It’s Thursday night, and after a full week of classes, labs, tests and work, the bar is the last place you truly want to be. Nonetheless, as you step inside your humble abode, your housemates instruct you to shower because this is senior year, and “we only have thirty-five more Thursday nights at the Grape”-God forbid we miss one.
The Grape on a Thursday nights is referred to by my girlfriends as “Club Seagrape.” From the countless number of bodies to the earsplitting music provided by the DJ, the environment is synonymous with a NYC subway car of New Years Eve; once inside, you’re staying inside.
As you step through the doors you thrust your body up against the bar and try to flag down a bartender (I prefer the Vin Diesel look alike, but that’s a different story); ten minutes later you are fortunate to have a cocktail in hand. After you receive your drink you attempt to remove yourself from the bar, but movement is only attainable if you exhort, yes exhort, your body in a clockwise fashion. A very difficult task due to the large volume of bodies and the vaporous aura created by the fog machine.
You attempt to talk to fellow students but as you make your way around the bar the noise level escalates and auditory censorship begins to take over. So, you sip your drink in minute intervals, knowing it may be the first and last one you’ll get, and dance in place because your personal space has been minimized to a three centimeter circumference.
Regardless of the above statements, any upperclassman will tell you that they truly love the Grape. It is the only place where you are able to socialize with your classmates without having to pay for their alcohol or worry about bothersome neighbors who feel it is their purpose in life to call in noise complaints. You get to reminisce with dorm mates from previous years, talk about the “good old days,” and realize that everyone is still as clueless about future endeavors as they were when they entered college three years prior.
The Grape is not necessarily a place to unwind but a place to socialize, kick back and enjoy nights away from it all. This is our last call in what we’ve known as home for the past three year so let’s make the most of it. I’ll see you tonight.
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