"There were a lot of girls there," Carrasquillo says. "Who wants to dance with a room full of girls?"

In addition, many of the party attendees are not from Harvard, a fact that the group concludes from numerous cabs pulling up to the house and unfamiliar faces.

Disappointed by the foreign party crowd, the group heads for the Hong Kong, where scorpion bowls crowd one side of the table as some whose identification received negative reviews from the waiter joined those who chose not to order drinks.

Then comes the AD. The final club is holding a "Back to Summer" party with members in Scuba diving suits and Hawaiian shirts. After around half an hour of shooting pool and smoking on the crowded second floor, the verdict is in: too crowded, with too few familiar faces.

The group finally heads toward 59 JFK, for the quintessential Grille experience: smoke, crowds and plenty of beer.

At the start, Swanson wards off a potential suitor who casually mentions to her, "I'm heading back to the Quad now and it would be really nice to have someone come back with me."

To this Swanson replied, "Um, I don't think my boyfriend would appreciate that."

Most in the group have boyfriends, which often leads to creative responses when faced with pick-up lines from Harvard men.

"I usually casually mention the fact that I have a boyfriend," Swanson says. "Sometimes, I just don't mention it, if he's really cute."

In fact, Swanson met her current boyfriend, Douglas M. Sproule '98, at the Grille her first year.

Avoiding the rush at closing, part of the groupleave the Grille in search of mozzarella fries andgarlic bread at Tommy's.

Hoping the AD party crowd has thinned, two ofthe original seven women return to thebuilding--only to find crowds lingering outside ofthe Plympton Street entrance.

The next alternative: the Fox, where a fewmembers are found generally lounging around. It isperhaps the only point in the evening when thegroup's faith in the final club scene is shaken:to the disappointment of all, the bar oddly lacksits perennial keg. Though unsatisfied, Swanson andJohnson eventually decide to call it a night andbegin their walk back to the Quad.

"I've had better nights," Gonzalez says.

Others agree that the night was uneventful.

"It depends on circumstance," Hanselman says ofthe evening's potential. "It's kind of like wewere on this quest and we never quite found it. Idon't mean that to be a hook-up or anything, justsome diverse company."

But most say the goal of a girls' night out wasaccomplished--to have a good time in the companyof friends. Going out with a group is anopportunity to catch up with friends who don'tshare common interests Hanselman says.

"Most of my friends live in different Houses,and we don't take the same classes," she says.When going out, "you can catch up in a socialenvironment. It's more fun than being on thephone.