Try as I might, I cannot wrap my alcohol-free mind around the dynamics of a large, pulsing party full of friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers.
Until the alcohol really kicks in, parties make sense: people are chatting and just hanging out. Maybe there’s music in the background and maybe not.
I like that. I like talking to people, overhearing stories, sharing some of mine.
Once the alcohol takes ahold of the guests, you can throw predictability down the drain. People start dancing with strangers, the volume of the music goes up, the rate & variety of alcoholic consumption increases, people start getting very “happy”.
The chance of any conversation of value starts dwindling. At some point, the unpredictability of the crowd overtakes any desire of mine to talk. This is the critical point where the party ceases to be fun and suddenly becomes something I desperately need to escape from. It’s like everyone is tumbling down the rabbit hole together and I’m being dragged down, too.
Ha! Like Julie’s Halloween party! Oh boy… craziness abound!