A friend apologized that he didn't talk to me much when we went to O Bar over the weekend, and I told him it wasn't an issue. If anything, I barely talk to people while at the bar since I try to record the entire show, which means a good 2-ish hours of bar time where I have a perfectly valid excuse to stay disengaged with anyone. I've had friends drop by during the show, and I'll wave and mouth hi and try to give a quick hug/beso, but then I'll go back to filming. I don't mean to be rude (but I probably am for many), but we all have our priorities at the bar.
It was during one of our high school soirees that I discovered the magic of having a camera. This was before mobile phones could take higher-quality images, and I'd bring a camera (with film) to our school events to see what I could document. Whenever I'd raise my camera, people would start to turn my way and smile at the camera. At the same time, people don't necessarily see you - they see the camera. So I'd get away barely talking with anyone for as long as I took photos throughout the event. And while I did prefer taking candid shots, signaling to everyone that I'm taking a photo was an easy proxy for social interaction. So people could remember I was at the event, even if they may not remember particularly memorable conversations.
This carried over to our O Bar nights, starting with me lugging around a point-and-shoot digital camera and now with my phone. It's the same behavior - I do my best to make sure I take photos of everyone who joins us at the table and who we're friendly with at the bar, and then I get to do my own thing for most of the night. The video-taking only ramped up post-lockdown. Before I'd nurse my drink, dance a bit, and then whip out the camera or phone as a form of social interaction.
It's how I keep sane in situations like this. I still manage some meaningful interactions with friends throughout the night. But I also recognize that I get away with practically avoiding a lot of other people thanks to my camera work, so maybe I should be the one to apologize to people.
Well, except for the ones I intentionally keep my distance from. The world is full of "small doses" poeople, especially in the tight confines of O Bar on a Saturday night. LOL
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