It starts at 8 PM

At 8 PM somewhere in the world, when the sky is locked in a dual state of pink sunset and encroaching darkness, eight people gathered around a table in a garden and started telling each other their names. Some of these people were interconnected through school experiences and existing friendships. Others were just getting acquanted.

About five minutes later they started playing a game called Drunkminton, which is essentially a fusion between the commonly known sport of batminton and a drinking game. While this didn't really serve a specific purpose to ameliorize connections, it was a fun way of spending time together.

Later on, these eight people would move into the living room of a house somewhere. They would gather around a coffee table and start sharing their secrets and desires and memories even though there was no call for it. It was just something that happened with the slightest infusion of liquor; abundantly present in the form of shot glasses and circled stains on the table surface.

An hour later a ninth guest joined the ranks of this merry group of eight.

Several people in the living room already had gone through similar experiences before this one, so they knew exactly how to behave and how to survive these somewhat treacherous social gatherings. It's not that hard to fall into a trap set by your close ones or to loose yourself in the comfortable numbness of alcohol and good company.

Luckily, all the people present succeeded admirably in avoiding the dangers and mishaps of this particular event. However, there were some people who had let themselves carried away by the waves of liberty and I-don't-give-a-damn attitudes. These people weren't demonized or critisized, they were adored for their valor and their ability to disengage themselves from what people expected or from what society expected.

Two of these people even allowed their minds to converge and become hive-like. It's extraordinary to see how two people, who haven't seen each other in a long time and who don't spend that time apart missing each other, can find each other again and become intertwined. Without a doubt a certain liquor factor must be taken into consideration, but I like to believe that something more profound and primal gave way to this illusive, yet much desired bond of closeness. To be that intricately connected with  another human being is something that most of us can only crave.

At 10 PM the group was completed when the last two guests arrived, however their visit would be brief, but quite enjoyable.

The social gathering lasted well through the night and early morning. Of course, there were some moments where fatigue and exhaustion would claim its toll on the unsuspecting people, but still they were able to pull through and hold out until the digital clocks in the house depicted 5 AM.

The party was considered a success. There were funny occassions that will forever be captivated in a short movie. There were moments of calmness, exitement, laughter, anticipation and of course those immortal moments where the line between sobriety and intoxication, a line that flirts with responsability and devil-may-care is continuously crossed.

"To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems." - Matt Groening

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone,
but they've always worked for me." - Hunter Thompson

"I have taken more out of alcohol
than alcohol has taken out of me." - Sir Winston Churchill