I have had plenty of embarrassing moments over my 38 years of being alive. I am very clumsy and do plenty of stupid things, and I am also not very smart so I can ask dumb questions from time to time.
But one of my most embarrassing moments happened after drinking with some footy mates. In 2004, the Red Lion Hotel sponsored my rugby league side. The Red Lion had a pub downstairs and a nightclub upstairs; unfortunately, it doesn’t exist anymore.
In Wagga, a venue’s popularity would go in waves; for a while, The Victoria Hotel would be the place to go for a time, and then a few months, it would change to another venue. It was the Red’s turn when we got them as a sponsor.
Plenty of big nights were had there, but one, in particular, stood out. It was one pre-season, and some players and I thought we would get together and have a few drinks. We never wanted it to turn into a big night on the glass, but usually, when you say that, it’s a massive one.
We kicked off the night downstairs in the pub. It started tame and mellow, and then it started to get busy. I noticed the girl I had a crush on arrived as the nightclub opened. Once I saw that I suggested that some of the guys head upstairs.
But once we went upstairs, that’s when the night got crazy. The nightclub would serve jugs of Midori and Fruit Tingles. We decided to order some. They were meant for four people, but we always got them for ourselves. On this night, it was a mistake.
Once we had downed a few, we started to drink them straight from the jug, and then the night went blank. The next thing I remember is mum and stepdad woke me up at 7 am, and I was on the front lawn, and they got me inside and put me to bed.
I wake around midday, and mum comes into my room. I asked what had happened; she told me that when they were making breakfast, our neighbour across the road knocked on the front door that morning and told them I was asleep on the front lawn. I asked how I got home, and mum wasn’t sure.
I noticed something written on my arm in black texter, but I couldn’t read it correctly. It wasn’t until I saw it in the mirror that I knew what it said. One of my friends had taken my phone and my wallet.
When his sister dropped them off later, she told me what had happened. I had drunk too much, so some friends took me home. But because I was passed out, I couldn’t get inside. They didn’t want to wake mum and stepdad up, so they left me on the front lawn. They took my phone and wallet so no one would steal them from me while I was passed out.
I was pretty embarrassed, but it makes for a good story.