About twenty minutes ago, I arrived home from my third party of the year - Andrew Tran's and Jimmy Nguyen's combined 18th birthday party. On the whole, it was a fun night, but I couldn't tell you how it rated as a party, since it's not often that I go to parties.
When I was having a shower earlier today, I analysed the various situations that could arise at the party. For example, I thought about whether I would prefer to stand up or sit down at the party, and decided on ways to relieve any awkwardness and ease my way into conversations. I know that most of you don't think about this stuff before a party, but oh well...this is what socially inept people think about.
My ride to the party was supplied by Adrian Ossa's brother, with Adrian and Peter Jewo tagging along. Upon arrival, I was faced by two security guards, who needed to check if I was on the guest list. I showed one of the guards my name, and continued through to the backyard. My immediate impression of the backyard was that it had a real Western Suburbs homely feel to it - the type of backyard you'd love to run around as a little kid. I was torn between which group of people I should say hello to first, but eventually decided on Domenic Leonello and his mates, since Domenic was the first to call out my name. Then, I went over to Antonio, Ralph and Dean, who were preparing food on the barbecue. After a few more handshakes from people I knew, I began to feel comfortable with the atmosphere of the party.
The first proper conversation I had (and perhaps the only real conversation I had all night) was with Domenic. We are a lot closer than most people would suspect, and we share so many idiosyncrasies. We kept changing the conversation topic, depending on what came to mind. My night pretty much consisted of standing around (or sitting around as it got later), and chatting casually to others. There were a few times where I said nothing for five minutes...I find it hard to open up at parties. I got to meet Larisa and Brenda - two followers of my blog. They're nice girls; I felt comfortable around them. Brenda gave me the nickname of Santo, and remarked that I would mention her in my next blog...and well, I just did. Larisa claimed that I was "so serious," and I wanted to prove to her that I could have fun...that I was a normal person. Don't worry Larisa; your comments didn't offend me.
It was a pretty tame party, in the scheme of things. There were perhaps only three or four people who were totally out of it (off their faces). There were quite a few happy drunks, most notably Kyle Wilson and John Giang-Nguyen, who provided their fair share of entertainment. Nguyen Bui was great company on the guitar, and I was treated to the amazing singing of Larisa and Ralph. Andrew Tran ripped his pants. The kitchen floor was slippery. Artiene Tatian is naturally funny. The bathroom was practically always occupied, which made me think that people were using it to make out in. As is usual for me at parties, I kept my alcohol consumption to a very, very small amount. All I had was ONE beer, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I just don't get the hype over alcohol.
From a social perspective, I didn't do a lot of talking, and didn't talk to anyone I didn't know. I mean, I spoke to a few people that I didn't know, but it only lasted for a few seconds, and didn't count as conversation. I didn't feel as awkward around girls tonight as I usually am...so that's a plus. I'm just not a party person. I don't like party music, and can hardly recognise any songs that are played at today's parties. I don't see parties as a place to 'chat up chicks'. I hardly drink any alcohol, and seeing people who are really drunk disturbs me. In saying that, I like going to parties because it's a chance to have a night out, and a chance to interact with people I feel comfortable talking to. All of the things that I dislike about parties are cancelled out by what I call the 'party trade-off'. That is, I do not have the right to complain about what goes on at a party, because someone was nice enough to invite me to it in the first place. If I was to hold a party, there wouldn't be dance music playing out of loudspeakers. Hell, there may not even be music at all! But the party trade-off gives the host control over what goes on at the party. The guests should respect the host's choices because they wouldn't be at the party if it wasn't for the host/s inviting them.
My brother, who came from the nearby Santo's Pizzeria, picked me up from the party. A few of his mates bet him that he wouldn't find his way to the house, located in Togil Street, Canley Vale. Just to prove his mates wrong, my brother quickly passed by Santo's on the way home, where his friends were seated out the front. He yelled out to them "I'm going home now, but I just wanted to say I FOUND IT!" He left the scene in style by chucking a burnout. He does that from time to time.
Oh well. Another night dissolving into nothing but memories.
Regards,
Steven
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