Although it is a very small and annoying subject, I feel that I have to say something about PDA. If you're not sure what I'm speaking about, PDA is a nice little abbreviation that stands for Public Display of Affection. If you don't know what that means, read a dictionary and piece it together. At the party I went to this weekend (which I'm sure will fuel several chunks of writing), there was more kissing and groping than I've seen in public in quite awhile. Don't get me wrong, I realize that when people like each other, they often feel the need to do cute things to one another. The problem starts occuring when random, evenly spaced kisses turns into full-fledged making-out and dry-humping sessions. Although I'm all for these things, I don't want to see them happening right in front of me. If I want to see something like that, I'll go home and turn on Cinemax any time after 10pm.

From what I could gather, there are three very distinct stages in the ritual of PDA. In Stage 1, people are playful, there's a lot of hugging and even the occasional peck on the cheek. People are drinking and mingling, and trying to figure out who they can get with later in the night. In Stage 2 people start settling down a bit, the alcohol has run its course and dancing no longer seems like such a fun activity. Many start securing a space on the couch or a beanbag, sometimes slyly pulling up a blanket to cover a bit of the activity. In Stage 3, almost no rules apply and people throw their inhibitions to the wind. At this particular party, I tried turning up the tv in order to drown out the slurping sounds, but in the end I just went back to my apartment and went to sleep.

I'm sure that many people are now trying to figure out what the frig my problem is. Maybe I'm just a classicist in believing that kissing and whatnot are intimacies, and therefore intimacy also includes (as it does by definition) privacy. Maybe the problem is that none of what I saw was intimacy (it was more like get drunk and make out with people) and I should just not worry about it. I think the big problem is that I'm just pissed because I'm single.

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