1. the “hard core” — these few stay well past when everyone else has left, including the organizers
2. the “waywards” — no one’s sure who they are or why they’re there, but they do show up…. and don’t really talk to anyone
3. the “internationals” — these students don’t speak english well enough to get on with the rest of the crowd… but you gotta admire their willingness to step out of their comfort zone
4. the “frat boys” — these guys are allllllllll about the beer. they show up just a bit fashionably late, consume as many beers as possible, and are gone the instant the alcohol runs out
5. the “eager beavers” — these people live for office hours, and happy hour is treated as such. these schmoozers use happy hour to “get to know” their professors…. and seem not to notice there are tons of other cool people there to talk to
6. the “groupies” — they come in a group, stay in the group, and leave with the group. it’s like oil + water with these folks.
7. the “functionalists” — they come for exactly one beer and try to leave without getting stuck talking to anyone before they make their escape. happy hour is seen by these folks as a source of free beer, not as a social event.

oooooo, in writing this i came up with so many more! the ME design group hosts a happy hour every friday, and the location changes based on who hosts it. the dschool hosted yesterday, and i was totally blown away by how differently everyone uses the “hour”. if i had to categorize myself, i think i’d fall into the “intensely conversant” group. i’d get into relatively deep conversation with one or two people and then there’d be silence….. then “ok i’m gonna get another beer now” or “ok, i gotta go, nice talking to you”. made me think there’s really no graceful way to end a conversation minus an outside stimulus. if someone else walks up to the group, it’s an automatic out. phone call? nice out. you can always “go to the bathroom” but you gotta be careful not to use that one too much. no human being needs to pee five times in an hour.