It was another great weekend. Lot's of time spent on the river, playing basketball, and drinks with friends. Appropriately enough, I spent a good amount of time out at the bars, which got me thinking, why not write a blog on the bar scene.
I have mixed feelings on bars. For me the best part of the night is usually the pregame and the inevitable Jumbo Slice or 7-11 hot dog(my weakness) I get after coming home. Being at the bar usually means huge crowds, loud noise, and overpriced drinks. These are all things a reserved, laid back, and cheap guy like me detests. For instance, Friday night I went to this place called The Guards in Georgetown. I don't know how any person can enjoy that. It's a packed frat house basement with terrible music and about 150 degrees. But I guess it has a dance floor and attractive girls which is enough reason for some to go. Look some people thrive in that scene which is great, but for me there is nothing worse than that atmosphere. By the way, I stayed there for about 5 minutes and took a cab home.
Not everything about bars are bad, in fact I've had some of the best times in my life kickin back and having a few beers there. I love going to watch a sports game or to have a couple beers at 8 or 9. Unfortunately, it always seems people don't go out until 11:30, when all the bars are crowded as hell.Look, obviously most people don't like big crowds and expensive drinks, but the fascinating thing is that people still go. I think most people would prefer to go to a house party if the right people were there, but the fact is the house party after college is virtually non-existent. Guys don't go to house parties because they know the girls will be at the bars. House parties have now become pregame parties. I can't remember the last time I was at a party and stayed there the whole night. The argument that it is easier to meet girls at bars is bogus to me. Sure, it all depends on the house party, but wouldn't it be easier to meet a girl/guy when you can hear yourself speak and can actually rotate your body. I guess it's all about who is at the party.
I love people watching at bars, not in a creepy way of course. Just watching how people interact. Bar conversations are some of the most fascinating interactions to me. You're in a situation where often times you're either drunk or talking to a drunk person. In addition, you can barely hear and you have about 100 strangers around you having separate conversations at the same time. Also, you add on the fact that all the single people in the room are either trying to hook up or trying to get noticed. This causes some hilarious interactions. It's funny to see guys hit on girls at bars. For me, if a girl isn't interested I know pretty much right away, but it seems a lot of guys just don't pick up the signals. It would suck to be a woman and have creepy guys hitting on you every night. No wonder women are more prone to seek commitment than men. Also, many bar conversations seem to be forced. Do people actually care what the other person is saying or are they just trying to fit in. The bar scene would be a fascinating psychological experiment.
I feel like the chances of meeting a quality person at a bar are slim to none. You have guys that are mostly going to try to get laid and girls that are highly( and rightfully so) suspicious of creepy guys. You always have people that are inebriated, and prone to believe the BS the stranger is saying, which can lead to some awkward mornings. The fact is, people still go and will continue go to bars because that is what everyone does and where everyone is. If you think about it, going to a bar sober is one of the worst times you can have. Have you ever been sober with a bunch of drunk people. You feel like your in a room with a bunch of 2nd graders and that is being nice. Like everything else in society people want to fit in and be a part of the crowd for the most part.
It's also interesting how certain people go to certain bars. In the DC area you know if your going to Georgetown your going to see the super preppy,rich, and younger crowd. Arlington will be the young professionals and yuppies, and DC will have the most racially and economically diverse crowds.
I remember in college each bar had it's own group of people. The Spoke would be for the hipsters and pot heads. Right next door you had the Pub where all the meat heads would go to grind on unsuspecting girls. In between you had Charlies, which started out as a bar with a good mix of people, but ended up more like the Pub. Uptown you had ABC where you had the older crowd, and was more of a chill place to relax. Across the street was Mcmurphys, which was the bar many people stumbled to last or went to Wednesday nights to see Guitar Dudes. Finally, you had the Monkey Bar in the middle, where most of the athletes would go. Basically every bar had its own identity and for the most part people found their niche and went to the same bar every time.
I'm obviously bias on this subject because I'm a weirdo and my idea of a good time is floating down the river on a kayak alone. But it is an interesting topic. Please let me know if you have any crazy bar stories to tell. Thanks again for reading!
