Twas the Night before Christmas

I should be in bed sleeping after last night. It was a monumental effort to fight sleep on my long journey home a couple of hours ago. Once I got home though, it sort of left me completely, and I also discovered that while my phone line is still dead, I have MTNL triband working perfectly. I didn’t ask why or how that was possible. When life gives you an opportune moment you strike upon it. Which is the whole point of this post. I could probably doze off right now, believe me, the bed is calling to me. But then you’d probably not get a more honest post from me later on. I’m not going to be descriptive as usual, but rather I’m going to be straight up and tell you what I’m feeling. This is the best time to write, when it’s still fresh in my heavily hung over mind. This is the opportune moment…

As was last night. Life gave us a lot last night I think. And we did a wonderful job of striking upon it. Things were looking bleak just seventy two hours ago. People were tentative about coming, some people had problems at home, some others were too far and it was too late for them to come. The fact that the whole plan was devised on MSN didn’t help proceedings much either. We were a skeptical bunch in that chat box on Friday night… But I don’t know why, somehow I knew that things would turn out perfectly in the end. I had a hunch that everyone who could make it would in the end, make it. Don’t ask me why I know. Maybe it was something in the air that night. The Christmas spirit, if you will. I don’t know, but it’s beside the point.

So, to the actual night…Yes, yes I was hammered. I was gone completely beyond recognition. I was slurring in speech and shaking in stride. It had been a long time since my last high like that, and by god it felt good. Took a while to get me like that though. At one point, I was actually wondering whether anything was going to hit me at all you know. There were two bottles of rum, a very large bottle of Vodka, and some beers to go through the night. When I look back now, and try and tally how much I must have drunk, I think it was something like a half of the Old Monk, the midnight shot of Bacardi, definitely half the vodka, and one beer in the beginning. Oh not to mention our good old buddy, Mr. Bronx. Before that vodka came along I was fine. Things were going well. The two Gayatris were both already smashed, with Priyanka taking up her job as drunky-sitter for both of them.once again, in the very best of spirits. Although in retrospect, Big G hardly required a hand, she was already getting everything a normal girl might want *cough, cough* Mini on the other hand, required a sharp nudge or a poke every now and then, to keep her awake. And maybe a few more for all of those sleazy sexual innuendos that you know only she could come up with! At the point that I’m talking about, here was the situation with the booze. The rum was dead, and so was the beer. All that remained was that large domineering mutha of vodka. Now these had been polished off rather quickly. Any sane person would wait awhile, and not open the vodka. But we were randy little bastards, especially Hakkim and I, and we were on a mission.

Meanwhile, Shahvan being the genius that he is, decided it was perfect time to introduce Mr. Bronx to everybody. Now Bronx is this wonderful little device that requires 4 cigarettes, a quarter of bottle of rum, and a plastic soft drink bottle. I’ll try and put up some pics of it, if I find any, to explain what it exactly looks like. Basically the idea is to take a drag of the four cigs sticking out of the bottle, with the fumes of the rum. A major mule kick in the head is guaranteed every time.

You know the best part about being high. It’s when you’re standing on that edge, the edge of reason if you will. Behind you lay sanity and inebriation lies ahead. When you finally take that next step, that transition, the few seconds in between of absolute bliss, where you tell yourself for the first time, that you are going to be drunk, that’s what makes it all worth while. The self realization and the immediate acceptance of your body to your mind’s decision. That’s the real high right there. I think that just before that bottle of vodka was opened, I lay on my line of self realization. I had a lot of both the Bronxes prepared, and the rum was still in me. I was buzzed a little bit. When I went to open the vodka and I came back into the hall, I spotted everyone below smiling up at me. Well, all the drunk people at least. That was my moment of change. It was like standing on the edge of a high diving board, and watching everyone who had taken the plunge, almost calling out to you to dive in as well. I made my decision. With a smile, I opened it, and took a large swig. They had to get it out of my hands in order to get it for themselves. I was mildly content. I lay down in between everybody and made myself comfortable, singing along with the rest of them. By the time the bottle came back to my hands, I could see that they had been busy. A little less than a quarter of the stuff is left, and it gets into my hands. That’s when it starts. The chanting. Down…down…down…And I’ll bet it was mostly the girls who did it! I debated for about a few seconds. Then it didn’t matter any more. I started. I was counting the glugs in my mind, as it went down my gullet. And it was done. I remember smiling at everyone all around me. I flopped down harder this time, onto someone’s lap, I think (I think it was Priyanka) and I counted my blessings that at that point Comfortably Numb started playing on the deck…*sigh*

I realize now, as of this moment what the whole night meant to me. Right now, when I’m in a very sleepy, very hung over state, yet smiling, I’m thinking about all of you. I’m thinking about the best Christmas get together I’ve ever had in my 20 odd years on this planet. My brain is doing loops s fast right now; it’s almost like a Loony Tunes show. You what’s really funny… I can still hear snippets of last night’s many wondrous conversations echoing in my head very softly, Running from chamber to chamber in my mind. And when they get just audible enough to make out the words, I smile as I remember them. I don’t even know what’s keeping me up right now, this sudden urge to write this much, this itch to have everything recorded down and well documented as proof of its existence. I want to share with the rest of you what exactly is happening in my head right now. I don’t know if I’ve made much sense in this little fiery write-up and at this point I don’t really care. What matters is that I’ve said what I’ve had to say. Hmmm, as I wrote that sentence just now, I could feel that I need to wind up this post. It feels like it’s time. Just one more thing to be said. Thank you. Yeah…every one of you. For everything. For all the efforts, for just about everything that was said, done and everything that transpired. Last night would not have been that magical if any one of you were not present. To the ones who didn’t make it, we missed you a lot, we really did, terribly. Fear not though, there shall be other nights. We have three years together. And may they be the longest of our lives…Love you all.

Darius Mistry