Party

[Rei]

Okay, I know there was a thread named this already, but I don't know what the heck happened to it.

But the point is...
Ever get invited by a person you don't know very well, to a party where you either know no one else, or more people you don't know very well?
Do you go or not go?

It's perfectly fine if there's a LOT of people at say a club where the people are from different places. It's really awkward if everyone knows everyone else and you don't find any of them interesting enough to spend several hours with.


What brought this up was...
Halloween is coming up, I've been invited to a few parties and I'm determined to go to ONE of them. I really have to stop being a hermit

The only thing is, the one that has enough people I don't know for it to not be awkward is not within transport range from me (it's in the middle of the week. I'm not taking a 3 hour bus ride to a party, taking the bus for 3 hours back at 3am so I can to attend class the next morning an hour later smelling like alcohol). The other one was old roommates that I never really spoke to plus this girl who REALLY disturbs me. Plus I don't have cool friends living close enough to this city to persuade (beg) to go with me.

To go, or not to go... that is the question.

Would you?

[Rei]

GREAT!
It's silently unanimous.

Screw parties! :thumbsup:

[Jezebel]

Would you?
No. I'm absolutely miserable at parties unless I have friends with me. I don't know how to act and usually won't socialize with anyone unless they approach me first. But you probably shouldn't listen to me. I generally hate meeting new people.

[qwerty]

Easy, just get really really drunk and cause a massive scene and then go home with the jerkyest jerk who ever lived. :)

No bus rides needed at 3am just when you wake up.

Honestly the only time I catch buses and trains to go somewhere to hang out with a bunch of people is when I'm paid to. Admitted though when I was 18 I did spend a few weeks(straight, not just weekends) crashing on peoples floors going from party to party just to see what the scene was all about. I concluded it wasn't for me.

[Firelie]

Those both sound incredibly lame.

[Rei]

Those both sound incredibly lame.
I know ~_~
I think I'll just end up sitting home and FINALLY getting around to the stack of books I've been meaning to read.

I'm all for meeting new people... I just dump them on the side of the road if they get boring :D
Besides, I need to network.

[OneBadMother]

If invited by someone I don't know or know very well, probably not. If going with a group of friends, probably. But not with one friend and a bajillion acquaintances. Just having to sit at dinner with a bajillion acquaintances makes me skittish.

[Firelie]

You know what I used to do when I didn't feel like going to parties on Halloween? I used to go downtown with my camera and take pictures of all the zany costumes. :D

[L30]

I'm a shy intp: the worst possible specimen for socialization. I was a hermit for ~10 years: all adolescence and well into my twenties. You wrote that you must stop being a hermit: I understand that very well.
If that is your real objective, then stop thinking and go out.
With unknown people all you do is small talk and jokes (which is 99% of any party's content anyway). Be alert for hints of common interests, and be ready to ask for contacts before you/they leave. Remember, there are many other NT types out there! All the while drink, relax, maintain an open mind and a fun-oriented attitude, and resist the urge to withdraw from the group.

[Rei]

If invited by someone I don't know or know very well, probably not. If going with a group of friends, probably. But not with one friend and a bajillion acquaintances. Just having to sit at dinner with a bajillion acquaintances makes me skittish.
Who said anything about dinner? It'd be better if there was dinner though, cuz thenI could just pretend I was paying attention to my food instead of just being bored watching people get drunk and stupider than they already are.

You know what I used to do when I didn't feel like going to parties on Halloween? I used to go downtown with my camera and take pictures of all the zany costumes. :D
Well I'm already going out on Halloween. I got recruited to go trick-or-eating with some club buddies.
It's a good idea though, I'd work better if my camera was functioning though *cries*

[OneBadMother]

Ah, I meant dinner as a social event being on the lower-end than a party, as in easier to deal with. If I don't like dinner with strangers/acquaintances, I'll dislike a party even worse.

[Vayate]

I get incredibly bored at parties with people I don't know well, since I don't care for small talk and I have a horrendously morbid sense of humor. That and I don't drink to any degree that would make me "cool," as I have massive alcoholism on both sides of my family and have seen what drinking can do to people. I'm basically just stuck with nothing to do.

That said, I'm always up for an outing with a small group of people I know.

[TruorTupnm]

I wouldn't go. I usually already have something planned, so that even when some humans that I don't particularly mind hanging out with invite me to do something, I have an excuse. I'll go to something like that usually if there is the promise of food. ::) And only if it's with people that I know. I don't really care how many others will be involved, though. If it's one cool person and a bunch that I don't know, I won't go, unless it's something especially tempting (some superly cool movie, then food, then some good gaming, afterwards, or something). If it's an invitation from humans that I barely know, I might jump in merely due to curiosity, depending on what else I have to do. No regrets, ever.

[Ijz]

If that is your real objective, then stop thinking and go out.
With unknown people all you do is small talk and jokes (which is 99% of any party's content anyway). Be alert for hints of common interests, and be ready to ask for contacts before you/they leave. Remember, there are many other NT types out there! All the while drink, relax, maintain an open mind and a fun-oriented attitude, and resist the urge to withdraw from the group.
That's spot on how I think about it. If you think about it too much you'll get too worked up and end up at the party with a too prejudiced mindset. Instead, just go, keep an open mind and try to enjoy yourself. Because you ARE going to have a good time right?