I don't think the "no patches" thing was all that true for PC games. I've been gaming since the first Fallout and for practically every game I could/had to download one or more patches from the official website. For multiplayer games like Warcraft 3 you had to make sure everyone was using the same patch. One of the major advantages of Steam was automating the update process.
I work an office job, but I tend to sleep 1 or 2 hours early in the evening and then stay up till 2 or 3 am. It's not really healthy, but it does give me more time to enjoy the quiet of night.
I think I spent 20 euros on a ring I thought was cute (and resizable, because I didn't know her ring size), and we later bought wedding rings together.
I also called her father beforehand, but more like "Hey, I thought you'd like to know that I'm planning to do this", and he was like "That's awesome, have fun!".
There seem to be very few people who are willing and able to properly organise large-scale re-enactment events. In my country, like half of the scene is dependant on one guy who more-or-less makes a living of organising events.
Alcohol is the Great Social Lubricant. There a lots of activities that allow for some responsible drinking while having fun with friends or new people, like student associations, sport teams, Renaissance fairs, concerts, house parties, etc. Just get a drink and go talk to people. You'll probably do some stupid stuff as well, but at least that makes for good stories.
Fr*nchist