Two nights this week I was "forced" to go to two different parties. I obviously needed to drag my feet out of my box to tag along with my friends who are still party active.
Perhaps I am too cynical, or am simply an old fart that has "been there done that" too much, but I feel the night life today is just so damn boring.
The first night was a specially themed party at a prestigious club in Jakarta where boys and girls dressed dashingly to die for.
Sexy ladies in glittery frocks and hunky studs in body hugging attire filled the crowd. But I missed the essence I always witnessed when I was still a clubber boy. Isn't there any flirting at parties anymore?
I just didn't feel it in the air. Boys were with boys, girls were with girls, or else they were already couples. Not to mention, many of them appeared to be forcing themselves to dance to the beat, or preferred just to stand with arms folded across their chests with no smiles on their faces.
Were they really having fun? Or were they simply forcing themselves to make a one-night appearance at a trendy nightclub? What happened to the club society and their spirit as "single and still looking" nowadays? Or is it my debaucherous experiences in the past that don't give me much of an impression of today's scene?
Let's see, I traded my bicycle for a pair of neon-colored roller-skates to be a hip Happy Day kid when I was in the 7th grade, regularly stole my Dad's spare cash from the car to buy party gear during my 8th to 9th grade, got stoned and drunk for the first time when I was in the 10th grade, ran away from home and stayed at a friend's house just to party at Tanamur discotheque every night when I was in the 11th grade, and had my first "sexperience" and got hurt by it by the 12th.
Then, amazingly, I still manage to get my scholarship, go through several years as a foreign student and worked part time as an illustrator and a club dancer with a never-ending party life.
By the time I graduated, I had had enough fun and a blast from my past to be nostalgic about.
Somehow I thought that it was time to keep my head straight and focus on my future plans. But another chapter of my party life began, and this time I did it in "shifts" with the start of my career life. I worked freelance so I could party several nights a week and have Mondays off. Then I was partying only once per week, then only on holidays, and before I knew it these days I hardly go to any parties at all!
My party friend said people these days have moved on from those flirty Tanamur days and were bound for a more sophisticated attitude and elegance in appearance.
Excuse me, what do you call that "muffin top" girl dancing maniacally on stage showing her panty straps? Yeah, that girl surely was having fun, but was there any intended target for her attention? No. She was just entertaining her "gal pals" who were with her.
And then when a hot guy passed by, he didn't even look at the girls. Ironically, it was my drunken friend who was drooling over him. Was there any further effort after that? Nope.
In his disappointment my friend started to bitch about the whole "crispy" night he had, saying that there's no more clubbing etiquette and people are just too pretentious to hold real conversations and would rather ignore each other.
I smiled and wondered how he could hold real conversations in this frenetic place anyway? Similar remarks were expressed at the next party the following night.
As an observer trying to stifle my yawns, I tried to channel the club kid I used to be at the back of a pack of old fart party animals.
As it turned out they were not just sour if their night didn't turn out as they wished but they continued to chase that fun even after having late night supper street meals. What fun were they looking for?
Some expected to possibly meet their lifetime partner, some wanted hot hook ups, some wanted to overcome the bad times by looking for even more fun, and some just want to get "out of this world." I was once in their shoes, but after 10 years of doing it, it's kind of enough for me. So I threw a question at them: "If you have such high expectations yet aren't sure your nights end well, why are you still doing it?"
A long silence ensued.
Perhaps most of these "owls" are expecting a miracle to happen one night out soon which will fill the void in their lives.
Perhaps they're just bored with their routine and a night out is the easiest way to escape? I don't know for sure. When it comes to the endless hunt for the unknown, enough is obviously never enough.
So I wished them "good luck", as opposed to "have fun", and after supper headed back to my pad. I don't know if they found what they were looking for in the end, because Sunday would probably be their "zombie day" for talking. So I'm home. Do I have enough? Nope. Can anyone help me?
-- Diaz
