Ohhhh Meriadoc. We will have a ton more opportunities to hang out, especially when I figure out where my brother will be playing minor ball. Obviously, when he makes the big I will be in DC a lot. So exciting. I love DC!!! That said, you should probably stop working on Saturdays. There is far too much life to live! I've only had absinthe a couple times and the first was in Italy when I was 16. The bottle we got came with this nifty little flat piece of metal with a handle that could sit on a glass and it had holes in it for the sugar cube. It works really well. We did the whole sugar cube sha-bang how you outlined above with assistance from some local Italians. I liked it but I was too young to fully appreciate the flavors and everything. Maybe I should try it again.