one so she corrects him, saying that she's giving him money but just needs someone of age to buy it.
Mark, being a sucker for cute girls, agrees. She gives him $5 for her drink and he goes to the bar and orders two drinks. He goes back and gives the drink to her. She looks at him with a "what are you, fucking stupid?" look and says "CHANGE?????"
Now I could understand if she gave him a $20 or even a $10. But a $5? At Disney, her drink was at least $4. You give a complete stranger your money and asks him to do you a favor and then you demand your fucking change??? Mark, now looking to cut his losses, gives her $1 and walks off to continue drinking. Still, I couldn't believe that bitch.
We leave a little after mid-night and head home. Myself and Gary are sober while Mark and Hector are either drunk or buzzing. We're on I-4 and Gary is driving pretty wildly. He's going very fast and swerving around cars. Eventually Mark makes a comment and Gary tells him that the guy behind him won't stop tailing him.
This happens all the way from I-4 to the toll plaza on the 408 by the small airport. For those not knowing, this is about 15-20 minutes of driving. Right before the toll plaza, we discover why the guy was tailing us so badly. It was a cop. He pulls us over and comes up to the car.
The cop tells Gary that he'd been following him for a while and the worts he caught him speeding was doing 85 mph in a 50 mph zone. Surprisingly, the cop reduced the offense to speeding 9 mph over the limit because Gary was not an asshole to him. I learned then that if you're not a dick to cops, they're more thank likely to give you a bit of a break.
It still didn't change the fact that I wasn't a big fan of Gary's and was secretly happy that he got the ticket.
At the time I was living in the old campus dorms, so I left the group and headed to my place to meet up with some friends. Two girls I knew were having a very small party in their room and I definately wante to drink with them. I grabbed my bottle of Smirnoff Vodka and headed over to their place.
When I got there, they were already drunk and I had some catching up to do. Now, recall before that I said it way my Fraternity's 150th anniversary. I decided that I would try to honor the fraternity by drinking, but I wasn't sure how. I decided that since I only had a bottle of vodka, I'd do shots. Well 150 shots were out of the question, so I decided that I would do 15 shots by nights end.
Ladies and Gentlemen, in a feat I have never since replicated (nor do I have any intention to do so) - I did 10.5 shots of vodka in 40 minutes. I think this is where the wheels started to come off the wagon.
Now, I started at 3 a.m. I had nothing in my stomach except some of the alcohol I had at Pleasure Island. And now I'm adding 10.5 shots of vodka (no mixer or chaser) into this stomach. What the hell was I thinking???
The night became blurry - fast. I recall joking around with everyone and walking into the bathroom where one of the girls was partially naked. She was hot so I liked it. She wasn't too thrilled. Women ought to learn how to loosen up. I walked out of the bathroom and sit on my friend's bed, still talking. This was the last semi-clear memory I had. It was about 4 a.m.
I feel like I blink and suddenly I'm puking into a toilet. It's dark, my eyes are teared up, and I'm a violent puker. This is not good. Within the first few moments, I realize that I'm not in my friend's bathroom. They had a different configuration. I finish puking and walk out of the bathroom to see that I'm in my own dorm room.
Let me just say that I was drinking at my friend's place - which was on the 4th floor of another dorm. Somehow, I was magically transported 4 flights down and one building over and into my room. And here I thought those transporters from Star Trek weren't invented.
Anyway, I walk out of my bathroom and notice that my roommate wasn't there. Thank God. I turn off the lights but to my surprise, it's still pretty bright in my room. I look over at my roommate's clock. 9:00 a.m. I'm missing 5 hours of my life. I say to myself "Oh God, today is going to suck" and go to bed.
A knock on the bathroom door jarrs me awake. It's my suite-mate - the RA of the floor. He comes in and asks to borrow something, then mentions that he heard me puking this morning. I could only muster a "Yeah, I had something prety bad last night."
I pass out and wake up sometime later, then immediately call my friend and ask her what happened. Then I hear the lovely words "You don't remember?" She tells me pretty much the following:
- I was there until about 6 a.m., talking, laughing, and having a good time.
- At about 6, I told them I wanted my "Pink Vodka" and that I was going home. It was referred as my "Pink Vodka" because we highlighted the cap pink to tell them apart from the other bottles.
- My friend was about to grab her keys and walk me back to my place using the elevator but that by the time she was out of her room - I was halfway down the stairs. How I didn't just tumble down 4 flights is beyond me.
- By the time she got down the stairs, I was already in my building and the door shut. She went back to her place.
After getting off the phone and stunned that I walked down 4 flights of stairs and then was able to work two sets of keyed doors - the thought dawned on me. Where is my wallet, keys, money, and alcohol? I don't recall where I put any of those key items. Surprisingly, I was a creature of habit while blacked out. Every item was exactly where I normally place it.
That was the first time I blacked out as well as the longest time I've blacked out. I've blacked out a few other times but not for 5 hours. Still, being in one place one instant and somewhere completely different in another is kind of shocking.