Either Or
My School Club has organised a bash for tonight; as part of the publications/publicity subcommittee, I have two tickets that I had to pay for and which I have been unable to sell (or even give) away, for reasons that should be hugely apparent. I've no idea, really, if I should go or not; either way I'm on the losing end of the thing... I'm planning to make my reasons out here, and being the wonderfully cynical person I am, you can see firsthand the sort of thinking I apply to social invitations. The reasons to go are in bold and the reasons not to are normal text.
I should go because I paid a total of SGD 28 for those tickets and I hate wasting money and there's a free drink if I go but the taxi ride there will cost me another SGD 10, or I can take the MRT and a bus and a walk, which are cheaper, but then get a 30-minute walk in return. Besides, the cost of the free drink will at best (and with vast exaggeration) be about SGD 14, which only partially offsets the cost of transport plus the cost of the ticket.
But there's transport back; shuttle buses at 1am and 3am but there really isn't any reason for me to go there until 1am to watch people gyrating around and guzzling alcohol when I can be comfortably chatting over MSN in my room. Besides, I have classes tomorrow at 9.30.
Most of the tickets are in the hands of the committee. I should go so I can know them better, plus it'll be a sort of encouragement to the planning committee--not a total washout, see. But how much enjoyment is there to be found in contemplating a geek who's just standing around, not drinking and not dancing and not talking? And besides I hardly know anybody there. But I should get to know them better. And support the committee. Even if the whole idea was really dumb and they didn't bother to find out how (un)attractive clubbing on Thursday night really is, and they seemed to simply assume that everybody on the subcommittee would want to go out of loyalty or something.
It might be fun. I might even get to meet somebody interesting but the last new person I met at such an outing was the Emoticon, and let's just say that hasn't turned out well at all. Plus the kind of person who goes clubbing on a Thursday night, when they have classes on Friday morning, and can afford to dance and drink, isn't exactly the kind of person whom I'd find an interesting conversationalist--and vice-versa. But people are amusing when drunk. Can't argue against that, but the likelihood of anybody in that club getting drunk is almost nil. The alcohol tax is intimidating to say the least.
I'm in the publications/publicity subcommittee, so this is practically a must-be-there sort of thing in case they ask me to write about it later. I'm sure somebody else will have been assigned. Plus they didn't ask me whether I wanted to go or not, they just gave me the tickets and took my money. It's not as if I volunteered to go.
...so the verdict is that I'm not going clubbing tonight. The tickets, I'm keeping as a reminder to get into a different Club next academic year for the stay-in-hostel points.
On a totally unrelated note, Brain Rink and Clay Sister (in alphabetical order, see?) are currently embroiled in a situation that I can't help laughing at, even though it does irritate me. It's a sort of habit with me; once I get too deeply involved in a situation, there's always some point at which I somehow get totally detached and view the whole thing as if I were a bystander and then laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Well then, let's get this story going, in chronological order.
Some time ago, Clay Sister had a girlfriend who was also his sister's best friend. Somewhere along the line, they fell out and he decided the relationship was over, but she didn't. (Let us, in the tradition of agony columnists, name this person Girl A.) Girl A continued to merrily inform everybody that Clay Sister belonged to her and her alone, while he attempted to be convincingly single.
Recently, Clay Sister met Brain Rink (you should know about that) and they began a relationship. Unfortunately Girl A has a decidedly possessive streak, as well as a huge vocabulary of vulgarity, because Brain Rink has recently been harassed by her on Facebook. Brain Rink thus opted to end the relationship, but after a good deal of bracing (read: scolding) from the people of the forum, including myself, she chose to hold on to Clay Sister.
(Lest you think that Clay Sister simply let the two women bat him about like a ping-pong ball, I should mention that he was very much against Brain Rink's idea of letting go. And he was also very indignant about Girl A's actions.)
Later that day, Clay Sister and Brain Rink consolidated their relationship over the phone and by leaving various mushy comments on each other's Friendster profile pages. (Clay Sister deleted his Facebook account when Girl A started to annoy him over it, too.) Girl A told Clay Sister's sister (let us call her The Sister) and The Sister has recently reported that Girl A has begun taking pills out of depression.
The Sister appears to blame Clay Sister for this, which Brain Rink is currently agonising over.
Personally I think it's very idiotic of Girl A to be taking pills. Her taste in men, I have no comment on (or else I would have to fear physical violence from Brain Rink) but really, to be hanging on when disinterest has been repeatedly and clearly stated--it boggles the mind and gasts the flabber. And besides, the pills can't be good for her if she takes them in the long run.
