The Big Party of Doom

My parents threw their annual Christmas party last night, and it's not one of those "I just invited some family, coworkers and the ladies in my bridge club" kind of events. They invited pretty much the entire town of Wells, which ended up being about 70 people imbibing and conversing in my parents' house (actually it's about 5 percent of my hometown).

I don't get to come home very often, so I enjoy getting to see all the family friends and people I went to high school with. The problem is that conversation eventually turns into a discussion on how I'm screwing up my future. The conversation typically went something like this:

Interested partygoer: "So Garrett (or Crash, which has become my new official nickname. See yesterday's blog post), when are we going to see you on ESPN?"

Me: "Actually, I've sort of been doing the writing thing for the last couple years so I think I'm going to go with that."

IP: "Oh, that's nice. When are we going to see your name in Sports Illustrated or ESPN: The Magazine?"

Me: "Here's the thing, I've actually been feeling a little burnt out, so I think I'm going to take some time off and get a job at an adult bookstore in Reno."

(Awkward moment of slence complete with baffled stares)

IP: "Well" (nodding head) "You should have the resume for it."

The utterly painful conversation, or the "Hey, you almost died" talk, repeated about 17 times, which sort of felt like getting kicked in the scrotum over and over again.

Oh well, I got to catch up with plenty of friends and I had free run of my parent's wet bar (it was actually a table with tons of alcohol on it, so the party was still a smashingly good time. And, while they might not understand my wavering heart, I think most everybody is pretty excited about what they'll be getting for Christmas next year.

Currently Reading: "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug

Line of the Day: "They were together in silence like an old married couple wary of life, beyond the pitfalls of passion, beyond the brutal mockery of hope and the phantoms of disillusion: beyond love. For they had lived together long enough to know that love was always love, anytime and anyplace, but it was more solid the closer it came to death."

On the iPod: "In the Evening" by Led Zeppelin (best song ever)

Last Movie: Talladega Nights (It pisses excellence)