ALWAYS PACK YOUR OWN BAGS

It has been exhausting. There was a birthday party with very expensive liquor, cigars, lobster claws, and gummies. It was exceedingly noisy. Many people enjoyed themselves immensely. Did I mention that it was noisy? Several times I was the only one who noticed the phone and answered it. By the time I left I was all jangly.

Group events are not my thing. But with enough coffee and tea I can put up with them, for the duration. At halloween parties I'm the one dressed like the invisible man. Always.

You can't see me? Good, it's working.
I'll tell you later that it was wonderful, gosh, you wouldn't believe! Fabulous.


A splendid gathering, lots of very good booze, lobster claws, caviar, crudites and shrimp. Gummies. Cigars. The young Pakistani lady with expensive taste in cigarettes came in.
We chatted pleasantly for a while. Her relatives still don't know that she smokes.
I think she was somewhat taken aback by the hullabaloo. As was I.
And I had been in it for several hours.


Apparently that's the most expensive cognac in the world. And that champagne, I've heard, costs a fortune. The vodka was rare and award-winning. I stuck with tea.

When I left I was one of three cold sober individuals. The hullabaloo was heading into its seventh hour by that time. All I wanted to do by then was reread some poems from the Tang era which I had remembered about halfway through the racket. I could not quite recall the precise phrasing, but it seemed very important.


Tea is marvelous for staying properly hydrated, good for the digestion, and helps you keep several steps ahead of foaming mobs. I highly recommend it. There are several decent brands of Pu Erh tea bags, as well as things like Shui Xian and Oolong.
Stimulating beverages are the basis of civilized life.


I always have extra tea bags in my coat pocket.
I'm a real boy scout in that regard.



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