St. Patrick's Day

Witness the sad transition. *sigh*

2003: Sit in cubicle. Wear jeans and grey top. Type stuff. Eat whatever coworkers have brought to "celebrate". Hope scratch tickets coworkers all went in for win. Blink sleepily, having been up till 11 pm making cupcakes for boyfriend.

2002: Attend parade in Southie with Brandy, who's visiting from Mary-Land. Hit Sunset in Allston for lunchie/dinner and beer. Avoid the crowds elsewhere.

2001: Walk around Cleveland half-asleep (still recovering from Spring Break trip to New Orleans!). Drink green beer and watch bands at the Hard Rock. Make a quick trip to the Flats to take in some more action. Meet up with a bunch of guys we took pictures with at the same place last year. Take pictures again. Watch parade downtown, go home at midday utterly exhausted.

2000: Bust out of bed at 6:30 am because friends have already arrived at apartment and are banging on door, demanding we leave to start drinking. Go to virtually every single remotely Irish bar in the greater Cleveland area. Consider entering Guinness chugging contest at the Harp. Pass around the green lipstick. Meet guys at Fado and take pictures with them. Visit outdoor beer gardens (despite bone-chilling cold) at Fado, Rascal House, Panini's, Dick's Last Resort. Steal a leprechaun from a bar and walk streets of downtown Cleveland shouting "I've got a leprechaun!" in a psuedo-Irish-accent. Eat various greasy concoctions throughout day. Get Italian at an upscale place for dinner despite being three sheets to the wind. Wear giant silly hats to keep warm at parade.

1999: Wake up early to start drinking! Can't seem to budge some friends from bed. Go to the Flats with the early birds and spend the morning at a radio-sponsored event at Dick's, drinking scads of free beer and gathering free tacky green things. Win green hostess snowballs for throwing a leprechaun through a basketball hoop. Run back to campus for class. Decide to say "screw class" for the day and drink a GIANT beer at Rascal House instead. Run to work the lunch shift at work. Try not to let on that I'm completely shit-faced to manager. Serve all friends (21 or not) when they come to visit. Make a ton of money flirting with parade-goers. Leave at 2:00 to catch the parade. Continue drinking and debauchery until night. Pass out in a sea of crappy plastic green things.