Of course, I also would like Girl A's MSN address so I can have a long, sarcastic discussion with her about Clay Sister's right to have a girlfriend of his choice and about her lack of a right to flame his girlfriend of choice; but I think Clay Sister would disapprove and anyway I've no way to get that address.
The drama is ongoing.
I should go because I paid a total of SGD 28 for those tickets and I hate wasting money and there's a free drink if I go but the taxi ride there will cost me another SGD 10, or I can take the MRT and a bus and a walk, which are cheaper, but then get a 30-minute walk in return. Besides, the cost of the free drink will at best (and with vast exaggeration) be about SGD 14, which only partially offsets the cost of transport plus the cost of the ticket.
But there's transport back; shuttle buses at 1am and 3am but there really isn't any reason for me to go there until 1am to watch people gyrating around and guzzling alcohol when I can be comfortably chatting over MSN in my room. Besides, I have classes tomorrow at 9.30.
Most of the tickets are in the hands of the committee. I should go so I can know them better, plus it'll be a sort of encouragement to the planning committee--not a total washout, see. But how much enjoyment is there to be found in contemplating a geek who's just standing around, not drinking and not dancing and not talking? And besides I hardly know anybody there. But I should get to know them better. And support the committee. Even if the whole idea was really dumb and they didn't bother to find out how (un)attractive clubbing on Thursday night really is, and they seemed to simply assume that everybody on the subcommittee would want to go out of loyalty or something.
It might be fun. I might even get to meet somebody interesting but the last new person I met at such an outing was the Emoticon, and let's just say that hasn't turned out well at all. Plus the kind of person who goes clubbing on a Thursday night, when they have classes on Friday morning, and can afford to dance and drink, isn't exactly the kind of person whom I'd find an interesting conversationalist--and vice-versa. But people are amusing when drunk. Can't argue against that, but the likelihood of anybody in that club getting drunk is almost nil. The alcohol tax is intimidating to say the least.
I'm in the publications/publicity subcommittee, so this is practically a must-be-there sort of thing in case they ask me to write about it later. I'm sure somebody else will have been assigned. Plus they didn't ask me whether I wanted to go or not, they just gave me the tickets and took my money. It's not as if I volunteered to go.
...so the verdict is that I'm not going clubbing tonight. The tickets, I'm keeping as a reminder to get into a different Club next academic year for the stay-in-hostel points.
On a totally unrelated note, Brain Rink and Clay Sister (in alphabetical order, see?) are currently embroiled in a situation that I can't help laughing at, even though it does irritate me. It's a sort of habit with me; once I get too deeply involved in a situation, there's always some point at which I somehow get totally detached and view the whole thing as if I were a bystander and then laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Well then, let's get this story going, in chronological order.
Some time ago, Clay Sister had a girlfriend who was also his sister's best friend. Somewhere along the line, they fell out and he decided the relationship was over, but she didn't. (Let us, in the tradition of agony columnists, name this person Girl A.) Girl A continued to merrily inform everybody that Clay Sister belonged to her and her alone, while he attempted to be convincingly single.
Recently, Clay Sister met Brain Rink (you should know about that) and they began a relationship. Unfortunately Girl A has a decidedly possessive streak, as well as a huge vocabulary of vulgarity, because Brain Rink has recently been harassed by her on Facebook. Brain Rink thus opted to end the relationship, but after a good deal of bracing (read: scolding) from the people of the forum, including myself, she chose to hold on to Clay Sister.
(Lest you think that Clay Sister simply let the two women bat him about like a ping-pong ball, I should mention that he was very much against Brain Rink's idea of letting go. And he was also very indignant about Girl A's actions.)
Later that day, Clay Sister and Brain Rink consolidated their relationship over the phone and by leaving various mushy comments on each other's Friendster profile pages. (Clay Sister deleted his Facebook account when Girl A started to annoy him over it, too.) Girl A told Clay Sister's sister (let us call her The Sister) and The Sister has recently reported that Girl A has begun taking pills out of depression.
The Sister appears to blame Clay Sister for this, which Brain Rink is currently agonising over.
Personally I think it's very idiotic of Girl A to be taking pills. Her taste in men, I have no comment on (or else I would have to fear physical violence from Brain Rink) but really, to be hanging on when disinterest has been repeatedly and clearly stated--it boggles the mind and gasts the flabber. And besides, the pills can't be good for her if she takes them in the long run.
Of course, I also would like Girl A's MSN address so I can have a long, sarcastic discussion with her about Clay Sister's right to have a girlfriend of his choice and about her lack of a right to flame his girlfriend of choice; but I think Clay Sister would disapprove and anyway I've no way to get that address.
The drama is ongoing.
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