Intimate dinners over big parties

December is still the most wonderful month for me. Since my social life is not as crazy-colorful as it was a decade or so ago, the very few parties and dinners become somewhat a good reason to pause for a moment and enjoy the happy season.

It was a Friday the 13th holiday party for our company this year.

Compared to previous years when I’d, in fact, bother with what to wear and would almost always come in a cocktail dress—I decided to go casual this year by wearing just a red top, skinny jeans and nude, pointed heels.

My decision to chill out this year was the realization that after the party itself, I don’t get another chance to wear my semi-formal pieces again since I hardly go out and socialize. All those dresses end up inside my closet waiting for another chance to strut in them again.

I think going casual this year was just okay; I still got compliments on how sexy gorgeous slim I looked but perhaps only because people hardly see me wear heels and tight-fitting jeans these days.

I have become your typical manang, I guess.

I’ve been attending corporate parties since I started working 22 long years ago and it made me realize that partying—like dating, is no longer this tita’s cup of tea.

Not that I’ve always been a perpetual bore. I have my wild party days, believe it or not. I would skip work to go clubbing and partying till the wee hours. There was even a time when my mother got so mad and would not speak to me for days after I got home reeking of alcohol one morning.

Right now it’s kinda hard to imagine I even went through that phase.

I’ve already hit what others call “social menopause” wherein the things I consider fun many years ago are not so fun anymore. It’s not that I have become a recluse because I was still taking pictures with friends and officemates during our holiday party, but unlike before I no longer go from table to table like some social butterfly.

I also liked it better just sitting and watching people than be with the twenty/thirty-somethings on the dancefloor. The loud thumping of the gigantic speakers plus the strobe lights is giving this old lady a slight headache.

I tell you, if not for the major raffle which they deliberately held off till 11PM, I would have gone home and tucked in early.

Alas, still no luck on any of the raffle prizes (which includes a trip to Japan and Maldives) so as soon as the raffle ended, my brother and I jumped on the shuttle service and called it a night.

Big parties exhaust me. It was more effort than it was worth.

***

I may no longer like big parties, but I still love intimate dinners.

I met with my BFFs for our annual wishlist reveal last Saturday. The four of us have been doing this gift-giving tradition for many years now and it’s something that we’d likely do until such time that we’re already handing out our senior discount cards.

The whole time, I thought we’d be having it at NIU by Vikings in SM Aura, so I was already there by 5:30 PM. When I checked on our group chat again, I realized it was actually at the other NIU branch which is at The Podium in Ortigas!

For a moment I’d like to take a rain check because there were hordes of people waiting for a ride by the entrance of SM Aura. If you knew how bad the traffic could get on a Saturday, you’d definitely be less enthusiastic to go anywhere that would require you to travel via EDSA. (Which is why I demanded that for the next year, I’d get to choose the venue—HA!)

Then again, a part of me wanted to go and see my friends because I haven’t seen any of them for a year. Besides, we have been planning for the wishlist reveal for months and I think I’d regret it very much if I don’t come.

By some cosmic miracle, I was able to book a Grab, albeit the unreasonably high fare, and got there just in time at 7PM.

Even if we only see each other once or twice a year if we’re lucky, expect that we’d compensate that through hours of tsismisan and catching up. I mean, what better way to do that but over unlimited food and drinks?

I also got a free cake and a giddy birthday song from my friends.

Four hours just went swooshing by and before I know it it's already almost 11 PM! I have enjoyed the night so much it made me lose track of the time.

I couldn’t help but compare how I was itching to go home the night before during our company party, and how I’d like so much to stay for another cup of coffee with my friends.

You can blame aging for this but I would choose an intimate, sit-down dinner with friends any day than partying with so many people.