Meeting The Folks

“I’m going to leave soon”, I thought to myself as I looked around the bar at “Fruits in Suits”. I’ve been going to the event on and off for about 12 to 18 months and, generally speaking, I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve met some interesting people along the way, and I’ve enjoyed going to a gay event that’s a little sophisticated.

Tonight, however I spent a fair bit of time wandering around not talking to anyone. I started to chat briefly with one bloke, but that never really eventuated to much. And so I was wondering how much I really had in common with the people around me, aside from the fact that we all probably wear suits to work.

From what I’ve read, there’s also an increasingly political element to the group. A lot of those involved are also involved in party politics, it seems. And frankly, the older I get the less interest I have in politics, and the more I’ve moved away from discussions about politics. I mean, I have opinions, often quite strong ones, but I have increasingly begun to doubt the capacity of political parties and political organisations to deal with them.

The older I get, the more I think a lot of life’s answers come from the arts, religion, etc, and not from government agencies in a two-party system. But that’s just me at the moment, and I might change my mind.

I expressed this view to a bloke called David who I met a few months ago, and who was there again tonight. I’m not sure if he thought it was a cogent view, or if I was just off with the fairies, so to speak. We actually chatted for quite some time and he seems like a nice enough bloke.

But mostly I was just standing there by myself for a while wondering if there was another way of meeting new people of a similar age and perspective than going to Fruits in Suits. For a while I toyed with the idea of “Fags in the Arts”, a similar event for those of us who work in the “creative industries”. Nah, that’s just as limiting I thought. I don’t know what the answer is… I’m just not sure if I’ll go again.