I hate parties. Ask anyone- I'm not a particularly social person, so parties aren't my thing. I don't have the energy. I can fake it for a while, depending on crowd size. A rough estimate:
A small group of close friends = 8-10 hours.
A large group of good friends = 6 hours.
Large group where I know one or two people = 4
Small group with one or two acquaintances = 2 1/2 (tops)
Though there are some deciding factors:
Alcohol. This can make things better or worse... drastically. There's the amount available/ consumed and how people react at different levels of intoxication. Luckily the majority of my people don't get super drunk, or at least can keep their shit together. Only one that I immediately thought of is an angry drunk. Most are happy, non-assholes.
Dancing. Depends on the music. Or age group of people. Or my mood.
Karaoke. I have a love/hate relationship with karaoke. I love singing and I'm pretty good, but I'm really bad at karaoke. My friends always insist- forcefully- that I sing. I'm not a loud person, so when I get the mic, the sound guy thinks there's something wrong with the machine and tries to fix it. Things get awkward.
Animals. If there is a pet involved I will stay longer. Yes, I am that person playing with the dog instead interacting with humans. I have stayed at social gatherings if I hear that there is some animal somewhere in the area in the hopes that it will be released soon. Yes, I am that pathetic.
Food. Truly, this is the deciding factor in party going if I am on the fence. The have been times where I purposely didn't eat in preparation so I would be forced to attend something I didn't want to for the food. Terrible motivation, but it almost always works. Though I will admit, once I was avoiding a social thing so bad that I almost passed out from not eating. It was not one of my prouder moments...
If there's anything I've learned in my life thus far, it's that parties can be tolerated for food. I have the soul of a fat kid.
