You Asked, Partyphile Answers

Writing a weekly newspaper column may become quite tasking. Sometimes, I run out of things to talk about or share with my readers and find it extra difficult to wring out what’s left of my creative mind. You can’t blame me though; by now, most of my brain is filled with alcohol and it is not humanly possible to be on point all the time. The good news is, when I start to feel like I’m in a writing rut, I go online, ask my Social Network friends to ask me their questions, answer them the best I can, and compile them all in one article…just like this one. This works well for everybody because 1.) it saves me the time and effort to think about new party-related topics to help you with, and 2.) I actually answer questions that real people are curious about. So here goes another round of “You Asked, Partyphile Answers”

Question: When somebody comes up to you in a bar and asks for your number, how can you handle that situation without looking “easy”?

Answer: Alright, I am assuming that you are a girl, so my answer would probably work well only if you are female (but males are willing to try it then). When somebody asks for your number it means one thing: he is interested. That is a given. You have got him inside your bag. Now, all you have to prove is how interested he is, again, without looking easy. Here is what I think you should do:

Dare the guy to do something (like take four shots of Tequila without Lemons or Salt) in exchange for your number. If he declines, then he isn’t really that into you and isn’t worth giving your number to. If he accepts the challenge, then he’s really into you, and that is, of course, a good sign. So, when he accomplishes the task you gave him (of course, adjust the difficulty of the task to how much you like the guy as well) you will seem “forced” to give him your number as he earned it fair and square. You won’t seem easy, and you will get his number. Of course, if you don’t like him and he accomplishes the task, you could always give out a fake number.

Question: When do you think you’ve partied too much?

Answer: Now, this is one of the tougher questions to answer because it is a very relative topic. But here is the deal: no matter how much you love partying, there should be a point in time where you actually draw the line. For me, there are three things you should watch out for.

1.) When your health starts to suffer, you are partying too much

2.) When you forego all your other responsibilities, you are partying too much. Skipping school, skipping work, neglecting your children, or your loved ones are the worst tell-tale signs of too much partying

3.) When you put shame upon yourself, your family, the company you represent, and your group of friends in a way that you would definitely not if you were sober, then you are partying too much.

Partying is a celebration of life; it is supposed to inspire you... not to destroy all other aspects of it.

Qestion: Aside from socializing and drinking, why do partyphiles party?

Obviously, I can not speak for the rest of the partyphile populace, but I really think that partying or clubbing is just another past time. Much like watching a movie or grabbing some coffee, it is simply something some people enjoy doing. Nobody goes around and asks people why they watch moves or have coffee in posh cafes because we all know that it can be entertaining and satisfying. Partying is no different.

Obviously, in some instances in life, partying is more than just a form of entertainment. Some people party to get connected or expand their network. Some people party to be seen and heard; or to create a presence in society. Still others choose to party because being part of a crowd that is willing to let their hair down is comforting especially during those times when you have a lot on your mind. For me though, it serves as a perfect distraction to prevent me from thinking about work, problems, and other stress-triggers. Of course, partying means a different thing to different people at different times in their lives but the bottom line is partyphiles party because it serves them some other purpose that isn’t usually obvious at face value but definitely makes a difference in the involved person’s life.

Question: What exactly is a potluck party? What am I expected to bring?

A potluck party is a type of celebration wherein the guests all agree to bring some food for everyone to share during the party. Usually this happens when the occasion worth celebrating is shared by everybody else instead of a personal occasion like a Wedding or a Birthday.

The concept of the party seems simple, but there always seems to be a problem with variety when it comes to potlucks. As I see it, there are two major problems:

1.) Not enough variety: Most people do not cook or plan ahead for potluck parties. Thus, most people rely on purchasing the most convenient food stuff they can get their hands on. This is probably the reason why most potluck parties in middle-class Philippines feature a spread of donuts, cakes, lechon manok, and more lechon manok. Why is this a problem? Because everybody is getting tired of the same old food. And yes, that even goes for your own “secret” Spaghetti recipe. For potluck parties, bring something exciting and new to the table.

2.) Too much variety: I don’t know about you but I certainly do not enjoy eating Pancit with Pizza and Afritada. This is another example of a pot luck party gone bad. Here is the deal: if you want to be sure that all the foodstuff people will be bringing will taste good together, you may either assign different people to bring specific foodstuff or create a theme. For example, you can require everybody to bring Filipino dishes, or Japanese dishes. You can also require them to bring Pizzas, Pasta, and nothing else. This way, even if your guests would bring food from different restaurants, your food will go well with each other.

