Annual Waggies Extravaganza (ish)

Dec aptly titled the night.

Boulderers met in Wagamamas last night for a festive Japanese meal. I hadn't been in years and was really looking forward to it!!

I met Dec and the legendary Seamus who, I had been told, built the Co op and on the day it was finished, as he cycled home, and only yards from the board, fell from his bike and smashed his wrist. The story goes down as one of the worst luck tales I've been told!

Great to put a face to the name!

We were soon joined by James, Mark, Dave, Jenny, Paul, Jane, and we all stood around as the staff tried to find a table that would seat the lot of us... we got in the way of everyone and the more we got in the way, the quicker they seemed to want us to sit down!!

Diarmuid arrived in soon after and the banter was brilliant craic.

I challenged Mark to an eating competition... why I don't know... I don't eat much and Mark towers over most people - He's at least 8 foot tall! ;)

Well, I didn't even make it to dessert leaving Mark and Dec most unimpressed!! Mark ordered a dessert wine and the lads all seemed to have cheesecake of some sort. I thought the idea of plum wine for dessert was a great one, so I ordered myself one too.

Rocket fuel.

Dec guessed it must have been about 20% alcohol... so my glass of dessert wine did several laps of the table as everyone helped me drink it!! Very tasty indeed, but went straight to my head!!!

We bailed from Wagamamas and headed towards Keogh's pub and Mark and Dec bought rounds for everyone. We found yet another spot to stand in the way of everyone - but the place was jammed, so the corner we were stood in was a lucky find... though looking back - it was probably clear of people because it was at the top of the stairs!!!

No bother to us though!!!

It was a really lovely evening that lacked only one thing.

Tim!

We didn't want him to be totally left out of the proceedings though and so Dec called him from Wagamamas earlier in the night and put him on speaker phone in the middle of the table...

He could hear us and we could hear him so Mark took the phone up to talk to him and Tim said 'I knew I shouldn't have answered!!!!'

As I went home last night, getting out of my seat on the Luas, my back twinged big time. I stepped forward and I almost buckled with the pain. I thought it was just the few drinks I'd had, and I was overreacting.

Walking home... had to stop half way and wait for the pain to die down a bit.

Woke up this morning at 5am in crippling pain. managed to get myself organised for work, though I couldn't put my socks on and could only manage to wiggle my feet into a stupid pair of slip ons.

I've had a slip disc since I was 16 and fell on my neck on the trampoline. I slipped the disc in my lower back and sprained my neck all in the one go. It hasn't bothered me in about 2 years, but when it goes, I'm totally out of action.

As I walked my back loosened up marginally on the way into work but when I arrived and sat down, I couldn't get back up again.

They said to go home, and I basically had to tell them I couldn't get up!!

I took a few strong pain killers and about an hour later - I got up and headed home.

I'm now lying on the floor of my apartment...

For the foreseeable future!

:(