To very rarely have a bad night out?

[DetailMouse]

I go out socially maybe a dozen or so times a month. It might for a meal, a theatre trip, a pub or a band, a comedy club or some physical activity, often in a group, sometimes 121.

I always have a nice time. Some obviously better than others, but I never come home thinking that was awful, I wish I hadn't gone.

I have a friend who always has complaints (and not always about the evenings with me!). The film was rubbish, the food was awful, the music wasn't right, the venue was too noisily or too quiet....

Am I unusually easily pleased?

No; your friend sounds difficult

I hardly ever get to go out, been that way for many years now unfortunately. But they've almost all been good ones, with the exception of in an abusive relationship, where the nights our were always great but the fallout from the night out weren't.

Probably a mix of both. You likely have a broad range of things you enjoy and are going to things you know you're likely to enjoy. Your friend might have a narrower list of enjoyable things or be sort of swept along to things (s)he's not likely to enjoy because others want to do them.

Another thing: having a complaint doesn't mean you didn't enjoy yourself generally or regret having gone. This is a matter of the way you relate to things. I think this is especially true in relation to complaints the sound in the venue. I can think of two outings in the recent past I enjoyed and felt my time had been well spent, but in the first, the cafe had gone card-only, which is annoying to me as a person who prefers to pay in cash and is now increasingly seeing card-only signs all over the place, and the last time I'd been there they offered regular/large options for the long black and now only serve one smaller quantity. The second, the food quality really varied, I asked for more tap water three or four times and still didn't get it, some things someone else ordered earlier also didn't arrive, my friend was late. Both times I had a good time!

I'm very easily pleased though.
For me a good night means I get to blow dry my hair and put on some lipgloss and a sparkly top and have a cold drink of some kind, something to eat, something to watch or a bit of a dance. I have always felt like that even when I was a young person and spent most of my evenings out. I used to just love to be out even for a half pint and a game of pool or for nachos in a chain restaurant or for coffee and people watching.

Some people just love a good moan. Several of my family are like that. I find it annoying, but it is what it is.

Some people will always find something to moan about.

I had a friend who, when our kids were small, was much better off than myself and our other friend. She also had a MIL who would pay to take them away on lovely holidays that we could only dream of.

All she ever did was moan. About everything! Used to drive my other friend and I mad!!

Hey ho. She’s still like it now, though it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to.

Maybe you know what makes a good night for you and stick to it, and your friend allows herself to be pushed into doing other people’s choices that aren’t to her taste. I love a night out, but to me that involves putting effort into getting ready and then going for nice food and wine somewhere you can sit down and hear the conversation. I quite frequently annoy my friends by politely declining nightclubs, packed “vertical drinking” bars, crawls around multiple bars, anything involving special clothing or significant amounts of activity… just because I’m old enough to have done all that stuff and know it’s not for me any more, and not care about whether or not that makes me one of the cool party kids.

Its your mate. I had a friend like that, everytime she ordered food she would send it back. It gets a boring. Be glad that you have a more positive outlook on life

@Shoxfordian

No; your friend sounds difficult

This is true, she does have other virtues

I begin to wonder if I'm a pushover whose standards aren't high enough!