Drinks After Work (10th September 2009)
A nice long shower and some grooming yesterday prepared me for a new foray into socialising: staying for drinks where I work. I’d had a couple of brief pub lunches already but imagined this would be a bit different.
Some people dress up for this. In retrospect I think they stop by, have a couple then leave for a proper night out. Either way, I decided to wear my suit to make a bit of an event of it. Several people noticed and commented on it.
I started by talking about commuter routes and times. This quickly led to anecdotes and experiences being shared. A nice way to start the conversation.
Subjects never seemed to run dry, with the stories mostly being led by two people. Weren’t many people there, probably fewer than 10 for most of the time.
A couple of people in the room I work from stopped by to say hi. This was cool since I hadn’t worked with them but had wanted an excuse to chat.
I got into a pleasant discussion about sci-fi movies for a while. What I’d say during such a conversation is something I’ve daydreamed about from time to time. Was interesting to see how some of those things sounded out loud and what another actual person thought, rather than a critic on TV.
After an hour or so I decided to leave. I mostly pleased with how it went but wish there had been someone I could have left with. Doesn’t feel like a true social occassion when you’re in the Reception area.
It was certainly worth doing and reminded me of the simple pleasure if being in the company of others.