Dude I can't believe you guys went to Wildcats in the end! Sounds like it went well too - I feel some facebook game coming on here
I'd like to apologise to the Bristol boys in general for my shocking performance on Friday night. I failed to approach a single set all night and to be honest, never got in the zone. Part of me blames there being a dearth of talent about, another part blames AA, enhanced by the fact that I was stone cold sober all night. Either way I let everyone down by choading out on Friday - I know a couple of the lads were looking up to the likes of me and Hustler for inspiration and I didn't deliver. On a more positive note it was excellent to see so many guys out. Some of the newer faces really got stuck in and tried some sets, kudos for the effort lads.
Saturday was better though, I managed to come up against what's known in the trade as a Bitch Fortress in the form of a 2 set (in the Pitcher and Piano). Picture the scene - sober sarging (which I'm starting to enjoy by the way!) a 2 set of girls who really did think they were "all that". Here's but a taster of some of the shit tests that came my way:
"You're really young - how old are you?"
"Have a guess how old we are"
"We don't like men, they're lying bastards"
"Come back in a few years when you're a rich dentist"
"If you win this game you get to buy me a drink"
Thankfully, I had my cocky trousers on last night and I well and truly showed them who was boss. Alas, the best friends routine failed. Hard. Again. When I asked if they used the same shampoo, they just both went "yep" without looking at each other. When I said "Oh bad luck, you failed the best friends test" they just said "well, we're best friends so clearly your test just sucks". Touche. I bailed shortly after. Moral of the story? No matter how they respond to the shampoo question, they pass. Girls don't appreciate some random guy telling them they don't know each other. Interestingly enough, the exact same thing happened (almost verbatim) when I was out with the riding club the other night (word to the wise - rich horsie-loving daddies girls are very, very fun to chat up. Although one confessed to having a crush on Paddy Ashdown, Jeremy Clarkson and the guy that played the Demon Headmaster when I was a kid, which was just plain wierd).
Day game was fun too, I'm going to get involved in it more. Pavel is very keen on it - his logic is that if you can fearlessly approach and have an interaction in the sober, hard light of day, you're sorted at night. In fact, he had a pretty lady take a photo of us all in Cabot Circus. Mate if you're reading this, put it up, it was a good one.
Last night was fun though Stu. I think we may be able to get Phil onto here, he told me on a number of occasions how badly he wants to get involved, just can't seem to take the first step. Pavel was absolutely on fire. Honestly, he approached nearly every pretty girl we saw, with mixed results. No canned stuff, no "material", just initiating conversation with whatever came first to mind. A particular favourite was the way he pointed at a girl until she looked inquiringly at him, at which point he waved and walked over to start a conversation. Much respect last night mate, you owned the place.
Something I think we should try is what Pavel suggested last night - sticking in one bar all night and making it our own. The P+P, for example, had a very good turnover of babes, and had be been in there and shot the shit all night, our natural alpha male demeanours and fun vibe would've had us owning the place (and the women).
My learning points for the weekend:
1) Body language - backwards analysing my tough 2 set in the P+P made me realise my body language isn't quite right. I was too high energy, in-your-face and reactive to what they said. I should've kept cool at all times.
2) Speaking too fast - kind of comes under the body language umbrella, but I think I'm speaking too quickly when talking to girls. As a first impression, it immediately suggests a lack of confidence which is never good.
3) They ALWAYS win the friendship game. Giving validation and value is always better than trying to take it away by being the know-it-all.
4) I need to man up and power through my AA. If I put my mind to it I can conquer it, but especially in target-poor locations it's hard to simply bounce from set to set and get inside my head. It's at these times I need to grow a pair and approach. On this note, it's important to start as you mean to go on. Something I realised last night is that if you approach early it gives you a huge confidence boost and releases some of the pressure to approach on a night out.
5) This sober sarging lark is a winner for me. If I can approach and hold a set when sober, I'm going to be fucking unstoppable with a few ciders in me!
6) Boys, get practicing those shit tests, especially if you're young like me (I'm only 21 in December, and I look it). A lot of the shit I took from girls over the last couple of days was about my age. If girls can tell you're younger than them, it's a fairly strong DLV and you have to work hard to get them in line. Pavel suggested I don't shave before I go out, I'll try it next time.
Fuck. I forgot to do the Apocalypse.