Barnes & Noble at The Grove is my new spot

About a month ago in an effort to put myself "in the environment" more I've been making myself a regular at the Barnes & Noble at The Grove on a particular weekday evening that's free in my schedule. I've found that it's actually a great environment to be in for my purposes: there's Starbucks at my beck and call; I can catch up on reading The Four-Hour Work Week (I'm about halfway through but I plan on reading it twice so I can understand and apply the principles it's teaching); and there is a higher-than-average percentage of Korean girls that show up to study or drink coffee or whatever. Sometimes I'll even go here and shoot the shizzle with my buddy K. It's just such a perfect environment for relaxing in and meeting people. There's hardly any distractions, ample lighting and plenty of coffee to fuel those last stretches of chapter to cover. :-)

As far as girls I've approached here I've approached 3 so far (on separate occasions). All of them Direct yet friendly. None of them have panned out yet, but I figure that's a matter of the Pareto Principle at play (wow, say that five times fast). Here are the breakdowns...

The first one was on my way down past the magazine racks out the door. I saw this cute Asian chick browsing the People magazines, paused to see what her situation might've been (at that time of night and day of the week it's highly likely that she was on a date), took a deep breath and approached. Went Direct, got a smile, "Hi my name's Julie." We vibed for a hot minute before mentioning that she was on a date, actually (figures, but I don't let that stop me). While talking her date shows up, some Asian dude that's mad-dogging me for talking to his chick. I greet him with a warm smile and a hearty handshake to try and get him to relax but he's not having it. I vibe with the both of them for a little bit about whatever until my buddy K. rolls up and helps me close up shop on that interaction.

I don't think there's much more I could've done with this situation. If anything I needed to act a little faster so I could get a proper amount of Rapport time with her before her man showed up, but beyond that not much more. It was still an interaction I had to do because she caught my eye in that special way.

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Second interaction was while I was sitting up at the tables near the Starbucks. While chatting it up with my buddy K. I notice this TOTALLY MY TYPE Korean girl occupy the table right in my line-of-sight. Oh my God, she was firing on all cylinders sonnnnnn! At an appropriate lull in my conversation with K. I excuse myself, take a deep breath and approach. The vibe was electric for me (and I'm sure for her), it was pretty damn close to how the Movie Moment opener is done, energy-wise.

"Hey." :-) Her name was Eunice.

It was on. SO FVCKING ON.

Until her mom showed up 3 minutes later. :-\ I had to switch gears when Mommy showed up from sexual to fun/flirty and couldn't do much else with her while Mom was present. Eunice had a BF (which, again, I don't care about; if it's on, it's on, you'll find a way to make it happen for her and still keep her not feeling like a slut) and that, coupled with Mom's presence, pretty much ended things. She offered to give me her email but I don't do emails any more-- in the past they've lead to frustration and wasted effort on my part. I had to bid her "adieu". :-(

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The third one was the most recent one which involved a Literary Legal Eagle by the name of Olivia from OH (she's not Korean, btw). Again, I was chilling with K. and my other buddy S. shotting the shit when I notice this girl lug her backpack and large-ass literature books into a tiny side-table. At first I was kind of "ehh" about her-- it wasn't a bang-on-gut-reaction like with Eunice (above). The more glances I stole at her (at one point we even had good, solid eye contact) the more interested I became in her. After about 20 minutes (yeah, I know, sometimes I take too long) I get up and talk to her. 10 minutes of Rapport which was mutual flirting and sharing on both our parts. At the end when I go for the day2 close she breaks out the "I have a BF" which seemed genuine so I didn't press it further. She gave me her email address (which I don't ask for but if she's giving it, then fine), we shoot the shit for another minute or so, then I let her get back to studying.

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:

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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.

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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.

Ups and downs, smiles and frowns

For some reason or another Sunday and Monday were "Chicks Flaking On Me Day". The girl that I had a day2 with this past Wednesday plus a new girl I had met at an industry event both didn't pick up their phones even after back-to-back calls and a quick voicemail. The girl I'm flirting with at work is also starting to go cold (which is partly attributable to her work load and to her apartment hunt) and it's sooo frustrating.

