Tonight, I socialized with friends.
I’m not a recluse, but most nights I hit the gym, come home, perch in my chair and do nothing social outside of Twittering with friends and blogging. Usually I like hanging out with people, but I also really like quiet alone time, and with things being fairly hectic and stressful lately, once the clock hits 4pm, I get a major case of the lazies.
This past weekend, my friend JB texted me to ask if I wanted in on some Hot Pot action. Contrary to what my mom thinks, Hot Pot is not a group consumption of illegal substances. It’s food…tasty, tasty food. Basically you throw some spices, noodles, meat, veggies, and potstickers in some broth, cook it up on the table, and let everyone go nuts pulling out what they want to eat.
It’s good and filling and a very social type of dinner.
Better than the good food, though, was just getting to sit down and visit and laugh and act like a bunch of goons. The small group of us really clicked. Not that we don’t all get along in general, but sometimes in group settings, not everyone is feeling it. In fact, I thought I was going to be that one tonight. I had an unsettling day at work and spent most of the day feeling very unsocial. I honestly thought I’d be the silent one who ended up leaving early.
Hot Pot tends to work some magical mojo on people’s moods, and I think I ended up being annoyingly vocal. A map of the conversation, if I’d had the initiative to make one, would have been pretty funny. However, we did take a “what’s said at Hot Pot stays at Hot Pot” vow. Much like its Vegas counterpart, this vow is binding and will result in spontaneous combustion for anyone who breaks it.
I can say that there was some swearing, a few sexual euphemisms, and some comedic ranting which allowed us to find the humor in everyday irritations. It’s not uncommon for any of us to revert to 12 year old adolescent mentality when we’re together and in riot mode.
It wasn’t just me though. Everyone seemed to feel it, and I’d like to think that when we finally called it a night, everyone left feeling just as good as I did. At least I hope that’s the case. Because for me, the night out relieved a lot of stress and just made me feel good, and I want to be able to do it again in the near future.
The Romance Factor 
I miss those kind of get together. I used to have a pretty sizable pack both in TX and NV that used to get together and do stuff all the time. Past few years though I’ve made less and less of an effort to really get out and meet people where I’m at. This is in part because I have so many cool people that I know and communicate with online, both the members of my old ‘packs’ and people like you and Felber who I’ve never actually met face to face but are still among my closest friends.