Catch Confessions of a Partyphile’s (The Radio Show) this Wednesday (August 31, 2011) from 6 to 9 PM on 105.9 Mix FM or www.mixfm1059.com. For comments, suggestions, and more confessions, log on to http://party.i.ph or follow the columnist on twitter.com/zhaun

Partyphiles Confess: Too Much Partying

I asked you to complete the sentence: You know you’ve partied too much when____?

Pier Lopez: You wake up outside your house and you realize you slept in the garage

Claire: You wake up on a Sunday morning…and you are still inside the club

Paolo Gutierrez: You’ve forgotten how you got home and where your cellphone is

QC Verano: You wake up in someone else’s bed

Tin Tine: You don’t know where all your money went

Martin Samson: You schedule your daily activities, like eating, sleeping, and the like, around parties

Doy Bijis: Staying home on a Friday or Saturday night is not an option

Joan Alquino: You have no idea how you got home and slept with your contacts on

Drink of the Week: Long Beach Iced Tea

Admittedly, the Long Island Iced Tea is one of the more popular cocktails in the bar menu because it is great-tasting but very potent. However, ordering the same thing over and over again may get quite boring. This is why i am giving out a recipe for the Long Beach Iced Tea: a drink that is as potent as the Long Island Iced Tea but with a fruitier edge. Here is how you make it:

Step one: Grab a Collins Glass

Step two: fill the glass halfway with ice

Step three: pour half an ounce each of rum, vodka, tequila, gin, and triple sec

Step four: pour an ounce of lemon juice or lime cordial

Step five: top the drink with cranberry juice

Step five: serve.

When is Partying Too Much Partying?

People over Twitter have asked me: when is partying, too much partying? Now, this is one of the tougher questions to answer because it is a very relative topic. But here is the deal: no matter how much you love partying, there should be a point in time where you actually draw the line. for me, there are three things you should watch out for.

1.) When your health starts to suffer, you are partying too much

2.) When you forego all your other responsibilities, you are partying too much. Skipping school, skipping work, neglecting your children, or your loved ones are the worst tell-tale signs of too much partying

3.) When you put shame upon yourself, your family, the company you represent, and your group of friends in a way that you would definitely not if you were sober, then you are partying too much.

Partying is a celebration of life; it is supposed to inspire you... not to destroy all other aspects of it.

Drink of the Week: Baltimore Zoo

When talking about potent cocktails, most people mention the Long Island Iced because it contains about 5 different types of liquor. However, our drink of the week is a step up from that because instead of Coke, it uses Beer. Here is how you make the Baltimore Zoo:

In a mixer, combine:

1 shot Vodka

1 shot Gin

1 shot Tequila

1 shot Rum

1 shot Triple Sec

3 teaspoons Grenadine Syrup

Grab a tall glass and fill it half-way with ice. Pour the mixture over the glass until it fills half of the glass and then top it off with some strong beer.

Partyphiles Confess: Getting Drunk

I asked: what is the worse thing you have ever done while drunk?

Partyphiles confessed:

Jinky: After drinking one Tanduay long neck alone, I rode a jeepney home. The travel was about two hours long and I felt like vomiting while still in the jeep so I swallowed my own blood-filled vomit.

EI: Got drunk, got inside my car which was parked outside Starr. Some stranger came up to me ad advised me to close the door.

Jaja: In a party, I called out a girl for cheating on her boyfriend who was one of my close friends

Claire: I woke up in a bar one Sunday morning not remembering what had happened the previous night

Daryl: I slept along the shoreline of some beach and got really embarrassed when I woke up as I was already surrounded by a lot of people.

Gene: Not being able to remember how I managed to drive myself home then puking by the gate

Ada: I woke up at some bar smelling like puke and then some doctor from Oroderm took me to my home. I was crying while he was giving me this speech about not giving up. Looking back, I really pity his SUV, it must have wreaked of puke.

Monette: I was in a jeepney and had to puke and was afraid to ask the driver to stop because opening my mouth would mean vomit would fly everywhere. So I puked down my tucked-in shirt.

Anonymous FA: I used to be a flight attendant for an International Airline. They housed us in this hotel while waiting for our next flight so we decided to go drinking at the hotel bar. I got so drunk, I took all my clothes off, ran around the pool and then ran around the hotel bar. I got fired the next day.

Anonymous FA: I went drinking with one of our airline Captains and ended up in his hotel room. I stood up to look for my towel, and started searching for it outside. All of a sudden, some hotel staff came up to me and covered me with a robe. I was completely naked. Oops!

