Through most of college my drinks of choice were whiskey sours (when the budget allowed buying liquor instead of Red Dog or Beast). I’ve had all the right mixers in the house for a week and just poured myself a tall one with Jim Beam black. Boy-o-boy, now that’s a tasty drink. And I’m super-glad that the budget can now sustain buying bettter materials than Old Grandad or Old Crow. Now all that’s left to do is mix another one and hope that the Flat Tire ales I had at the Saucer tonight don’t want to pick a fight with ol’ Jim later this evening.

To say I’m running a sleep deficit might be the understatement of the decade. Once upon a time, four hours of sleep was good enough to get up and do it all over again. Those days are probably fading faster than I want to admit. Still, I like to think I’ve got one or two more good runs left in me. I’ve got five working days out of the next two weeks and with the proper application of coffee and raw determination, I might just be able to hang on for the ride.

Of course just now it’s off to bed… Tomorrow’s wake up is about two hours earlier than usual. God help me.

As a rule it doesn’t tend to take all that long before people start annoying me… Particularly people who are in my space for an extended period of time. When someone’s in my space and that doesn’t automatically happen, I’m pretty much at a loss. I suppose that means we play it by ear… Yet another skill which I seem to completely lack. New frontiers all the way around, I suppose.

There’s something about the early hours of the morning that I’ve rather come to enjoy. It’s the steam coming from the just-poured cup of coffee, or the steadily lightening of the sky, or even the lack of traffic noise. It’s being flanked by two dogs who are happy to do nothing more than hang out at your side. And it’s the as yet untainted promise of the day ahead. Then you leave the house and realize you’re still surrounded by morons… So, I’m going to enjoy this moment while it’s here.

I’ve never been one to subscribe to the “simple man with simple dreams” nonsense. I’ve lived with myself long enough to know better than that. Life is too complex to be distilled down to something as simple as a white picket fence… Or in my case a Berlin-esq wall patrolled by Blackwater. It’s got to be more complicated than that, right? It’s not that I object to simple, though… Just that if it’s so simple a caveman can do it I’ve never seen the point in wasting time with it.

At the moment, though, I’m starting to think that simple is what I need for a while. My thoughts turn to hopping a flight to somewhere with sandy beaches and a rum economy. Or better yet, to morning espresso on a Florentine piazza. In any case, there’s something appealing about just picking up and going. All the old classic signs are there that it’s time to take a break… Now it’s just a question of finding the time to make that happen. Looking at the calendar between now and the end of the year is not hartening. Knowing what I need is simple as pulling out a map and throwing a dart… Trying to figure out how to get there, now that’s hard.

I dearly love seeing my old friends. Despite the wonders of the electronic age, we all still pretty much suck at keeping in touch with one another. And nothing is quite the same as being together one more time and for a brief moment and putting aside our professional decorum, the responsibility of hearth and home, and for a while just being the guys again. No matter what anyone says, farts are still funny and there is something priceless in spending time with people who know all your mistakes and still put up with you.

Of course tere is also the aftermath of recapturing lost youth… when your body and brain remind you that despite your best efforts you’re not 17 any more… And there’s a reason you don’t stay out till 3 in the morning now. My gait was definitely a little slower this morning and I could have probably gone to bed right after dinner, but all things considered, I wouldn’t have missed this weekend for the world. Thanks guys!