Events gone unmentioned for Thursday and Wednesday
Thursday I met up with Joe. Hadn't seen him in a while. It was a decent time with his old roomates and Lyons. The significant part of this, however, is that his old apartment--while still a mess--is MUCH cleaner than the last time I was there. Now, I'm not saying there's a definite causal relationship between his departure and the increase in sanitation, but there's definitely some sort of correlation. Sorry Joe.
In my last entry I also failed to mention the shit-fest that went on Wednesday night. Some of my roomates decided to throw a triathalon party. Now, to anyone who's not an irresponsible male college student the term 'triathalon' probably brings to mind great feats of athletic endurance where you bicycle, run and swim--competing against other folks to be the first to finish. In college 'triathalon' has a different meaning. For this great feat of endurance you and your 2 best friends get together and race to down a 30 rack, smoke an eighth, and eat a large cheese pizza.
While I'm no stranger to drinking games, this was my first exposure to this particular one, and something about it just didn't seem right. I'm still not quite sure what it is that makes it sound so much more irresponsible than 'forties hands' or a standard 'case race' but Jorge was feelin' it too, so I'm not alone in this. (for the record, both Jorge and I did not participate)
The game itself has it's merits. I'm not a huge fan of parties in general. I don't dance well, I don't flirt well, and I usually end up just talking to one person all night. Drinking games seem to fill a certain void. As I was growing up parties always had reasons. You throw a party to celebrate something and there was some common notion and set of precepts that tied people together in a common understanding of what you're supposed to do. In college, more often than not, parties don't have reasons. You aren't (overtly) celebrating anything and, while it they retain their secondary functions, (Note: Perhaps write something on Secondary functions of College Partying) there is no official purpose. Drinking games serve to fill this void. They impose a known set of behaviors, serve to ritualize the occasion, and in doing so add meaning. A 'Flip Cup Tournement' has greater potential for creating stories and lore than a regular 'party'. It gives people the chance to bond as a team and serves as an excuse for people to interact. When you see Bill and John later that week you'll have a shared experience that you can both relate back to that you might not have had if the tournement had not been present.
Drinking games (and themes) also add validity to parties. This is similar to 'adding meaning' but refers more to the pre-party thought processes of both the host and the guests. Throwing a party is a lot of work, you take on a lot of risk, and you almost always lose money. Cleaning up afterwards is also a bitch. Drinking games validate rules of decorum that protect the host's interests and help control the actions of the guests. Games and themes distract guests and entertain them, and as a result they are less likely to think about stealing your things. This often provides a useful metric for measuring how much alcohol to purchase, and how much money is owed by guests. By structuring the party-throwing process risk and ambiguity is removed, this, however, does not diminish--but rather embellishes the reputation of the host. The probability that the party will be a 'success' (however you may define the term) is an important factor for the host in his decision to throw a party. A successful party will enhance the reputation of the host, while an unsuccessful one can humiliate the host. Drinking games--for many of the reasons stated above--tend to yield a higher success rate and thus add to the potential esteem gained by throwing the party.
In the eyes of the party-goer validity also serves an important role. Game and theme parties have the potential to draw guests farther from the social core of the host and thus make the event more interesting (for both host and guests) by diversifying the social group. This potential results--in part--from the introduction of the same rules and controls that protect the host. The host is more open to allowing unknown guests because their behavior is kept in check, while the guest feels more at ease in a foreign social circle because the norms for that party are embodied in the common knowledge of the game/theme. The rules for 'beirut' are fairly standardized and can be easily understood. It is much harder for an outsider to learn how the host's social group operates. By introducing a common set of rules the socially marginalized individuals can be pulled towards the center.
There is also the issue of roles. At a standard party the party-goer is merely a guest. They go and pay for a cup and they are put in a subordinate position to the host who--hopefully--controls the party. At a theme/game party everybody is a participant. By removing the hierarchy (while adding behavioral controls) the party-goer feels more at ease and will tend to have a better time. A party based around an event/theme is also a safer bet for a guest who may have multiple options for the evening. They know they will be doing something and what to expect. There is also a guarantee that there will be alcohol for them there. The guest knows more about the party and because of this is more likely to have his expectations met.
There are some downsides to game/theme parties. They do rely on people's interest in the particular event/theme. If people don't feel like doing it you'll get a poor turnout. Because of this the same games can't be used for every party and there needs to be a long enough period between parties of the same game/theme. Some themes are only practical at certain times. While a Christmas party in July might seem ironic--unless you and your friends just REALLY like Christmas--this can only be done once. People will also stop being friends with you if you throw three 'anything but clothes' parties in one month. To be successful you need to be innovative in determining new types of parties to throw and you must be in-tune to the opinions of your social group. Game/theme parties also require more preparation and more detailed invitation process for both the host and the guest. I don't have time to think of and create a cool costume for halloween, so I didnt go to any halloween parties.
But that's enough on Drinking Games.
