Age: 22 Years old
Day of Challenge: Day Eight
Date: 18 June 2011
Location: Old Town, Fort Collins, CO

The core of my friendship with James didn’t really start until we went barhopping in the Spring and Summer of 2011.  It was a great way to get to know each other.  Before our nights in Old Town, I thought of James more as Jordan’s boyfriend than as my friend.  That changed over the course of these nights.  We would talk for hours.  He would make me keep up with him—drink for drink.  I would get trashed.

In the summer, these nights slowly stopped as we got tired of the bar scene.  I went on a solo road trip straight north through Wyoming and into Idaho.  When I came back, I was desperate for a drunken adventure.  James was either sick or just didn’t want to.  Jordan and James told me to have a good time and call them when I was done.  It is the only time I ever went drinking on my own.  It’ll probably be the last time I ever do it.

I started by getting a couple drinks at a stupid bar called “The Octane.”  When I realized they were overcharging me, I left and went to the bar James and I would always hang out at.  Tony’s.  I got a beer and got into a conversation with an older man who was sitting next to me.  He was a Vietnam Veteran who appeared to still be drinking the memories away all these decades later.  He went on and on about the conspiracies the world is filled with.  After a few beers, I thanked him for the good conversation and left.

Then I went to The Sports Exchange.  This is a bar that works like a stock market.  The price of a drink depends on the current demand.  The stock price of each kind of drink up is on a board much like the stock exchange.  It was an interesting concept.  If you didn’t care what you were drinking, you could get drunk for rather cheap.  There were just a couple problems with this bar.  One, it served to minors (Only a few months after this night, it was permanently shut down).  Two, it had a policy to keep up a strong female:male ratio.

I ordered a whiskey and coke and drank it at the bar.  When I was done, I started feeling pretty good.  I went up on the dance floor and started dancing.  I got in with a few crowds and was genuinely enjoying myself.  There was a problem, though.  I was slightly drunk, slightly overweight, and ruining their female:male ratio.  After about 15 minutes on the platform with several dozen other people, a guy came up and told me, “You’ve been dancing aimlessly for two hours.  I have to ask you to leave.”  I didn’t really make a big deal of it.  I followed him and told him I needed to pay my tab first.

I made sure not to give a tip as the strong arm stood over me.  When I finished signing the receipt, he took me to the back door and let me out.  I don’t remember what he said to me…but I do remember responding with a “fuck you.”  I went back to Old Town Square and called James and Jordan.  I was pretty upset.  At first I was afraid that I had been dancing aimlessly for two hours.  When I saw the time, I realized what was really going on.  Bastards.

James and Jordan picked me up and laughed at me most the way home.  I was pretty upset.  I was pretty drunk too.  I still held a grudge for several months.  When that place closed down, I was so happy.  It really was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.