I’m really not a dancer, but I love being in the clubs. I am not even a clubber, really. I just go when my friends tell me to follow where they are, that they happened to have a table that night, and if I had nothing better to do, I’d usually go. Tonight, more than ever, I am missing being in the club so bad. Maybe it was the particularly vibey music I heard while fixing my things a while ago. Maybe it was because I usually just have a lot of energy and there are less things to expend it on physically these days. No more walking, running, sports, driving, having to be in meetings, having to be in a place that is just not my house, running errands, and just physically going from one place to another.
I miss the energy of the clubs. I miss the good vibes when people are just expected to be in a good mood – it is the time they choose to let go of work concerns and just let loose and have fun. And all of that energy compounded in the same room – it just makes for a really good time, I guess. That compounding is something we all rarely get to experience these days.
This actually brings me to the appreciation that I have of the rapport I share with the members of my family. We all have different tastes, passions, and levels of energy but I find that I’d rather not miss a family dinner these days. Could it be because it’s almost my only form of social engagement right now, where I’m physically in a room of people and breathing the same air the way we used to take for granted before covid? Now, sitting beside someone in a restaurant is akin to some crime, as if being within the same square meter makes you like a thief or a drug dealer. Okay, that may be some sort of exaggeration. It’s just an expression of how different things are now, I guess.
Anyway, these are the things I especially miss. Just being around people and sharing that energy physically with them, having fun, enjoying the music, dancing when we can, when we’re feeling loose enough. Seeing other people randomly, having them join our group, shouting over the loud music, walking around, taking shots, playing games, tasting a new drink. And then when the night is done, getting some recovery food at a fastfood joint nearby before heading home and feeling thankful for the vitality of youth, for the vigor in being with one another, for another night of laughter, surprises, and just good fun. How many more nights till we take these for granted again? How much more quiet to endure before the noise is once again considered music to the ears, and the nights taste like candy to the soul?
Maybe a lot more. Or maybe, as in anything, this whole thing will go by in snap, and we’ll be back to missing quiet nights on Friday and Saturday evenings again – something that almost never came by pre-corona.