Street Food Party

Your birthday is the only time of the year when you are allowed to party as heartily as you want to. It is the time of the year when everybody gives you a free pass and allows you to do anything just because it is YOUR day. Unfortunately, based on my observation, not many people throw parties to celebrate their birthdays anymore. Most people would rather buy their friends some alcohol, indulge in a drinking spree, and then call it a night. Usually this happens in the more popular watering holes in the city. And although hat is alright, it gets a little tired; it is definitely high time partyphiles switch it up and think of better ways to celebrate their birthdays.

Ok. Ok. I know what you are thinking. Throwing parties is just too much work and costs too much. That may be true, but to some extent, it is only as tasking as you let it be. And if you are wise, you would not allow the preparations for the party to get out of hand. All you need is a simple concept, a complete set of party elements, and you are good to go. So you can’t think of any new party concepts. That is where this article can help you. Here, I will teach you how to throw a party with a minimal budget, with minimal effort, and with maximum returns. Here is the theme: an inuman (drinking) party. Sounds blah? There are a couple of ways to make it exciting. Here’s how:

Remember, inuman (drinking) sessions are common in Filipino sari-sari stores (neighborhood stores) because they are very laid-back, convenient, and fun. Most Filipinos who enjoy drinking in little sari-sari stores do not even have music on when they drink. All these people need is conversation they enjoy, some alcohol, and some food that goes well with their alcohol of choice. Take your cues from this Filipino drinking habit and you are sure to throw a unique, fuss-free party. Now, here are the elements of the party:

Venue: All you need is an open space good for the number of guests you plan to invite (for this article, let’s say you are inviting 50 friends). You could throw the party in your house, or rent some place out. Remember, it does not have to be a glitzy or glamorous place. In fact, you can throw this party in a garage.

Décor: All you need is little banderitas (little fiesta flags/banners attached to a string) to string across the ceiling. It gives the venue a very Filipino feel as well as some festive flair. Most of all, it does not cost much and is easy to set up. Total cost for this step: 300 pesos.

Drinks: Here is where you can really save up. All you need is some hard liquor. You know your friends much more than I do so you are the best person to estimate the number of alcoholic beverages to serve. However, I think that a one liter bottle of local rum would suffice for every 4 people. And because Filipinos love chasers, I suggest that you buy soft drinks to go with the rum. If you are on a really tight budget, use a mineral water dispenser and prepare about 5 gallons of mineral water. Beside the dispenser, lay out some sachets of powdered juice or iced tea for your friends to prepare themselves. Of course, you must also provide some pitchers. Costs for this step (with an estimated 50 guests): about 1200 pesos for 15 bottles of local rum ; about 400 pesos for 50 sachets of powdered juice; about 350 pesos for 5 gallons of water. Total cost for this step: 1950 pesos.

Food: Now, here is where it gets exciting. Most Filipino drinking sessions involve street food as the pulutan of choice. To make the party exciting and interactive, you may hire kwek-kwek vendors and ask them to take their cart into the venue of the party. You may also do this for fish ball vendors, or any other street food you fancy. What you can do to cut costs is to tell the vendors to prepare enough food for only a certain amount. For example, you can tell the fish ball vendor to prepare 500 pesos worth of Fish Ball. And we all know that is TOO MUCH fish ball; which is always a good thing, as parties are supposed to keep people full while drinking. Also, it may be a good idea to buy about 300 pesos worth of peanuts just to have something on the table. Total cost for 1000 pesos worth of Kwek-kwek, 500 pesos worth of Fish Ball, and 300 pesos worth of peanuts: 1800 pesos.

Music: This party element is probably the last thing you would have to worry about. For this type of party, conversation is preferred rather than music, but it would also be nice to have sopemthing upbeat playing in the background. If you want to go really Pinoy, play some Parokya ni Edgar, Rivermaya, or Eraserheads tracks. You may also play some chillaxing songs like One Look by Kjwan and songs from 311. Just play some really chill music from your ipod to some sort of speaker.

Those are all the elements you would need for a fuss-free inuman-style party. The total cost for the elements mentioned above is 4050 pesos for 50 people; although it would be wise for you to set aside 6000 pesos for unexpected expenses like extra pitchers and tissue paper. Again, the concept here is a no frills party. Your guests may come in shorts and tanks and may help themselves with the drinks. Ask them to open their own bottles of rum and make their own juice. Also ask them to approach the vendors and order as much as they want. The relaxed atmosphere and no-frills concept will not only allow your guests to enjoy a fuss-free night of boozing up but will actually allow you to let loose and enjoy the company of the people closest to you (instead of running around trying to everything because you have a formal/complicated theme). Use this theme as a template for future parties or follow this one to a tee. All I hope is for you to have fun and realize that parties are not supposed to be about the decors or the program but about having fun, creating crazy memories, enjoying stupid conversations, and soaking in the presence of your favorite people.