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A long holiday weekend means lots of time for rest, relaxation and some productivity right?
Not for me.
Friday I attended a Rachel’s birthday happy hour over at Laughing Man Tavern. I don’t know why they call it happy hour, one rarely spends just an hour getting happy. A couple of hours later I escaped downtown only to find myself at Hard Times Cafe. I then found myself at Jay’s Saloon. I ended up on a couch telling long tales to Maricha. Thank goodness my roommates don’t judge me… too much.
Saturday was supposed to be quieter: a night catching up and watching films with Adam. However options started to sprout from the ground as if the long weekend was a magic bean for social gatherings. My roommate invited me to the Timbaland concert and drinks on U-Street; Carolyn invited me to a house party at her house; Adam wanted to ditch the movie idea and meet up with some girls in Adams Morgan; Maxie was planning on going out to U-Street as well.
What do you do when faced with so many options? I already have enough trouble staying in on any given night, how does one manage so many invites? My first priority was with Adam, with whom I made plans with before all others. However texts started pouring in, each party attempting to guilt me into choosing their side. So I ventured out with an elaborate plan to try and make everyone happy.
I left my house around 11 to visit Carolyn’s party. Unfortunately she doesn’t live close to the Metro which means it would be a dry cameo. I visited for about an hour as Adam streamed texts on my phone describing the great time I was missing. Around midnight I dropped off my car and hailed a Taxi to take me to Brass Monkey to meet up with Adam. 15 minutes after sitting down with a drink the girls with him, “got tired” and wanted to leave. One of the girls clearly wanted to leave with Adam by her side. I graciously said farewell as and wished Adam nothing but the best. I decided to walk over to U-Street to say hi to Maxie and end the night at Ben’s with Maricha. I didn’t make it all the way to Ben’s but somehow ended up walking up Rhode Island Ave at 4 AM.
My ambitious social itinerary wasn’t fully completed but I got awfully close. I should really know better after the time I spent all my money on four cabs.
I don’t write this to as a vain show of popularity, I am truly thankful to have all my friends here in Washington, DC- which why I want to spend time with all of them. Plus we all have those moments where we have to balance our social schedules, and we all have those weekends where there’s simply too much going on. How does one handle a situation like that? Do you pre-plan and share your time? Or do you simply prioritize and apologize to the others? I know that as a busy young professional in the city that I’m not the only one who finds themselves with many choices: how do you handle it?
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Comments
01.19.10
If I made the effort to schedule everything, I could be going way out of my way to get coffee or lunch with someone nearly every day of the week, and never get anything done. I've noticed that that's what I do during my phases of over-socializing. I had to keep in mind that me being "free" all week means they can pick any one time of the week, not the entire time.
I'd say, if having the time to rest matters enough to you, start saying no to things until your friends get used to needing your presence only as often as you really want to be there. If you're giving them the impression that you're available all weekend, they'll want to take you up on it. Let them know if it's once a week or twice or whatever, but that it's not whenever they feel like seeing you.
01.19.10
Depending on my schedule, I'm happy to get out and see friends whether it's grabbing a drink at the bar or talking at a coffee shop. Other times I simply don't answer my phone. I assume my friends are mature enough to realize when I'm too busy to hang out. To me, those are the best kinds of friends.
01.19.10
I haven't had an over-booked weekend since leaving DC...which might say a lot. My week feels crazy, and I like downtime. However, I would LOVE to always have a movie buddy...life in college was great for that, you wander down the hall and can almost always find someone to watch a movie with you. I really, really miss that.
It's nice to see you all wanting to hang out. I used to feel bad asking if someone wanted to go grab dinner or see a movie. But then, I realized if I wanted to see friends, I might have to ask, be the organized one, and arrange things...otherwise, I end up in those "Man, you should have been there" scenarios where you want to answer back, "And why didn't you call?"
You make me want to visit DC, if only for all the great food at the places you went to...
01.20.10
I hate overbooking. It shows a lack of discipline, prioritization, oraganization, and focus. It makes you look like an idiot because you can't keep committments. It makes you look like you have ADHD, unable to focus on anything long term, because you get distracted by the latest item/people/event in your face. And after all your cab rides, what have you got to show for it, other than exhaustion, a flat wallet, and vague memories of ephemeral places, people and events?
01.20.10
I used to overbook on trips back to the city where I went to college. So many friends to see! Then I realized that I couldn't see them all, and that I wasn't enjoying the time I did have with them, because I was always anticipating having to leave so I could get to the next gathering. I started saying "no" or just not telling people I was coming.
It's surprising how easy it to say (and how hard it is to argue with), "Sounds like fun--but, sorry, I've already got plans."
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