Saturday, 29 August 2009

• Pub Culture and Gettin' Stuff Done

  "Moderation in all things."  -  Terence
  
  Back when I was going to college, there was a wonderful institution right across the street that held some sort of strange, miraculous power to give shy persons the strength to get up and do what needs to be done.  No, it wasn't a Powdermilk Biscuits factory, but a pub.
  
  

  
  

  Paddy's Pub, from the set of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"
  

  
  By all standards, it was a pretty simple place.  No wall-sized aquariums, fancy martini glasses, or big racks of fancy liquor with multicolored changing backlights.  Nope, not here.  Just a few tables, a bar, and a back room with a couple of pool tables.
  
  

  
  The pub from the set of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"
  

  
  That's about all the place had, and that's all it really needed.
  
  It didn't need a lot of fancy fluff-n-stuff to be appealing.  The appeal, you see, was in the people who frequented the place.  Atmosphere was a creation of the patrons, not a pre-supplied commodity from the pub itself.  The people made the place interesting, and most importantly, it gave it a personal touch not easily duplicated.  You could go to great lengths to recreate the building and the interior with perfect detail, but you would still fail to make the place "feel right," as it were.  I suppose this kind of analysis of the place is common sense.  It's rarely the place you miss, but the people who made it worth something to you.
  
  Well, before I get too sentimental, I should shift my focus on one of the pub's greatest features.  This was the place to go when you had a problem.  Before you jump all over me and shout "OMG UR A ALCOHAWLIC!!!1!" please hear me out.  Technically, you could go there and try to drink your problems away.  This kind of approach is commonly referred to as "the idiot method" and it rarely ever ends up in success.  No, that's not how problems get solved at the bar.  You don't get drunk, but you get slightly more relaxed than usual, and here's one of the key elements: bring friends.  In doing so, here's what you're setting up:
  
  1) Camaraderie - If one of my buddies had a loved one die and it was up to me to cheer him/her up, for most of the people I know, buying them a beer would mean more to them than buying a $100 bouquet of flowers.  It's a sign of friendship and respect between us dudes.
  2) Honesty - Even if you're only slightly buzzed, you might notice that elements of your hidden rage for a certain class asshole start feeling more profound, or maybe your hidden infatuation with that one nice girl from your chemistry class starts to come to the surface.  Whatever the case, be it a good thing or a bad thing, you're becoming more honest with yourself, and you're leaving your neat, tidy image you'd like society to see everyday back at home.
  3) Communication - This kind of goes back to the issue of honesty.  Now that you've decloaked your feelings, it's time to really start communicating with people.  I'm still convinced that we could've gotten better information from enemy combatants by getting them piss drunk at a bar than by waterboarding. 
  
  Every year an advisory board would come to campus to discuss various issues with our department.  The first half was conducted in the engineering building, and it was a pretty formal affair.  Complaints, concerns, and general comments were delivered in prepared, sophisticated statements, and everything was kept civil.  The second half was conducted at the aforementioned pub, and after a few rounds, it was a lot easier to look these big shots straight in the eye and say "Now, here's what I think!" and really let off some steam about the crap going down in the department.  I think with that level of honesty, more real criticism was considered at the pub than at the formal meeting.
  
  

  Mancouch asks: democrab is a genius.  When was the last time you went to a pub?
  

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