Okay, I'm three weeks from the end of my first year at university, and I've sorta noticed something. Specifically, the chances and parameters of picku-ups at bars, as opposed to parties.

At parties, there's a little bit more laid-back environment. If you aren't crashing, you probably know a lot of the people there. And with no bouncers to ruin the fun - indeed, none to announce last call, save the homeowner or the floor - people get a lot more hammered, especially if the devious bastards running the party are selling dollar jello shots. Hence, due to the 1) friendlier environment, and 2) increased intoxication, the average-looking guy or gal can easily pick up something to their liking, or maybe even charm the pants off somebody squarely out of their league.

Bars, on the other hand, are a little bit more factional. You roll up with your pre-constructed crew of friends, seize yourself a table, and hunker for a few beers. This is why the bar is such an object of male camaraderie in our culture - the presence of other crews competing for seats/pool tables/the waitress/whatever creates a subconscious "bunker mentality" that draws you and your mates together, and simultaneously insulates you.

This also hinders hook-ups for the average-looking suitor. What's the main place to meet the opposite sex in a bar? Well, other than the requisite hitting on the barmaid there's the dancer floor. Essentially, on the dance floor, you show off your looks and your... eh... "rythmic abilities." This of course requires that you actually be good-looking and capable of dancing.

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded psychology, but basically my point is that if you're not an immensely attractive person and you can't dance, go to a party.

To the point: Bars suck.

No, they do: Honestly, ladies, do you expect to meet a refined, romantic, upstanding man in a sleazy shithole bar called "Outlaws"? Conversely, do men expect to meet anything but a drunk, drugged-out, slutty barfly?

Come on.

All bars should be destroyed.

Sure, of course, been this way since forever. Well, maybe not forever, but at the very least this was the case when I was an undergrad in the late 80s. The only reason anyone ever went to a bar was 'cause they served free food with a drink purchase during happy hour, or there was a band playing that was worth seeing. In either case, hooking up with the opposite sex was not the priority.

Plus, UC Santa Barbara is known to be a premiere party school. There was always a good party for every social group.

quote:Originally posted by Infrared:



All bars should be destroyed.

Cruel sir, let us not speak hastily! Surely I've spent many a night at One-Eyed Jake's or the Sports Column, drinking with my compatriots in environment that promotes camaraderie. I'm just saying you shouldn't go there to hook up.

But at parties you are faced with the presure of trying to pick up, and possibly face rejection, in front of a crowd of your nearest and dearest... I'd be more nervous in the exclusive company of friends than I would be trying to score one from a selection of absolute strangers.

quote:Originally posted by Sarcophagus:

But at parties you are faced with the presure of trying to pick up, and possibly face rejection, in front of a crowd of your nearest and dearest...

Meh... depends who you're rolling with. Half my buddies are approximately on my level, and thus commiserate when I get shot down. The other half are Ladies Men of an unqualified nature. This might sound daunting, but they're always willing to play wingman.

quote:Originally posted by Sarcophagus:

But at parties you are faced with the presure of trying to pick up, and possibly face rejection, in front of a crowd of your nearest and dearest... I'd be more nervous in the exclusive company of friends than I would be trying to score one from a selection of absolute strangers.

This would be tougher to handle for a girl because girls aren't "supposed" to get rejected. Guys? Fuck it. The level of a guy's embarrassment at being shot down is only equivalent to his level of insecurity. It's much more expected, thus it's much easier to handle on a social level.

The exception is if a guy gets smoked into next week by a girl a couple of intellectual planes higher than him. Then he'll hear about it for weeks.

There's these two guys in Ben's social group/university friends, Maddox and Noodle. Any 'new' girls that are invited to parties are considered gifts for Maddox and Noodle,

apparently, because by the end of the night they've at least snogged them.

I find it a bit icky, but you don't see anything innappropriate about hooking up within the group? Feels sorta like a form of incest to me. haha, I'm warped though.