Play parties can be nice.

Last night I went to a play party at Lena's boyfriend Rob's apartment; essentially a bunch of their friends, though people from further out at the periphery of their circle have been known to just show up. It was my first time being to that kind of party, where everyone basically knew each other, or at least had multiple friends there.

There was much flogging, fire, electricity, and even some needles. No sex though - it's a no-intercourse play party. It seemed as though everyone had tons of fun. It was basically the same as a regular party, with snacks on a table, and lots of smiling people conversating about this and that; except once in awhile we'd realize that someone somewhere was up against a wall being beaten; or tied up with a bag over their head, having fire applied to their skin; or that would suddenly happen to someone right where we were hanging out. Or a variety of other fun things.

I'm basically a little shy in groups, though people who know me one-on-one often are surprised to learn that. In groups, my face doesn't feel as though it animates the right way, and this can sometimes come off as a little creepy - which is not the vibe you want anywhere in a play party.

So, hopefully I didn't give off the creepy vibe to anyone. It was also easier to be not-shy than it might have been, because Lena gave me a lot of attention, mostly in the form of smiles and hugs. And she and I and Rob played with some electricity and other implements briefly; but that was a little overwhelming, so later we decided to have more negotiation before playing again.

The party started at about 10:00 PM and only went till a little before 2:00 AM, so not a very long party; eventually most people left, but a few crashed out on the couches and the floor mattress. In the morning, Lena came out of Rob's room and hung out with me briefly, since I have the always-wakes-up-early curse; and before she went back in to sleep more she got me a batch of books to read while I waited for everyone else to wake up.

One of the books she brought out was "HaltinG StatE" by Charles Stross. I don't know why I picked that one out of the pile, but after a few initial confusing chapters, it suddenly snapped into focus and I got really into the story!

I essentially never read any sci-fi anymore, although just after I learned to read, it was almost exclusively my preference. Nowadays most sci-fi seems poorly written, with flat characters, overly linear narratives, and just a total lack of any attention to life itself.

The Stross book suffers a little bit less from those problems, though it's not entirely free of them. But the reason I got so into it was because it's all about the geeky world I inhabit. Large numbers of technologies I read about every day are represented there in some relatively realistic future form. My own employer is mentioned multiple times. And it's so cool to hear someone speculate on what the future might be like, relative to what we've got now. It's like reading "Neuromancer", but more pop geek.

So, much to my surprise, I'm actually enjoying it! I still don't know what made me pick it out of a stack of books that included some prime Lovecraft, but apparently this is yet further proof that I should continue to trust my instincts. I'm so glad I learned that lesson long ago.

At about 11:00 AM people started waking up. Ken, who'd slept on the other couch, started folding blankets, putting away the food, and gathering the dishes. So I helped. At one point I remarked, "it's so considerate of you to do all this cleaning," and he replied, "it's what I do." Later I found out he's really into service.

So we cleaned a bit, and people started stumbling into the shower, and then we went to their favorite diner and hung out some more. Hanging out in the morning was not a very shy experience - there were fewer people, and I felt like one of the family. It was very nice.

But really, I was still very tired. After food I went home, and that's where I am now. I plan to spend the day resting, and maybe Lauren will come over later after her date with a newish OK Cupid friend. Maybe I'll watch movies, maybe I'll eat chocolate, maybe I'll code on my web app, maybe I'll read more "HaltinG StatE", maybe I'll read some "Omaha The Cat Dancer", maybe I'll see if Will wants to hang out a bit, and during any of that I'll definitely have some nice non-caffeinated tea.

Yesterday was really good.