Growing Old in Partylandia

Back in college (around the same time I started the Confessions of a Partyphile blog), I decided that I was going to grow up like those middle aged guys who still frequented bars. They still hung out with their usual group of friends, and they still partied the night away. I decided that I was going to be a partyphile until my liver…and legs…and knees, can take it. I often thought that being a partyphile was something that was intrinsic to me; it was something that would never fade. I also believed that I could never grow tired of late night drinking sessions with my buddies and that we would still get together twenty years down the road to live-it-up every Saturnight.

So I was quite shocked last Saturnight when I stepped inside one of the fresher (read: recently opened) dance bars in the city after a three-hour gab fest (yes, a gab fest, not a booze fest) with some college buddies at Kamagoo in Legaspi Suites and found that my initial response to the jam-packed venue was to flee. Somehow, the sight of college students all drinking and merry sent me to retreat. And that was something the old Zhaun, the college-age Zhaun, would not do. In fact, back in college, our basis for our next stop was simply the most crowded place. So the feeling of wanting to avoid a crowded party place was pretty new to me. I shared my sentiments with my buddies and then we all agreed: we, unfortunately, have started to age.

We have ceased to thirst for nights out in crowded places where we can talk (more like scream) over loud music; we have ceased to crave for crazy nights of uber-drunkeness that always end with projectile vomit; we have ceased to look for the craziest nights of our lives. Why? Because well, we have soo many of those types of experiences under our belts, and it just seems tiring.

So we have to come to terms with the fact that we are indeed growing old. We have to come to terms with the fact that a saturnight-out may mean some cocktails with friends and some really good conversation. We have to come to terms with the fact that our customary Sausage McMuffin after a wild Saturdnight out will now be a thing of the past because we no longer stay up that late. And we have to come to terms with the fact that growing up doesn’t mean we are lesser partyphiles.

Because if there is one thing I’ve learned from all these years partying, is that being a partyphile does NOT mean getting drunk or dancing in a bar. True partyphiles have the ability to find joy, whimsy, and fun, in the smallest of things. True partyphiles can have a hot-bangin’ time away from the strobe lights and the dance floor while still feeling like they are in the biggest party ever. Because if you really think about it, the true essence of being a partyphile is taking the “feel” of a party with you wherever you go.

You might spend a quiet time with your friends on a Saturday night in a coffee shop, or maybe have some dinner with your family or long lost work-mates; all while taking the party with you. Partyphiles do not rely on the beats of the dance floor. Instead, they follow the beats of their hearts. They do what they want to do, when they want to do it.

That means that it is alright for a partyphile to be away from the actual party scene. And it is alright to realize that a person’s concept of a hot party changes with age. What I want to say is simple: being a partyphile is a way of life; not the sum of all the places and events you go to. As long as you feel like there is a party within you, then you are a partyphile.

So we are growing up, growing old, and maybe even getting tired of the club scene; that does not mean we do not know how to have fun. So do not fret when you realize that the things you used to enjoy now seem scary and tiresome; because there will always be that one hot event that will allow us to rekindle our old college partyphile selves. The only difference is, we now know when to switch our “wild-child-button” off.

For comments, suggestions, and more confessions from this partyphile log on to http://party.i.ph or tweet me at twitter.com/zhaun. You may also add me up on http://www.facebook.com/confessionsofapartyphile.

Catch Confessions of a Partyphile (the radio show) on 105.9 Mix FM every Wednesday nights from 6 to 9.