I have mixed feelings on bars. For me the best part of the night is usually the pregame and the inevitable Jumbo Slice or 7-11 hot dog(my weakness) I get after coming home. Being at the bar usually means huge crowds, loud noise, and overpriced drinks. These are all things a reserved, laid back, and cheap guy like me detests. For instance, Friday night I went to this place called The Guards in Georgetown. I don't know how any person can enjoy that. It's a packed frat house basement with terrible music and about 150 degrees. But I guess it has a dance floor and attractive girls which is enough reason for some to go. Look some people thrive in that scene which is great, but for me there is nothing worse than that atmosphere. By the way, I stayed there for about 5 minutes and took a cab home.
Not everything about bars are bad, in fact I've had some of the best times in my life kickin back and having a few beers there. I love going to watch a sports game or to have a couple beers at 8 or 9. Unfortunately, it always seems people don't go out until 11:30, when all the bars are crowded as hell.Look, obviously most people don't like big crowds and expensive drinks, but the fascinating thing is that people still go. I think most people would prefer to go to a house party if the right people were there, but the fact is the house party after college is virtually non-existent. Guys don't go to house parties because they know the girls will be at the bars. House parties have now become pregame parties. I can't remember the last time I was at a party and stayed there the whole night. The argument that it is easier to meet girls at bars is bogus to me. Sure, it all depends on the house party, but wouldn't it be easier to meet a girl/guy when you can hear yourself speak and can actually rotate your body. I guess it's all about who is at the party.
I love people watching at bars, not in a creepy way of course. Just watching how people interact. Bar conversations are some of the most fascinating interactions to me. You're in a situation where often times you're either drunk or talking to a drunk person. In addition, you can barely hear and you have about 100 strangers around you having separate conversations at the same time. Also, you add on the fact that all the single people in the room are either trying to hook up or trying to get noticed. This causes some hilarious interactions. It's funny to see guys hit on girls at bars. For me, if a girl isn't interested I know pretty much right away, but it seems a lot of guys just don't pick up the signals. It would suck to be a woman and have creepy guys hitting on you every night. No wonder women are more prone to seek commitment than men. Also, many bar conversations seem to be forced. Do people actually care what the other person is saying or are they just trying to fit in. The bar scene would be a fascinating psychological experiment.
I feel like the chances of meeting a quality person at a bar are slim to none. You have guys that are mostly going to try to get laid and girls that are highly( and rightfully so) suspicious of creepy guys. You always have people that are inebriated, and prone to believe the BS the stranger is saying, which can lead to some awkward mornings. The fact is, people still go and will continue go to bars because that is what everyone does and where everyone is. If you think about it, going to a bar sober is one of the worst times you can have. Have you ever been sober with a bunch of drunk people. You feel like your in a room with a bunch of 2nd graders and that is being nice. Like everything else in society people want to fit in and be a part of the crowd for the most part.
It's also interesting how certain people go to certain bars. In the DC area you know if your going to Georgetown your going to see the super preppy,rich, and younger crowd. Arlington will be the young professionals and yuppies, and DC will have the most racially and economically diverse crowds.
I remember in college each bar had it's own group of people. The Spoke would be for the hipsters and pot heads. Right next door you had the Pub where all the meat heads would go to grind on unsuspecting girls. In between you had Charlies, which started out as a bar with a good mix of people, but ended up more like the Pub. Uptown you had ABC where you had the older crowd, and was more of a chill place to relax. Across the street was Mcmurphys, which was the bar many people stumbled to last or went to Wednesday nights to see Guitar Dudes. Finally, you had the Monkey Bar in the middle, where most of the athletes would go. Basically every bar had its own identity and for the most part people found their niche and went to the same bar every time.
I'm obviously bias on this subject because I'm a weirdo and my idea of a good time is floating down the river on a kayak alone. But it is an interesting topic. Please let me know if you have any crazy bar stories to tell. Thanks again for reading!
guards is the worst place on earth. underground, hot, crowded, terrible music, dudes singing to madonna; sounds like hell to me.
ReplyDeletepeople need to stop doing what their comfortable with and head further into dc. u street, h street, and the area between dupont and adams are supposed to be chill.
Totally agree Kareem. Thanks for the comment and lets hit up Ladder 16 I mean Local 16 next week.
ReplyDelete