I had an interesting weekend. C moved out here to start a new job, so I spent a good part of the weekend with him. One of the highlights of my weekend was the Exploratorium in San Francisco, where I finally got to do the Tactile Dome. Wow!! If you live around here, go do the Tactile Dome. It’s this hilarious tunnel-like thing where you bump your way around passages completely in the dark and have to feel your way out. There are lots of fun textures all around — everything from animal fur to bubble wrap to the air mattress room — “You’ll know when you get there,” the guide told us. I ended up falling down a slide backwards: “waaaaagh! It’s a slide! Shiiiiit!” It was great. If any of you do the Tactile Dome, I fully expect you to call me first. I’ll go with you. 
I went to two very different parties this weekend. I really enjoyed one and I didn’t really enjoy the other one. The first one I went to was great fun! It was at a friend’s house in SF. He recently bought his own house (well, it’s part of a really big house) and he invited a bunch of his friends, including me, over. One of the things I liked most about the party is that, while I didn’t know anyone there, they were all really friendly people. I was equally impressed by my friend; he made an effort to introduce everyone and was a great party host. At the end of the night, there were a bunch of us sitting around in a circle in his living room talking politics and other fun stuff. I had a blast! Also, I noticed that the crowd was a bit older, which helped a lot. I really do tend to get along with older people (half of my friends are over 40) rather than people my age, a lot of whom seem to be intent on hitting on other people and “getting some” rather than enjoying the company of others, indulging in good conversation, and just having fun with friends.
The second party was less cohesive. First of all, there were more people (around 50), and it seemed cliquish. I invited 4 friends of mine to the party and we ended up hanging out together most of the night. There’s nothing really wrong with that; I enjoy their company, but I didn’t really feel like people there were interested in making new friends. There was a lot of “hooking up” going on — in fact, at one point, I went upstairs to get my car keys and stumbled upon two people making out on a futon. This is a total turnoff for me. I mean, people can make out at their own places. Why do it at a party?
I sat out by the pool for a while (it was freezing cold!) and listened to some conversations, but they all seemed to be the typical “OMG did you see that guy?!” conversations. Really bored, I declared I was leaving. We piled 5 friends in a compact car and drove off to IHOP for some food. IHOP was great and we had a great time making fun of our waitress, who couldn’t seem to get the hang of the word “marinara” (she kept saying “marinated”) and who gave me Dr. Pepper when I asked for root beer. We ate the very average food ($40 for 5 people?!) and went back to the party, which had already died down. We headed back to San Jose in 2 cars.
The biggest problem for me at the second party was that there was no effort made by the hosts to intermingle the groups. There were no board games, no cards, and not even much fun discussion (although there was a group of us in the kitchen who had a pretty good time.) Each person who lived at the house seemed to have invited their own group of friends, and each group didn’t really mix with the other groups. I know I don’t go to parties to hook up with other people; I go to have fun with my friends and meet other interesting people. Maybe I’m just not a “big party” sort of person…
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5. July 2005 at 2:33 pm
It’s this hilarious tunnel-like thing where you bump your way around passages completely in the dark and have to feel your way out.
Angie tells me it gets old after the first two-three years:)
I’ve noticed that many restaurants will give you any ‘fill in the blank’ beverage. There are four nozzles on most soda machines. Cola, diet cola, lemon-lime beverage, and ‘miscellaneous’. Any of the following will be freely exchanged: Mr. Pibb, Dr. Pepper, Root Beer, Ginger Ale, and Iced Tea.
Let’s face it, previous experience designing launch control systems for NASA is NOT a prerequisite to wait tables at IHOP.
5. July 2005 at 8:59 pm
Who ya callin’ old?
Glad you had a great time!
6. July 2005 at 11:59 am
At big parties I do tend to stick with the people I know. It’s nice if the host can help introduce you to new people, especially in situations where it’s cliquish. If not though, I’ll still stay around and try to find the cool pockets (like the kitchen).
6. July 2005 at 2:52 pm
Let’s face it, previous experience designing launch control systems for NASA is NOT a prerequisite to wait tables at IHOP.
True, but then again the reason places like ihop tend to have a complete turnaround in staff every 3 months is that most people can’t actually handle the workload. Especially not at the peanuts they pay. I worked about 7 years in the ‘fast food’ industry.. for various reasons (mostly a belief that I’d never get anywhere in life anyways) so I know the kind of energy it takes, how much it takes to be able to stay focused on such a mindless task.. yeah you might have thought the waitress was dumb, but honestly she couldn’t handle keeping her mind on the job… it’s tough to think about it. You were raised being told you could do anything, and suddenly you find yourself saddled with debt and working at a fast food just trying to avoid living on the streets.. it’s not pretty.
It’s pretty ignorant to assume that waitress has no intelligence because she wishes she was anywhere but in that reastraunt.. Then again, she could be pretty stupid.. but usually they’re people who’ve made bad choices who keep asking why them.. man i need to write about this in a story… into the idea files..
11. July 2005 at 4:07 pm
Cheese sticks with “marinara” are yummy. Dunno about $1 per stick though. I didn’t realize I was correcting the waitress as much as I did (buzz). Still funny though.