Wait Out The First Hour

Going out. Solo.

Daring out into the Wild. Alone.

The first hour is always the worst. Sometimes the first couple of hours depending on how long you resolve to stay there.

In going out solo, it's the dressing up, the psyching yourself up to leave the TV, tear yourself from the comfort of the couch, get all dolled up, decide what to wear, what to squeeze into, drive to some god-awful place (probably in bad weather) and look for parking, and deal with stepping out of the car by yourself. All the thoughts that go through your head at this time - why am I doing this again?

Then, you get there and you either deal with the people at the door, or you deal with the people you see closest to the door, and they, realizing that you're there on your own, are immediately put aback and then it causes them to stare. This immediately sets you off kilter, puts you on pins and needles, making the butterflies that you had wrestled with to get there and suppressed successfully suddenly start to resuscitate. Then, to ease the tension you order a drink, what to order, what to order that would make this night go off faster, somewhat easier. The choice of drink is key, especially if you're on a budget (since you're the one sponsoring this gig), you have to drive yourself and you have to make it count. The drink is either good or bad but you have to drink it. So you order a sexy drink no less and pick a spot with your mediocre drink, you stand there and contemplate, "So how long can I stand this before I realize I would have been better off in front of the TV? You peruse the crowd and come to your conclusion. One hour tops, and if the music continues like this, then you add or subtract 30 minutes.

Until some fun thing starts  -- The people lighten up and either strike a conversation with you or you strike a conversation with them and they end up being quite an intelligent/fun crowd -- you inevitably have to stick to that timer. Until then, it's usually a 50/50 toss up. Sometimes you strike dirt, sometimes you strike gold, and with the places that have lightened up, I often or not always go home with a smile on my face. But it's the first hour that's always the hardest. Once you get past that hour, the stares and the discomfort of being away from your comfort zone, once you conquer that you just might be in for a fun evening.

The same for network events, music, art (restaurant, wine, clothing store), launches, dinner/wine tasting events, any sort of event where you find yourself having to maneuver a room alone.

The first hour is the Magic Hour. Just wait it out - and you'll be fine.