Monday
Well, the art opening went pretty much as expected. Loads of interesting indie art on the walls, people with heads together chatting quietly while examining the details up close, overly hip and slightly snobbish staff in attendance.
Turned out, the open bar had only alcohol, no seltzer. And my friend wasn’t there when it started, so I waited around drink-less for the better part of an hour, circling the gallery a few times and even considering buying one of the less expensive works. As the gallery filled up with people sipping wine & drinking beer, the smell of alcohol started to permeate the small space.
It wasn’t hard to say No, but I will admit to feeling a bit annoyed that they didn’t have *something* non-alcoholic for us liver-conscious few.
In the end, K arrived and seemed grateful that I was there so it felt worth it. We caught up for a few minutes and I was surprised at how awkward it felt for some unapparent reason. Maybe the fact that I’d hoped to just breeze in and say hi but instead appeared to be that overly attentive friend/art fan, who waits all evening for a glimpse of the artist.
I wondered afterward whether alcohol would have helped or hurt that interaction and decided that it definitely would have made it worse.
Speaking of awkward social interactions and the effect of liquid lubrication, I’m trying to convince my friend S (the one thinking about quitting herself) to attend a local art show & networking event next Saturday. I mainly want to go because it looks like my kind of fun – it’s at the Grounds for Sculpture, with pop-up light-based art installations going on throughout the night. It’s also a pricey affair so S and I were looking into what exactly was included. Booze, booze and more booze, for sure. And possibly some food.
From the invite, it looks like booze is key. And I guess that’s true of most networking events. It’s making me reconsider the idea…