Biking after drinking. What was I thinking?

I have a bike! I borrowed it from my friend's cousin and I am so excited about it. I want to ride it everywhere! It is huge, sort of like a beach cruiser, has back brakes, and I don't think you can change the gears. I'm guessing it weighs about 100 lbs. Needless to say, I can't go very fast and it is surely a workout, as I learned this morning. I road it to a party last night and in an effort to avoid the $20-a-beer bar prices, I packed myself a little vodka and juice for my pre-party commute. Sipping on vodka, riding a bike, heading to hang out with some people I don't know... I am pretty happy after an intense week at work. I was a little too excited about hanging out with a group of young international people and going out and doing social things. I might have drank a little too fast... After finishing the vodka at the friend's house we headed out to a local bar for some more drinks. Took shots of something that tasted like bleach, closed out the bar, then went back to the house... By the time I got back home it was 4:30am!

When I woke up today at 1pm (!), I felt awful. The sun was shining, there was not a cloud in the sky, it was relatively warm (48 degrees), and I had already wasted half the day. My head was killing me (what was that shot?!) and I smelt like an ashtray (you can still smoke in Danish bars, and everybody does it), but today was the day I had grand plans to go for this all day bike ride and see parts of the city that I've never been to and I'm already behind schedule. I forced myself to shower and eat a hard boiled egg wrapped in salami (the only food in my fridge unfortunately), chugged some water, and headed out on the bike. I got to my first destination, the Little Mermaid statue, and had to stop...soooo tired. The sun is no longer shining. The clouds are back. The wind has picked up and the temperature has dropped considerably. The little mermaid statue is no longer there. She was just shipped to China. Now if I can just make it to the palace I'll call it a day and turn back. Why do I torture myself?! I should have stayed in bed. I eventually make it to the palace. Find a 7-11 nearby. Buy an Orangina. Throw down the bike and sit on the curb for 30 minutes figuring out how to get myself back home without vomming. Pulled myself together, got back on the bike and headed home (into the wind), stopping every 5 minutes or so to walk a bit.

Rough day. Laying off the booze tonight. I promise to go grocery shopping tomorrow.

Last night, I met a Danish kid who is an American studies major and he seemed really interested to talk to me about politics and the American way of life, etc. He was showing me his 100+ page thesis about what it means to be an American and how Americans who are anti-government aren't really anti-American because Americans are defined as people who are non-conformists and who will stand up and argue for what they believe in. So in being what may come across as non-patriotic they are actually being very American. Something like that. It was a little too philosophical for me. I was wearing sort a slightly bright outfit, and he made a comment that I must really fit in in America and that people must really like me because Americans really admire people who wear clothes that are out of fashion or go against the grain. Thought that was funny. I didn't realize I was "out of fashion."