My grandparents on both sides were joiners. Between the five of them they belonged to Supper Club, Lion's Club, Rotary Club, Garden Club, Tuesday Club and Cemetary Club among others.
If you know me now you're probably not surprised to find that the very idea of most of those clubs give me an anxiety attack. Too much pressure, too many things scheduled in a week, too much preparation, too many people, too many rules, plenty of things for me to get nervous about. In this information age, though, I've found that I am drawn to join things, as long as they don't involve any of the above restrictions. As a result I've found myself joining clubs online. It's sort of clubby to have blog, it's clearly clubby to have a Flickr account, I've joined 2 groups through Chookooloonks, one is the Kind Journal Project and then another homemade postcard swap and recently I got in on the second round of free distribution of expired specialty asian film that Heather Champ has sent out (no word yet on if I was accepted).
There are 2 notable exceptions, though. One is Brunch Club and the other is Supper Club.
Pony Express and I had an idle conversation over 7 years ago about how we felt we didn't get out enough and definitely didn't see our friends enough because it all felt like too much pressure. To combat these perceived shortcomings we devised Brunch Club. Every second Sunday for the last 7+ years we've chosen a different restaurant and invited all our friends to join us. No RSVP is necessary, we aren't offended if you don't come we just want to create the opportunity so that we feel we've tried to see people and experience the city we love. It's one of my favorite things to do and it's deepened friendships and developed into that thing called tradition that I pine for.
Earlier this year I met a friend on the street and, on a whim, she invited me to a dinner she was throwing at her house for someone's birthday. I knew maybe half the small dinner party but we had a glorious time and the food was amazing. After our stellar evening Kath felt inspired to suggest that we start a Supper Club. We meet once a month, usually on a Thursday. We rotate houses and therefore chefs and it's been glorious. I've met new people and eaten new things and learned new things about the people I already knew. I've just come home from our latest night which was a rousing success. Dessert alone was a masterpiece! Raspberry sorbet and mango sorbet each served in a hollowed out half lemon and topped with a raspberry with chocolate covered Pocky sticks and a side of mini cannoli served on a plate drizzled with caramel sauce. You might want to lean back so that drool doesn't get on the keyboard.
Perhaps this joining thing is genetic. I'm willing to admit, however reluctantly, that I'm truly enjoying it.
Expenditures:
Bottle of bubbly as my contribution to Supper Club: $15
Total: $15
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Genetics
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It almost feels like another life, but we used to meet at the adopted mother's on Monday nights for a pot luck dinner with a really eclectic group of people (we ran the range from us - college educated, white collar professionals with young children to enthusiastically single dirt-diggers to ex-military/current tattoo artists; it was a fun group). That doesn't happen anymore, and hasn't for over two years. Sigh. Sometimes, I guess, traditions die for a reason.
ReplyDeleteNow, the Chili family and the Bowyer family (well, what the Bowyer family is now, I suppose it's only fair to say) congregate AT LEAST once a week, usually Sunday nights. We don't do anything special - it's casual dinner (or take out) and television (usually whatever sporting event is happening; it's baseball now - football starts in a few weeks). I love that we do this, and probably for the same reasons you love your brunch and supper clubs (though you have the added bonus of getting to see new and different people in your outings - we're always just us). I love that our children are growing up together, and I love the stability that our being together EVERY WEEK gives - not only to our kids, but also to us. We confirm, every week, that we are a family that belongs together. No matter what else may happen, we at least have that.
No clubs for me, my family are genetically Distant. This includes from each other. Without being mad at each other in the slightest way, we rarely communicate (wait, so how would we get mad anyway??). Although I suffer at times from loneliness, by this point in my life I guess I've selected that state as preferable to having to interact with (put up with) people too much.
ReplyDeleteSigh.