4/2/98 -- There must be more to life than just drinking.  I know there is.  And no, the answer isn't "Yeah, smoking!"  Well, I hope not, because then I would have had the answer all last year and not even known it.  Serious, last nite after Hoon dropped me off, Das and Paurno come by and we're sitting around with a sick Ramone watching TV.  We watched that episode of Drew Carey Show, trying to catch the mistakes half-heartedly, then watched that Fred Savage show -- you know you're bored when yer watchin' that show.  Anyhoo, Das brings up the idea of going drinking because, "What else is there do?"  We enjoy a quick and knowing laugh because, naturally, no one has a better idea, so off we go.  We called up a tired Hoon and had him meet us there, and on the way sick Ray realizes that we should call Winston.  Paurno and Das are in Das' ride, so we catch up to them and tell them to call Winston.  It immediately dawned on me that inviting Winston was kind of dumb, too.  It's past 10, no one is really in the mood to drink, but we're going to the same ole' bar to spend money and drink because...it's the only thing to do.  And we'll call up Winston so he can share in our collective boredom instead of getting a night's sleep.      I remember having this same problem back in San Diego when I was still in high school (EEK!  More high school ramblings! Run!).  See, back then myself and a few o' my friends would gather 'round, mostly on weekend nights but occasionally during the week itself, and play role playing games (RPGs for you non-geeks out there.  And yes, this is before all those lame collectible card games and shit like Vampire: The Masturbation.  The Stone Age of geek entertainment, if you will).  AD&D, TMNT, Robotech, Chill, Star Trek, etc.  I'd been playin' em' since I was a wee tyke, but by the latter part of high school I sensed that there was more to high school life than RPGs.  Didn't people go out on dates? Didn't they go to parties?  Didn't they...do other such shit that made my life seem boring and worthless by comparison?      So here I am, six or seven years later, and I'm fronted with the same questions: Don't people go out on dates?  Don't they go to parties?  Don't they...do other cool shit that makes my life seem boring and worthless by comparison?       This isn't an indictment of my friends.  They're certainly not boring and worthless.  I had the same opinion of my friends back in high school, but I was scared that my opinion of my night life would reflect onto them -- that they would think I thought they were boring and worthless.  I didn't and don't.  Part of it is that since a lot of us don't work, we have ample free time to indulge ourselves, just like in high school -- school wasn't a job, and we had plenty o' vacation time.       Part of my thrill at going to that Marvel Mania restaurant was that it was something different.  Granted, it was dinner and it was expensive, so it's not that original, but that atmosphere and the trip up to Citywalk made it feel fresh.  Of course, I'm a comic book geek, so no one else could truly share my joy.  My nights in LA need to have that kind of variety though.  So what do I do, assuming I find work in LA?  I know -- GET SOME!  Yeah, a woman can take up my time...      Of course, I wind up back in Florida, then good God -- so much for having a night life at all.  I think I will go to bars every night there.  After all, "What else is there to do?"  Hah-hah...      Wow, I just wanted to kill some time until the CLICC lab opens and I can start finishing my resume.  What a rant.