And that's why you don't go out on work nights...

As I've alluded to in the past, Katrina, Alicia and I are currently in the midst of a strange and wonderful free ticket cycle to Lynchburg Hillcats baseball games. Here's how it's gone down:

July 10: Attend work night at the Hillcats game, having received the tickets for free. Deal with hours of rain delays and a pretty terrible baseball game, BUT, receive free tickets thanks to a deal sponsored by a local radio station where you get a free ticket if you buy a ticket to that game. Except you clearly don't need to have bought it, since they give it to you when you give the ticket taker your ticket, and he doesn't know where you got it.

July 24: Attend game for which we received free tickets. RECEIVE FREE TICKETS AGAIN, thanks to the same promotion.

Aug. 14: Attend third free game. RECEIVE FREE TICKETS A THIRD TIME! This is madness!

Aug. 28: Will attend fourth free game. Free tickets unexpected, but still, it's pretty terrific.

Anywho, the other thing we've determined from attending so many free Hillcats games is the magic of the refillable pitcher. Although minor league baseball games don't quite have the exorbitant food cost of major league ones, beer still ain't cheap.

BUT, if you purchase a pitcher, and an initial cost of approximately $17, I think, you can then bring it back to every game you attend and refill it for only $12! ($16 and $11 if you go with generic rather than craft beers.)

Glasses, on the other hand, will run you like 6 or 7 bucks. The solution, my friends, is clear.

Having attended many a game now, we of course have a pitcher (two, actually, Barrett and Alicia both own them), which allows for the cheaper consumption of the alcohol. And we have the system down...arrive, receive free ticket, acquire wristband, purchase beer.

It's the best.

Anywhoo, last night was like the loveliest weather in the world, so it was quite the grand old time at the ballpark.

Look at that happiness.

Also, while at this game, I finally conquered my fear of Southpaw, the murderous Hillcats mascot.

Friends! But look at those eyes; good thing I'm abiding by the advice to keep your friends close and enemies closer. 

Here is the problem, folks, with the free game cycle, the efficient beer purchasing and the lovely weather and quick-moving ballgame: quite suddenly, the game was over, we were too tipsy to drive AND still had a half pitcher of beer left.

The solution? Sit around the ballpark as long as we possibly could in an attempt to finish the beer. Failing that, walk out towards my car, attempting to finish as much as possible then go sit at Katrina's nearby apartment to sober up, failing that, throw the empty beers on my car (this was Alicia's plan, which seemed like a great idea at the time).

Do not worry, dear friends, we did stop drinking at that point, and the far-more sober Katrina drove us to her place where we hung out for about two hours and bitched about work. It was great.

Great, that is, until I had to wake up at 6:45 this morning and everything was the worst.

And that's why you don't go out on weeknights.