Yet Another Art of Rapport Weekend

If you didn't know (or just weren't made aware) I'm an Instructor for PickUp 101. It's not a bad gig, all things considered, but it's definitely not my main source of income at the moment. Right now I get a lot out of the "helping guys bring out their attractive, confident qualities in order to develop fulfilling, long-lasting relationships with women" aspect of things. That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement for this company. Right now I'm trying to work with the higher-ups to help them reshape what the company is about and how to clean up their web presence so we can reach the right guys with a congruent message/image.

It's interesting how teaching actually makes me better at "pick up." Whoever coined the phrase, "Those that can, do. Those that can't teach." was obviously talking out of their ass because teachers, from my perspective, are the most complete package out there. The only way to really know a topic intimately is to be doing it yourself on a constant basis; complete mastery, however, really lies in your ability to pass that knowledge and wisdom on to others.

This particular weekend was for the Art of Rapport down here in the City of Angels. It was a decent-sized class of 6 students, with my buddy Robbie acting as Head Instructor and myself as the Lead Instructor. We were busy the entire weekend, with the really emotional, juicy stuff up front on Friday night and all the fun flirting with chicks in broad daylight on Saturday and Sunday.

I'm really proud of this batch of students. They picked up on concepts very quickly and not a one required more than a gentle nudge in the right direction (which, coincidentally, is towards cute girls) to get things movin'. My only wish for the weekend, really, was for more hours in the day so that this old dog can get his beauty rest. ;-)

Now my students weren't the only ones getting to flirt with cute girls; Daddy need his sugar, too, y'know. :-) I actually made a LOT of progress in terms of getting to Rapport with Asian chicks this weekend, since most times it's like pulling teeth with these girls. Two stories of note:

===

1) Was in line at "The Farm" restaurant (next to the AMC) in The Grove and saw this cute Korean girl dressed in black and white in front of me. I go Direct (but I keep the energy light and playful) and vibe with her while walking her back to her car in the parking structure. When I go for the day2-close she seems hesitant with her body language and I call it out as such. That's when she tells me that she's actually getting married soon. :-\ I congratulate her on her pending marriage and bounce.

I'm not sure if this could've been handled better, really. Maybe a turn of phrase to make it more innocent for her to meet up with me? Like, "Hey you seem really cool, let's get a coffee next week and get to know each other better."

2) Was with one of the students in the Barnes & Noble on the third floor, just hanging out on the bannister that overlooks the other two floors below. While chillin' there I noticed this cute lil' Korean girl in a red halter top and big sunglasses going down the escalator towards the exit. I think for a second, then go down after her to talk with her.

She had a bit of a head start on me, though, and by the time I got down to street-level she had disappeared into the throngs of people milling about. :-( Not even 15 minutes after that, though, while walking towards Nordstrom's with my student I see her walking towards me! Well, can't let her get away twice now. :-)

I stop her and speak from the heart, saying something like, "Hey, I saw you in the Barnes & Noble and was trying to catch up to you. You're really cute, I had to meet you." She gave me the biggest smile ever, although I couldn't see what was going on behind those dark sunglasses she was wearing. We vibed for about 5 minutes until she got a phone call which kind of broke the interaction. :-\ I didn't get enough Comfort with her to warrant a day2-close and I don't take phone numbers for the sake of having them, so I let her go.

===

All in all I had a good yet tiring weekend. Now if only I could eke out an extra hour or 4 of sleep tonight I'd be a happy clam.

Halloween Hijinks

You know, I'm not normally one to play "dress up" on Halloween. The whole idea of the "holiday" has lost its novelty on me; if I want to go out and have fun I can do that in my normal civilian clothing, thank you very much. :-)

This past All Hallow's Eve I ended up chillin' with my brother and good friend K. at this new (yet old) spot called LIFE on Wilshire Blvd and Crescent Heights Blvd. I had heard about it through some email list I'm on (I forget which one. Thrillist? Yelp? One of those...) Now it just so happens that this particular evening LIFE was also hosting a social mixer with the organization lafun.org. Color me pleasantly suprised when I walk into LIFE and am greeted by several dozen scantily-costume-clad Asian women from the lafun.org list. :-) Now THAT'S how you start the evening off right!

I opened a couple of groups just warming up my social muscles and ended up talking with a girl at the bar, B., who was part of a larger group of Asian girls that weren't in-costume (for whatever reason). We vibe for a bit and I attempt to see if she'll comply with me by saying I'm going outside for a smoke. She agrees but for whatever reason she doesn't follow. I'm not about to hang around waiting for this chick so I bounce outside, greeting random people and groups along the way.

Later in the evening I end up reopening the group with my buddy K. winging me. That buys me some time to get some one-on-one time with B. For whatever reason she's super closed-off and shy, and she keeps insisting that she's boring. I tried giving her the benefit of the doubt but after a while I started believing her.

I decided to go and talk to the rest of her group after that; the whole group was composed of cute Asian girls so it's a win-win proposition for me. :-) I play around with one of the girls, V., basically amping Attraction, taking photos, kinoing the shit out of her. Good times.

I eventually switch gears to E. who was quiet most of the time our group was mingling with theirs. She was the token Korean of the group, I guess, and you know how I am with Korean girls... :-] I end up talking with her and dropping things into Rapport and developing a connection with her, which is always good times. It turns out I kind of dig this chick for more than her looks. Go figure, right? ;-) I set up tentative day2 plans with her (due to her schedule conflicting with mine; November's a zany time for me right now), did a little phone game with her on-the-spot to get the first phone call awkwardness out of the way, then kept talking to her and getting to know her.

So to recap: Went to LIFE; had a blast with my brother and good friend; and got a tentative day2 with a cute Korean chick. Muy bueno. :-)