Stick To The Rules

I really didn’t have a whole lot of expectations that this Tuesday night would be any better than the week before. I expected it to be dead and that I would end up merely standing for a bit and observing just enough to write another semi-boring human behavior blog. I’m not so certain that this won’t really be as I had predicted but the club wasn’t dead.
An acquaintance named Paul had called and said he had the itch to go out and dance. Jimmy had called and said he hadn’t been there for a while and would definitely meet me over there. I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to bother since Dominick wasn’t up for going out on a Tuesday night. As I left to head down to the lounge Jimmy’s phone was off and I was somewhat peeved that he would be a no-show yet again.
Arriving downtown I looked to the pay lot and it was actually busy. Parking next to what I figured was Paul’s car I jay walked across the street in order to get out of the cold faster. I ran into Paul right at the door, with him was a very attractive girl and I suddenly didn’t know how to greet Paul at all. We’d only really met a couple times and talked on the phone a bit. We honestly didn’t know each other at all. I was strangely left with this feeling of being a third wheel. I didn’t say much to him as I continued on my way, greeting him in a friendly manner and nothing more. Staking out a spot for myself I wasn’t sure what the night would hold.
It didn’t take long for me to figure out that this was a drinking crowd. No one would be dancing that night for quite a while. The DJ was putting out some good stuff but it wasn’t what I would call dance inspiring. It made me want to kick back and just listen. There were several already dancing but this was apart of the “DJ crowd” and I never count them as floor starters. They’d be there dancing if the DJ was just clapping his hands. That’s for the love of the person spinning, not for the love of the music itself.
Paul and his lady friend returned and he came over to shame me both for barely saying hello and for sitting in the corner alone. He was drunk already and his friend was pretty well gone too from what he was saying. Chiding me for being silly I said I felt weird about giving him some big hello in front of the girl, when I didn’t know who she was. He complained that she was merely a co-worker. Wasn’t he allowed to have female friends? I remember getting pissed off at that statement. He didn’t know me well enough to say that in the first place. I wrote him off saying that I didn’t want to mess with his “mojo” by hugging him front of the girl in case he was trying to work his magic. He laughed at me again and walked away. Something about that guy just makes me feel awkward and stupid. Not a great feeling, but he just seems to be one of those people whose personality clashes with mine.
While watching the DJ spin, I noticed an older gentleman making the rounds to any lady in a stationary position. Coming to me more than once he asked me to dance and I told him honestly that I just wanted to sit. Strangle little man that was persistent if anything else, he was probably in his late forties, maybe fifties. Balding with the Fryer Tuck fringe of hair around the back of his head and big round glasses, the sweater and cords he wore spoke of a man that hadn’t been out to this sort of scene since the eighties. Suddenly I was afraid to get up and dance. I would look like a total liar and I didn’t want to hurt the guy’s feelings but I didn’t want to dance with him either. This left me either stuck in my seat afraid to be an honest bitch or going over to Paul and his friends. Giving in at last I went over to join them and see if I could meet some new people.
Which didn’t happen. Introductions were made but neither girl was interested in anything other than keeping Paul’s attention. The co-worker was seriously drunk and the other girl was keeping her attentions divided between Paul and another guy. Drinking down the Otter Pop that Paul handed me, I started to feel a little less uptight but the bottom line was, no friendly relief was going to be found in that group.
That left me to retreat to the dance floor, which was starting to get moving. That’s mostly how I ended the night as well. I danced, I watched people, and I would sometimes go downstairs with Paul’s group to smoke. That only left me to watch Paul and his “friend” make out. BLECK! The music wasn’t moving me, and I was trying too hard to make a good show of not being the uptight person that Paul kept telling me I was. The whole evening was pointless and stupid. I had nothing to prove this flaky person I barely knew. That and it made me angry that I left Dominick for this stupid outing. Ironically an evening at home curled up with someone would have been WAY better than dealing with dumb ass alcoholics.
So there’s a lesson learned. Hanging by myself and staying for my own reasons are what I love about going out. It’s about the music and dancing. When you get caught up with the people or the drinking and staying for reasons that don’t involve my two rules, then it’s time to go home.