I went on an art date with LaRue earlier this week. We went to an opening at the Banana Leonowens Gallery, and then we saw a video showing at Salvation, and then hit the Bella Muse for the Audio Deviance event.

Somewhere between the Gallery and Salvation I picked up a bottle of Fireball at the LC. LaRue and I filled a teacup with hooch and passed it back and forth during the video screening.

Halfway through this black-and-white zombie video, I went to fill up the teacup and realized the bottle was done. “Hey what time is it?”

“Twelve minutes to ten.”

“Shit!” So I ran out the door of Salvation halfway through the movie, and ran two or three blocks up Agricola Street to the liquor store so I could get another bottle of Fireball.

That bottle didn’t last too long either. Now, I’m not normally much of a drinker but it was my night off and I must have been feeling a little ebullient.

I don’t recall being really drunk, however I can remember two things I did that I probably would not have done if I hadn’t been under the influence of alcohol.

1) After the video screenings were over, a few people started moving the couches around at Salvation and putting the place back in order. I stood in the middle of the room and gave mock interior-designer directions: “No, I really think this would look better over there. Oh, on second thought, put this couch against that far wall.”

At one point, two people were carrying a couch, and they set it down at a weird angle in the middle of the room while they adjusted their grip.

I put my hands up to my cheeks and said, “Perfect! Oh that’s just perfect.”

The people moving the furniture, whom I did not know, did their best to ignore me.

2) There’s an old pinball machine at the front of the Bella Muse. LaRue and I were hanging out up there and just goofing around.

First I pulled back the plunger of the pinball machine and let it go and started flipping the flippers. Then I put both hands on the plunger and held it in front of my crotch.

A bunch of people I don’t know came into the front part of the Muse. I proceeded to ride the plunger in and out of the pinball machine while singing “Welcome to the juuun-gle!”

That Fireball is scary stuff.