From Social Butterfly to Social Cannot Fly
As a social butterfly, a big part of going out and enjoying a pint or two lay in the activity of making new friends, activated by the fact that everyone is so close to each other in a confined space we’re always just 1 word away from becoming best buds.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest stories and updates.
The woes of a social butterfly are best viewed during this time of…well…woe. As a self-realising social butterfly, I spent many of my days of yore with colleagues, many of my nights with friends and family – oftentimes in pubs and bars, lubricating our socialness. Every now and then I’d find myself cajoled to hit a club, speakeasy or just some place everyone becomes friends at some point of the night – laughing boisterously and going home knowing you’ve made more than a few new friends.
If you’re still following, you might be feeling a sense of nostalgia, generally reserved for childhood memories – and yet, as the world changes around us this very minute, we feel that deep loss of connectivity that we had but mere months ago.
We’re beginning to see technology not just as an aid to our lives, but becoming more and more integrated into the fabric of how we live our lives. Gone are the days where we use social media to see what friends are up to (Let’s face it everyone’s doing the same damned thing at home), we don’t reserve conference calls specifically for overseas dealings anymore, more than that, when have we ever thought having a zoom call with a bunch of friends, to have a “sesh”, be deemed a regular weekend activity.
(Credit: Freepik)
“But they’re loosening regulations across the nation!” I hear you cry. To that I say, you not scared ah?
As a social butterfly, a big part of going out and enjoying a pint or two lay in the activity of making new friends, activated by the fact that everyone is so close to each other in a confined space we’re always just 1 word away from becoming best buds. Some of my most memorable nights have started with simply saying “Cheers” to random strangers – many of whom I now count myself lucky to have met. Now imagine the absurdity of that as we physically distance ourselves in a bar, throw sweet smiles and insinuating gestures, raising our glasses at different gentlemen across multiple tables. Are you picturing the results yet?
Reminiscing about the life of the party (Parent’s are no stranger to this feeling), I hit up my old homies, Ethan Curzon and Yeoh Wai Hong of BATE to talk about what they’d be doing this NYE. Being relatively well-known DJ’s in the country, they’re probably feeling the new-normal’s fingers wrapped around their necks a little more than I do.
“Imagine spending countless nights playing in a physically enclosed space filled with warm, socially lubricated, elated bodies, the beautifully choreographed lights dancing in and around us, the hiss of the smoke machine inducing an air of mystery as we drop the beat – then imagine us playing to a screen in our own living rooms. That loss of physical energy is something that cannot really be replaced” Ethan tells me as Wai Hong nods in agreement.
“In case you didn’t already know – Heineken Malaysia is putting on a livestream NYE party to help us close off 2020 and part of this plan is to run a Longest Cheers campaign. We may not be able to clink our drinks physically, but we can definitely still do so virtually. It’s more than just connecting people digitally – paired and integrated with this NYE livestream, it’s set to be the future of an alternative space where Malaysians are united in their bonds and love of music – yet able to still be socially lubricated without being creepy!” Wai Hong laughs at our shared sentiment of overcompensating machismo.
The worst part of this situation has to be the self-inflicted Stockholm Syndrome – you know, when you’re so used to staying home, you begin to think that it’s actually better than hangin’ with the homies.
As Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations loom closer, we can only stare ahead, frozen, like a deer in headlights, at what will probably be a very different Christmas and NYE. Fortunately, our friends (That we have accumulated over the years of partying) and family remain by our side, in our pockets, nothing but a few taps of a screen away.
The commonality across what I’ve learned is that us social butterflies have this void of connectivity that Heineken Malaysia is helping to address with a safe (In all sense of the word, all things considered), digital space that ensures we still have something to look forward to given the circumstances of 2020, and in the process, not lose what it means to be a community that thrives on social interaction.
Heineken Malaysia’s Starclub NYE Live countdown will be be headlined by Dutch DJ duo, W&W, supported by some of Malaysia’s best talents – DJ Blink, BATE and Saint Kylo! The digital event isn’t just about providing you with some of the best music to finally kick 2020 to the curb, but will also feature a fireworks experience and the option to have ice-cold beer delivered right to your doorstep.
4 hours of helping you forget the woes of 2020, on-screen promos will consistently pop-up entitling you to RM30 off on drinkies.my, along with special giveaways of 20 very curated Heineken NYE goodie boxes with exclusive merchandise, Heineken and Heineken 0.0.
The Longest Cheers is going to be one of the few things that you will look at this year, see maybe more than a few familiar faces, and smile a warm and fuzzy smile to yourself every time a friend throws up his glass in a true signal of camaraderie.
Join the Longest Cheers and be a part of the movement HERE and stand a chance to win this Heineken mini home bar!
Don’t forget to set your calendar reminders and catch Heineken Malaysia’s NYE livestream HERE!
Share your thoughts with us on TRP’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