Wednesday's fun was ended early by party foul. One group couldn't take the heat and ended up puking in several locations. I wasn't particularly inconvenienced by this so I was pretty amused by it, but I felt bad for Josh; who was unable to get to his room across the large puddle of vomit.
Writing this has now consumed far too much of my evening. Goodbye.
In my last entry I also failed to mention the shit-fest that went on Wednesday night. Some of my roomates decided to throw a triathalon party. Now, to anyone who's not an irresponsible male college student the term 'triathalon' probably brings to mind great feats of athletic endurance where you bicycle, run and swim--competing against other folks to be the first to finish. In college 'triathalon' has a different meaning. For this great feat of endurance you and your 2 best friends get together and race to down a 30 rack, smoke an eighth, and eat a large cheese pizza.
While I'm no stranger to drinking games, this was my first exposure to this particular one, and something about it just didn't seem right. I'm still not quite sure what it is that makes it sound so much more irresponsible than 'forties hands' or a standard 'case race' but Jorge was feelin' it too, so I'm not alone in this. (for the record, both Jorge and I did not participate)
The game itself has it's merits. I'm not a huge fan of parties in general. I don't dance well, I don't flirt well, and I usually end up just talking to one person all night. Drinking games seem to fill a certain void. As I was growing up parties always had reasons. You throw a party to celebrate something and there was some common notion and set of precepts that tied people together in a common understanding of what you're supposed to do. In college, more often than not, parties don't have reasons. You aren't (overtly) celebrating anything and, while it they retain their secondary functions, (Note: Perhaps write something on Secondary functions of College Partying) there is no official purpose. Drinking games serve to fill this void. They impose a known set of behaviors, serve to ritualize the occasion, and in doing so add meaning. A 'Flip Cup Tournement' has greater potential for creating stories and lore than a regular 'party'. It gives people the chance to bond as a team and serves as an excuse for people to interact. When you see Bill and John later that week you'll have a shared experience that you can both relate back to that you might not have had if the tournement had not been present.
Drinking games (and themes) also add validity to parties. This is similar to 'adding meaning' but refers more to the pre-party thought processes of both the host and the guests. Throwing a party is a lot of work, you take on a lot of risk, and you almost always lose money. Cleaning up afterwards is also a bitch. Drinking games validate rules of decorum that protect the host's interests and help control the actions of the guests. Games and themes distract guests and entertain them, and as a result they are less likely to think about stealing your things. This often provides a useful metric for measuring how much alcohol to purchase, and how much money is owed by guests. By structuring the party-throwing process risk and ambiguity is removed, this, however, does not diminish--but rather embellishes the reputation of the host. The probability that the party will be a 'success' (however you may define the term) is an important factor for the host in his decision to throw a party. A successful party will enhance the reputation of the host, while an unsuccessful one can humiliate the host. Drinking games--for many of the reasons stated above--tend to yield a higher success rate and thus add to the potential esteem gained by throwing the party.
In the eyes of the party-goer validity also serves an important role. Game and theme parties have the potential to draw guests farther from the social core of the host and thus make the event more interesting (for both host and guests) by diversifying the social group. This potential results--in part--from the introduction of the same rules and controls that protect the host. The host is more open to allowing unknown guests because their behavior is kept in check, while the guest feels more at ease in a foreign social circle because the norms for that party are embodied in the common knowledge of the game/theme. The rules for 'beirut' are fairly standardized and can be easily understood. It is much harder for an outsider to learn how the host's social group operates. By introducing a common set of rules the socially marginalized individuals can be pulled towards the center.
There is also the issue of roles. At a standard party the party-goer is merely a guest. They go and pay for a cup and they are put in a subordinate position to the host who--hopefully--controls the party. At a theme/game party everybody is a participant. By removing the hierarchy (while adding behavioral controls) the party-goer feels more at ease and will tend to have a better time. A party based around an event/theme is also a safer bet for a guest who may have multiple options for the evening. They know they will be doing something and what to expect. There is also a guarantee that there will be alcohol for them there. The guest knows more about the party and because of this is more likely to have his expectations met.
There are some downsides to game/theme parties. They do rely on people's interest in the particular event/theme. If people don't feel like doing it you'll get a poor turnout. Because of this the same games can't be used for every party and there needs to be a long enough period between parties of the same game/theme. Some themes are only practical at certain times. While a Christmas party in July might seem ironic--unless you and your friends just REALLY like Christmas--this can only be done once. People will also stop being friends with you if you throw three 'anything but clothes' parties in one month. To be successful you need to be innovative in determining new types of parties to throw and you must be in-tune to the opinions of your social group. Game/theme parties also require more preparation and more detailed invitation process for both the host and the guest. I don't have time to think of and create a cool costume for halloween, so I didnt go to any halloween parties.
But that's enough on Drinking Games.
Wednesday's fun was ended early by party foul. One group couldn't take the heat and ended up puking in several locations. I wasn't particularly inconvenienced by this so I was pretty amused by it, but I felt bad for Josh; who was unable to get to his room across the large puddle of vomit.
Writing this has now consumed far too much of my evening. Goodbye.