“at the time we were going to the bar sunday through thursday, and the club every friday and saturday. by this point i’d settled far too comfortably into this routine, encroaching upon month 6 of my seemingly infinite bender. there was a lot of coke involved, though i’d successfully stayed a spectator for this particular stretch. i knew myself and i knew how out of hand this little permanent party i’d been cultivating would get if i reintroduced the proverbial bag. but as my cheeks swelled with miller bloat and my eyebags hung purple from months of sleep deprivation, the afters plate began to have a little gleam to it.”