Parties are an acquired taste, like beer or being punched in the scro....

Anyway, you can see socializing at a party to be impossible (mingle with everybody) or just a place you can do stuff with a small group of people. I tend towards the latter -- pick some people, try to find something in common, and spend a few hours with them. Then stuff might happen or nothing might happen.

For example, prior to blacking out in Hong Kong I have clear memories of talking to no less than 4 girls (all foreign/american) and dancing with them. Too bad I have no idea what happened next.