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Thursday, September 18, 2008

Urbanista Swingles, Embassy-inspired Dance Moves and Stress Relief

Published in Edge Newspaper September 29- October 5


In this day and age when music players are getting smaller and smaller, movies are peddled along city streets, reality shows have ceased to be realistic, new technology seems to pop up every second, and everything, including gratification, has become instant; stress is inevitable. And so, the younger generation, my generation, generation “now”, or the “instant” generation, whatever you want to call us, finds ways to relive stress as instantly as they come.

Stress-relief means different things to different people, but for kids like me who enjoy the social scene, love dancing unabashedly and have a penchant for consuming not-so-child-friendly drinks, the perfect solution for a hard week of exams, quizzes, and nagging sessions is an all-out, no holds-barred gimmick night!

Saturnight gimmicks have ceased to become an avenue for one to be classified as “cool”, the word cool has even ceased to be, well, “cool”. We do not go out on saturnights to pick someone up or to find a relationship, we do not go out to meet swingles (single and willing to mingle); we do not go out to be seen. We do not go out because we have nothing to spend our money on; we do not go out to piss our parents off.

We go out because these so-called “gimikans” are the perfect venue where we could let our hair down, chillax after a hard week, enjoy our friends’ company and try to forget all our problems. Yes, gimikans, wherever they are, however they look like, or whoever frequents them are flocked, not because of all these superficialities, but because they provide my generation with the perfect distraction. We, however young we may seem to other people, have our own problems; we have a lot of things on our minds. And although our parents never hesitate to remind us how minute these problems are compared to theirs, and no matter how many times they give us that “been-there, done-that” lecture, these problems remain ours. And when we feel like we need an escape from these problems, the first thing that comes to mind is a gimmick night. Not because it is “in”, but because it is the most accessible form of escape for us.

I mean, where else could you spend six hours of your time, working your body with Embassy-inspired dance moves, relaxing your mind, clicking glasses and sipping cocktails, and talking with your friends about senseless stuff? This is the only place where you can truly relax and forget your worries. During gimmicks where the only decent conversation you have is bellowing your order to the mixologist (bartender for all you baby boomers out there) on top of some crazy techno music, you could forget your social standing, and you could forget that you do not know how to dance. And in those moments between crazy drunkenness and normalcy, between ingesting alcohol and hurling it out with projectile vomit, between senseless conversation and even more senseless dance moves, you realize that here, in the middle of the crowd, you are happy, and even if you are not… at least you are trying to be. And that is why my generation finds solace in an all-out, no-holds-barred, saturnight gimmick.

Confession #10



the truth is..gimikans really give me a venue to let lose...and i dont care if anybody says otherwise

A Partyphile's Mental Notes

“ OH, MY FREAKIIN’ GAWD!” you tell yourself as you crawl out of bed. It is 1 PM and you have managed to, once again, sleep through all of your morning classes. You should be in school, but nooooo, you just HAD to sleep the whole morning. You’re tempted to sleep some more, but tell yourself that ten hours of sleep is enough. As you eat your breakfast, you plan out your possible activities for today:

1. Stay home and bond with the family? (Isn’t that what Sundays are for?)
2. Start studying for next week’s periodical exam? (Not today. Weekends are for fun.)
3. Coffee with the barkada? (Hot java and good conversation…the only thing that could top that is…)
4. Another night with your gimmick buddies! (Now that’s an idea! It’s the perfect release after a stressful week)




Urbanista Swingles, Purple Ink and Embassy-inspired Dancing (11:00 PM)

You have just arrived Urban Club, and after the bouncer stamps your wrist with purple ink that takes an eternity to remove, the mixologist (bartender) hands you your fave party potion: Rum-Coke (beer is, after all, quite passé). You scout the premises and realize that this is the perfect time to party, the place is full, but not crowded; people are not yet wasted, but are tipsy enough to start dancing their socks off. As you show off your latest Embassy-inspired dance moves to your equally wasted friends, you realize that you are surrounded by eye candy. This is where all of beautiful Davao is!

Urban Club: Great Service (and they even almost pamper VIPs), lots of Swingles (single and willing to mingle), great cocktails. You are definitely coming back next week.





Hyperventilating, Chillaxing and Flat Sausages (2:00 AM)

You decide to transfer to 183, your other favorite bar. You get there and the place is hot and crowded; the whole club has transformed into a dance floor. Sixteen minutes is the longest you can stay inside 183, otherwise, you might run out of breath, eternally.

183: The place to be if you want to dance, the crowd is friendly (a little too friendly if you ask me), and entrance is free by 3AM. Skip this next week.

You try to catch your breath as you migrate to D’ Owl, a bar that features house music. You love it here! The people are cool; the interiors are nice, the mixed drinks are some of the best in the city, and for someone as exhausted as you are, D’ Owl is the perfect place for chillaxing before heading home.

D’ Owl: The scene is fresh; the music is all-house, all-the-time. You love it here. You might skip UC next week and chillax here instead.


Your friends have decided to adjourn this gimmick session; everyone is exhausted and hungry. You pick up some Sausage McMuffin on your way home.





Channel Surfing, Hugging the Throne and Other Little Tragedies (5:00 AM)


As you mindlessly channel surf in bed, you realize that you spent 976 Pesos on one gimmick night (that’s more than your half-week allowance!), you need to create excuses for tomorrow’s nagging session with your parents (seriously, you are running out of good excuses to explain why all your clothes smell like cigarettes), your tummy hurts form all the puking (bye bye Sausage McMuffin ), you are even more exhausted than when your day started, and you are feeling sick and sleepy…Very sleepy… You slowly feel your eyes drop…
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Rrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnngggggg!!! Your alarm clock is deafening.

“ OH, MY FREAKIIN’ GAWD!” you tell yourself as you crawl out of bed. It is 1 PM and you have managed to, once again, sleep through all of your morning classes. You should be in school, but nooooo, you just HAD to sleep the whole morning. You’re tempted to sleep some more, but tell yourself that ten hours of sleep is enough.

No, you are not nursing a hang over. No, you are not wasted. No, your toilet shows no signs of projectile vomit.

Yes, you still have some cash with you. And yes, it IS still Saturday afternoon. That was some crazy dream. As you sloppily eat your breakfast, you plan out your possible activities for today:

1. Stay at home and bond with the family? (Hm. Now that’s an idea! Its not intoxicating, does not induce vomit, it does not cost a cent, and you do not end up exhausted and hung -over, channel-surfing mindlessly in bed)