Augusten explains his job as an advertiser. When he was 13 his mother gave him away to her psychiatrist who adopted him. He got sexually abused, and when he escaped he presented himself to advertising from age 19 until now, 24.
Jim invites Augusten to drink with him at Cedar tavern. Jim is a coffin salesman, funeral business. (undertaker) Augusten and Jim Scheduled to be at cedar tavern at 9, but Jim is already there when Augusten arrives, and finds him halfway through a martini. While they drink Augusten talks about his meeting that he has to go to tommorrow and how he hates his job. Jim tells him to get a real job but Augusten wants to keep his job. They have 4/5 drinks and Jim suggests to go to another bar. They walk 2 blocks to "Live Jazz" and "Jumpers". They talk about story's from Jim's job. They have 5 more drinks and its a quarter to one, they are drunk and Augusten is on stage singing, he falls and the security has to throw them out. Augusten tries to read his watch but he thinks its wrong because it reads 4:15.
The next morning they have a meeting at the art museum. He had 2 hours of sleep and thinks he's still drunk. This morning he groomed and then had breakfast, he thinks the fat would absorb his toxins. He takes a lot of breath mints before the meeting. He attends another meeting and meets his client. This is where he introduces his partner, Greer, she has been his partner for 5 years. She bugs him about his drinking problem. She whispers to him that he smells like alcohol and Greer covers up for him as usual. They eat dinner and he orders more liquor.
When he gets home he drinks 1 more bottle then he sleeps for the meeting he is suppose to have tommorrow morning at 10. He wakes up at 12:04 PM and has 3 missed calls from Greer, telling him to go to the meeting and should be there soon He arrives at work just as other people got done with their lunch break. He decides not to make a excuse and try to sneak in. He knocks on the door and Eleanor, his boss, opens the door for him. He notices the meeting has just ended. Eleanor notices that he's been drinking. Greer and Augusesn have a "talk" in his room and she says that because of his drinking problem not only his career is being destroyed but so is hers. That his problem has affected their career. She leaves the office saying that "you are going down but im not going down with you" Then he talks about how they are a good team because they are "fast". He gets home and drinks again, he thinks that Greer has control issues.