Saturday night. Even those words conjure up an image of blandness and boredom and forced fun.
When I was growing up if you weren’t getting yourself drunk before heading to the under 18s night or ice skating (also drunk, which could have been interesting. Although in reality it would probably make me want to self harm) then you were not cool. Fact. Luckily I grew up as a social outcast through personal choice. I had friends I grew up with but when it came to drinking alcoholic bleach and running around the streets I found I’d rather listen to music and read. It wasn’t so much the drinking, I sometimes did join in and sit on the sidelines therefore labelling myself as the boring one although it wasn’t always so. I had a laugh like the rest it’s just that I didn’t need to smoke, drink or take drugs at the time to enjoy the ramblings.
Fast forward ten years and things are about the same but on a higher level. Now I’m not avoiding the social pressures of the street grouplings or the under eighteen nightclub mongings. I’m in the clubs, sort of, and so out the streets indefinitely. Much nicer and something I took advantage of early on. I went to rock bars and hung out with friends and everything was all cosy and nice. Then it all got a bit clique and stupid and scene. I stopped heading out as much as I was in college or working or avoiding it. The problem was that the people from the streets, the groups who hung out and got drunk and set fire to wheelie bins were also in the pubs, bars and clubs. The arseholes outside were now inside and ruining my idea of fun. I managed for the past couple of years to happily have a lifestyle that let me wander around and pick and choose my nights out, so avoiding Saturdays happily and still maintaining a social life. Life was good.
Then a friend talks to me, tells me Saturday nights out are getting boring,
“No one is going out anymore, everyone wants to stay at home.” Blame cheaper alcohol in supermarkets, the recession, blah de blah.
So I decided to go out last night, a Saturday night with just one other person. Which can go wrong because;
- Having one person with you limits variety. Luckily this wasn’t an issue. You know how you always have one person you can hang out with alone without being bored? You don’t? Well I had one of those with me. Problem solved.
- I tend to stick to the same places all the time, find a cosy corner and don’t move a muscle incase someone out of my group engages in conversation with me. We were going somewhere new and alien to me.
- It was my birthday and so the idea of fun was practically enforced by my friend and gave me a hopeless feeling of having to be entertaining.
As soon as we walked in he left me at the bar to go to the toilet. I froze on the spot, a feeling of sheer panic and confusion covered me. The bar was busy and full of middle class, middle-aged afternoon drinkers. Being the non fashion conscious type and looking like a cross between a hippie and ribena currant I tried to blend in by casually standing at the bar with a glass of wine. The problem with being busy I was squeezed in between a pillar and a drunk woman who on entering looked much younger than when I had to look at her millimetres apart. She kept telling me to sit on her stool and I kept politely declining. One thing you can’t be in these new social situations is stubborn, it’s just not polite. Sadly I am stubborn and so polite mannerisms are replaced by forced head shaking and light pleadings for her to fuck off. To get her away I agreed to look after her stuff while she disappeared. Of course as soon as she left I went back to trying to appear normal and confident. Two things I lack miserably in. It took all of my energy to pretend I found the poster on the other side of the room engaging. At this point the people at the bar who had heard the drunk woman ask me to watch her things were now watching me as if to make sure I keep to my duty. I couldn’t have given less of a shit about her stuff which consisted of a lighter and a cardigan and although I doubt they were insured I also doubt she would have remembered them when she left later anyway. All of that within three minutes and I had already given up.
Saying that the rest of the night was alright. We found a corner to bask in and I could vent my negativity with humour and get drunk at the same time ;D
Going out on Sunday next time.
