Bend It Like Jefferson
bend·er n.
1. One that bends.
2. Slang. A spree, especially a drinking spree.
Officially, this past week was Jessica’s last week in Bakersfield before starting work in LA, so what started as a plan to celebrate her leaving in conjunction with our traditional 4th of July party slowly began to spiral out into a week long party. The next thing I knew I was going down to LA on a Wednesday night for a concert, bar hopping in B-town the next night, helping move Jessica to Pasadena, participating in a Texas Hold’em tournament, and celebrating Independence Day two days in a row, all the while drinking at every possible moment. It seriously became a weeklong bender to end all benders. By the end of all the festivities, I feel willing to swear off alcohol for a month.
This is somewhat reminiscent of the movie “Remember Last Night?” where several socialites go on a huge bender only to swear off alcohol forever in the end. The only difference here is that in the movie, someone is murdered at the party and in their drunken stupor no one can remember what happened. Maybe it’s more like “Mr. Deeds Goes To Town” where the socialite promises Gary Cooper the greatest bender possible, minus the whole trying to feed donuts to a horse thingy. Then again, there’s Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” that has the socialite who recognizes the Tramp as his friend while on his rampant benders only to forget him once sober. Well, despite a rich history of films involving benders, none quite captures the exact nature of the week.
However, things weren’t all just parties and drinks. I also managed to play golf, see “Wordplay” in theaters (with a brief cameo made by the director), and finally get to eat at the infamous Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles (delicious). While I am somewhat glad the bender is over with (so that I can catch-up on my sleep and start losing that party weight I put on) I’m not quite ready for the aftermath; people returning home to their apartments, work starting up again, 5am wake-up calls, etc. But at least it’s a short week and the weekend will be here before I know it for some more R&R time.
At least that’s the plan.
1. One that bends.
2. Slang. A spree, especially a drinking spree.
Officially, this past week was Jessica’s last week in Bakersfield before starting work in LA, so what started as a plan to celebrate her leaving in conjunction with our traditional 4th of July party slowly began to spiral out into a week long party. The next thing I knew I was going down to LA on a Wednesday night for a concert, bar hopping in B-town the next night, helping move Jessica to Pasadena, participating in a Texas Hold’em tournament, and celebrating Independence Day two days in a row, all the while drinking at every possible moment. It seriously became a weeklong bender to end all benders. By the end of all the festivities, I feel willing to swear off alcohol for a month.
This is somewhat reminiscent of the movie “Remember Last Night?” where several socialites go on a huge bender only to swear off alcohol forever in the end. The only difference here is that in the movie, someone is murdered at the party and in their drunken stupor no one can remember what happened. Maybe it’s more like “Mr. Deeds Goes To Town” where the socialite promises Gary Cooper the greatest bender possible, minus the whole trying to feed donuts to a horse thingy. Then again, there’s Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” that has the socialite who recognizes the Tramp as his friend while on his rampant benders only to forget him once sober. Well, despite a rich history of films involving benders, none quite captures the exact nature of the week.
However, things weren’t all just parties and drinks. I also managed to play golf, see “Wordplay” in theaters (with a brief cameo made by the director), and finally get to eat at the infamous Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles (delicious). While I am somewhat glad the bender is over with (so that I can catch-up on my sleep and start losing that party weight I put on) I’m not quite ready for the aftermath; people returning home to their apartments, work starting up again, 5am wake-up calls, etc. But at least it’s a short week and the weekend will be here before I know it for some more R&R time.
At least that’s the plan.
posted by Chris Burzlaff @ 7/05/2006
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