September 6, 2010
On Aug. 24, I turned 21 years old, and with that milestone comes the privilege of being allowed to drink legally and gain access to bars and other such establishments. Now, the capacity of drinking itself isn't necessarily a new concept, but being able to buy alcohol on my own whim is nice, even if I don't do it often. When most OU students come of age, they go about the various bars on Campus Corner and get free stuff, and generally enjoy the capability of public drinking on their birthday. I did not do that specifically, but here's my itinerary from the few days surrounding my birthday.
Tuesday, Aug. 24
12:05 a.m. — I decided to head to a local convenience store to make use of my newfound capabilities. Because all liquor stores in Oklahoma close at 9 p.m., my options were rather limited in terms of what I could purchase to low-point items. Of course, this was more of a ceremonial purchase in my mind, so I could deal with something weak. I settled on a six-pack of Bacardi Silver Lemonade and took it home. I drank a couple that night, but did not pursue an altered state. Drinking alone doesn't seem fun to me.
6:15 p.m. — After class on Tuesday, I began looking to find something new I could do. One of my best friends from Lawton was coming up on Wednesday, so I settled with hanging out with an old friend in Oklahoma City. We went to the Redpin Restaurant and Lounge in Bricktown to bowl a couple of games and have some drinks. The games were reasonably priced, since we showed up during happy hour. The drinks were a little more expensive; I got a "root beer float," she got a margarita and we each got a lemon drop. We then walked around Bricktown for a while, touring the area and letting the alcohol work out of our system.
9 p.m. — We went up to a T.G.I. Friday's on Northwest Expressway later. I hadn't been to one in a long time, so it was a nice change. I had a half-rack of ribs while she had some chicken pasta. I didn't drink any alcohol at that point since I had to drive back to Norman, but it was still a fun night.
Wednesday, Aug. 25
7 p.m. — We got off to a relatively late start on Wednesday. My friend got lost on his way to Norman, ending up in Oklahoma City by mistake. We met at Sooner Mall before heading back to my house to drop off his stuff.
8 p.m. — Citing the need to head to a liquor store before it closed, my friend suggested we go buy our refreshments for later before we went out. We went to Corkscrew Wine and Spirits at 24th and Lindsey, as it was the closest one to the house. I'm not much of a drinker myself, so I didn't know what to get. I decided on some Captain Morgan spiced rum (which my friend sprung for), while he got some Jameson Irish whiskey, his personal favorite.
8:30 p.m. — We went to Campus Corner later that evening. We stopped at O'Connell's first, as he was curious about the place. We had a couple of beers, and he got a double-shot of whiskey as well. I found out that I'm not much of a beer person, not particularly fond of Sam Adams Oktoberfest or Blue Moon. We weren't really in the mood for burgers, which is O'Connell's specialty, so we paid for the drinks and walked a couple of blocks to Hideaway, where he got another couple of Oktoberfests while I just had a root beer. We enjoyed a pizza with Canadian bacon, mozzarella and parmesan. It was good, but not as good as Hideaway usually seems to be.
11 p.m. — We went back home to let the food digest before beginning the real drinking. We watched last week's episode of "Futurama" that I saved on my DVR, then began making drinks. He poured me a couple of Captain & Cokes that were a bit heavy on the rum. By about the middle of the third one, I had a pretty strong buzz, but avoided doing anything rash. We stayed at the house the rest of the evening, playing video games and the like before finally hitting the hay at about 2 a.m.
Thursday, Aug. 26
9:30 a.m.- I woke up the next morning without any sort of hangover, albeit still a little sleepy. My friend was looking for a cheap place to get some breakfast, so we went to The Diner on Main Street in Norman. We ate French toast and discussed things before he made his way back to Lawton, and I got ready for class.
On the whole, it was a fun couple of days.
— AJ Lansdale, professional writing senior
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