Did you notice how often TNT is playing The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers? It seems like everytime I search for an episode of Law & Order all that is found is a couple hobbits running around with some half-naked Steve Buscemi looking creature called Golem. Maybe they were switched at birth. I was never a big fan of these films which might have been my reason to drop out of the King Kong viewing on Friday, (plus I felt like shit the second half of the work day). Dana and Co. still took in the film, and she did love it, but I'm only going to see it if the Ritz Twin is showing it when I return home for the holiday. On another note, after a recent test I've found out that Legolas and I have the most in common despite my hate of pointy ears.

So yes, I did feel like a pile of bile after work, but I went straight home and took a nap. Around 7pm the Builder rallied me to meet the Bowery crew plus Danny Big Sleep at Library for a couple of carbombs. We quickly pounded through a few happy hour beverages which set the tone for the entire evening. An hour later Builder, Chris and Courtney (I'm sorry if that name is wrong) cruised out to Headgear Recording Studio in Williamsburg to hang out with Dirty On Purpose while they mixed their new record with Scott Norton. Stepping into a studio puts a whole new perspective on what you listen for in music. It has the ability to firmly place a divide between the artist and the fan. Unlike a live show where the band work to establish a connection with the audience, studio sessions completely sets a band apart from their listeners. You begin to understand the construction of a song, but at the same time, to the untrained ear, you don't fully comprehend what they are hearing or discussing. It's very intriguing and somewhat intimidating. Thankfully I had a six pack of PBR to help me feel at home.

Somewhere around 10pm I set out for a return to Manhattan. As I strolled down South 3rd with a PBR in hand, I caught the outline of a Jake down the street. I set my beer down in a pile of garbage while keeping in stride, but that didn't please the office who confirmed my beverage before chasing me back to Bedford and hooking me up with an Open Container ticket. When asked, "Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think I didn't see you put that beer down?" I simply responded, "I put it down out of respect," which quickly got me the fine. After standing around for 20 minutes, I was back in a cab on my way to the West Village where some kids were holding it down at the Superfly Holiday Party. A couple of pulls off a bottle of tequila sent me packing and before I knew it, it was 11:30pm and I was firmly planted on the couch.

Saturday continued my weekend of couch domination in the company of Builder and football. You've got to love this part of the season where the college bowls have been determined so the networks keep us tuned in with Saturday games. What's better than two days of football? Try three. Later that evening we met Beach and Gigs at 1 and 1 for a quick beer before heading up to The Garden for my second Knicks game in less than a week. Once again our seats were very solid, and fortunately this game was more exciting than the drubbing handed to The Knicks by Milwaukee earlier last week. The Knicks played solid ball against the Pacers, but eventually lost their poise in the final two minutes. Builder promised to eat 12 hotdogs, but I only saw him get through 7.

On our return back downtown, we bid adieu and went our separate ways. At 14th Street I switched to the Brooklyn bound L Train and took that shit all the way out to the Morgan stop, (yes, this is far by my standards). The plan was to meet Kyle at the subway stop, but when I exited the only thing found was desolate streets and boarded up lots. It is a crazy neighborhood that I haven't been to since my last trip to Office Ops. After a couple of calls, I noticed an imposing figure strolling toward me. It was Big Red and luckily he knew exactly where we were headed.

He navigated us through the empty Bushwick streets until we came upon The Syrup Room. The space is totally raw and amazing. Think the layout and feel of Tonic, but out in the middle of nowhere and built by a bunch of hipsters. The first thing I saw was a empty, opened tour van so I immediately asked the door girl if we could hang out in the van which she replied with a resounding yes. Kyle and I made our way to the bar and dove into some $3 cans of Busch.

Bravo Silva had yet to play which meant they were a full band behind the schedule so Kyle and I took up residence in the van. We must have sat in that van for a good hour. We were graced by Danny, Gabe and Sonya of The Big Sleep along with Cara and Ashley who were there to support their friend Greg who DJ'd. We took turns getting beer while occupying the front seats and the captain chairs of the van. Various folks popped in and out of the van to smoke pot or creep us out, (Yeah, some dude named Sinter scared us to death). Ben, who did some sound engineering, joined us during the Bravo Silva. He told us some long haired dude came up front, and told him he was the Bravo Silva sound guy so Ben passed the duty to him. We later found out it was Sinter who had no previous sound guy experience. Who does that? Some long haired dude named Sinter - thats who.

Somewhere close to 1am The Big Sleep took the stage and completely tore the room a new asshole. They played so loud that the monitors shook in fear their entire set. They really let loose on Saturday night, and it was evident they were there to have a good time. They called Billy from Other Passengers on stage at a couple different points throughout their set. He wailed on the tambourine while destroying what he could on stage. Halfway through their set there was a pause between songs at which point I heard an "Oveis" come from the back of the crowd. Beach, Gigs and Lucy made a strong appearance that only lead to the craziness at the end of the night. We rocked out to the rest of their ear splitting set before returning to the van to finish out the evening.

Everything gets a bit blurry at this point, but here are a few things I do remember. Some ass stole Billy's bag of pedals so Other Passengers didn't play until 2am or something. Lucy and I climbed to the top of the van to hang out, but I had to be careful because Cara and Ashley were in the business of stealing my shoes. They even got one at some point, but I cried a river until they gave it back. Kyle and I shotgunned a can of Busch which sent me over the edge. Kyle claims it was his best shotgun ever. After a cab back to the city, Kyle and I ordered a heroic amount of pizza and passed the fuck out. It was a good blur. I think beer is the new call. No more vodka tonics. I can't remember shit when I drink those.

Sunday was glorious in that I had a tasty brunch at Supper with Christie and Builder before returning to the living room to sit around all day doing work and watching football. Somehow I managed to get tons of work done. Thank god for football.