Okay, so the title is slightly misleading. I actually quite enjoy parties. Having said that, my definition of a party is rather broad. I consider two or more people in the same room to be a party of sorts. Different parties have different moods. There are quiet tea-drinking and highbrow ideas-discussing parties. There are movie nights in with a small group of close friends. There are rowdy gatherings at the pub. There are sophisticated neighbourly gatherings on the balcony next door. There are birthday picnics in the backyard. There are Christmas parties. There are dinner parties. And then there is my going-away party, which has inspired this post.
Next year, I have a new job, teaching music at a high school in a different town. I'm looking forward to a fresh start, but quite upset to be leaving a good community behind, all at the same time. If I had any technological competency, now would be a good time for me to place a .GIF of Troy from 'Community' ugly crying and screaming "MY EMOTIONS!!!!!". Too many emotions at once, let's leave that for another day, shall we?
My idea for an awesome going-away shindig was to charter a boat for a sunset harbour cruise. What better way to farewell the beautiful town where I have lived for the past four years? However, there is a huge price difference between the smaller boat and the larger boat. So I have been compiling a guest list, to see if I can be justified in taking the smaller boat. This is the source of my angst. When compiling a limited guest list, my thoughts progress along the following lines:
"I like these people, I want them to be at my party."
(This might be enough guest list logic for some people...)
"But Reginald doesn't know anybody else on the guest list!"
"I suppose I'll have to invite Reginald's friend Eric."
"But Eric will want to bring his wife, Penelope"
"But if I invite Penelope, her friend Esme will be so offended to miss out on an invite."
"If Penelope and Esme come, I'll have to invite the rest of our basketball team from three seasons ago."
"And now the basketball team all want to bring their partners as well"
Guest list has suddenly gone from 20 to 500.
Now you can see why most of the parties I've hosted in my "grown-up" life have been picnics in parks!
