My hangover is almost gone (but the 'I'm a dickhead' feeling remains.)

Guilt. That's my problem, or perhaps it isn't a problem, if I change for the better. Catholic guilt though, what about that? I am RC, though I never go to mass, and have never had communion, nor even been to confession.

I don't know why I felt so crook today? Until I totalled up what I'd had and where I'd been in my diary, that is

Crown Hotel:        2 schooners of Pale Ale. ($6)
Trinity:                  3 schooners of the 'B.O.M' (beer of the month, always $5.)
Royal Exhibition:  2 schooners of Coopers Pale Ale ($6.20)
Strawberry Hills:   2 schooners of Endeavour Pale Ale ($7.50)

I did not actually finish my third beer at the Trinity, alhough to counter that, I remembered that Damo gave me a bottle of Carlton Dry when I was over at Neil's earlier in the day. Which means I drank almost 10 schooners of full strength Aussie beer. 10 schooners is equivalent to about 7 1/2 pints, which I don't drink, thank God, in Australia, though some of my friends prefer them.

I could tell that I was stuffed, walking back Elizabeth Street to my flat, stumbling, uncoordinated, slurring my thoughts if not my speech,. I would usually stop at 6 or 7, so I don't know what happened last night, maybe just the urge to stay out and not go home?

Now it's almost 5pm and I feel like a beer! No! NO! NO! I'm going to have an OJ, at first anyway.

My mate Bill used to say that when he had a hangover, all he could do was sit at his table and watch the clock ticking around and around, hour up on hour, until the feeling passed. He could not eat or drink or read or watch TV, or listen to music or talk to anybody. All he wanted to do was to watch that clock, as I'm watching mine, 1657, and I'm going out at 5!