Needless to say I was feeling less-than-stellar today. I tried to keep my spirits up with proper body language, fun music, and chatting up my friends at work. I'm a lot better at managing my state nowadays when I get depressed, but it still sucks the wind out of me somewhat. If anything I end up being slightly on the downturn of neutral, but I'll take that over out-and-out depression any day.

Of course the only cure for this is flirting with cute girls. That and more cowbell, but Christopher Walken was no where to be found. ;-)

It turns out God didn't want me feeling too shitty this evening-- while roaming around B&N at The Grove I spot this cute Asian/White chick browsing the books. I know what I have to do.

I approach her from the side, tap her on the side of her arm, step back, and tell her she's cute. She lights up, we exchange names and vibe. The energy's not totally sexually charged and I don't have superior body position to get more kino in, but I work the Rapport *really* well. In fact, she contact closes ME, doing the whole "tear a paper in half and exchange contact info" thing. Caught me off guard, to be honest, but luckily I'm always prepared with a pen. We exchange contact information and then vibe for a couple more minutes after which we part ways.

Is it solid? I don't know-- she's crashing at her BF's place until she moves up to the LA area next week, which means I have to play the timing and communication juuuuuuuuust right. I'm probably going to drop her a text message tomorrow, see if she replies. Either way that TOTALLY made my day and it lessened the pangs in my heart about the other chicks I'm having issues with.

I'm still a sexy guy dammit-- I need to keep reminding myself of this fact every day via the smiles I put on girls' faces.

Daytime Shenanigans at The Grove

Went out today to hang with my buddies S. and B. at The Grove for a couple of hours. We were there to hang out, catch up on stuff and talk to cute girls. :-) My personal mission that day was to work on my Indirect approaches. I was never really a fan of doing the "1-2-3" Indirect approach until I started instructing with PU101. It's funny how teaching people really elevates your own game and lets you re-experience things you thought you'd forgotten. In any case I developed a taste for it and wanted to hammer out the details of it for my own use. It's definitely a good tactic for street sets as it keeps things fun and flirty, plus it gives me an "out" if there's a language barrier and I don't want to continue past the "1" portion of the "1-2-3".

I'm still having some issues with Rapport but I'm not sure if it's 100% on my end or if the environment also had a significant role in things. In any case, here are the sets of note:

1) Two cute chicks (definitely in the 8-9 range) were walking down the main drag towards the Farmer's Market. I came up from the side into their peripheral vision, extended my hand towards them and:

ME: Excuse me guys, do you know if there's an ATM around here?
GIRL 1: I think there's on--
ME: <kino her arm> ACTUALLY, I don't care-- I just came to flirt with you guys. You're just soooo cute, I had to say "Hi". :-)
GIRLS: <giggles and laughter>

Introductions went around and I went for my go-to Rapport question: "So where are you guys from?" We vibe for a minute or so but I can't take things deeper with either one. After a minute I let them get on their way.

I didn't get both of them to turn away from the direction they were heading, so I was fighting an uphill battle to keep them both engaged. Still, I made them feel good and I felt good, too, so not a loss at all.

2) Worker bee inside Nordstroms. I tap her elbow from the side, and:

ME: Hey, do I have to buy anything, or can I just flirt with you for free? :-) (credit: R. Kramer)
HER: <laughs>

Get intros and start vibing. I'm able to share some stories with her about me but she keeps looking over at the register and slowly increasing the physical distance between us. Eventually she excuses herself to help some customers and I bid her adieu.

Later on when I reconvene with B. (who was monitoring my set from a distance) he says she was checking me out while I was in a nearby section of the store, so I can't have done all THAT badly.

3) See this cute girl standing outside some restaurant.

ME: Excuse me, this may sound random, but you're really cute. I had to come meet you. :-)
HER: :-)

We exchange names and vibe for a minute. She's from Bulgaria and is there with her BF, so I try to work fast on the Rapport. No dice, she gets a call from her BF, so I wish her a good day.

4) Cute redhead inside B&N. She's listening to some music in the CD section of the store and has the headphones on tight. I put my hand in her peripheral vision so as to not startle her, motion for her to take off the headphones, and:

ME: Excuse me, this may sound random, but you're really cute. I had to come meet you. :-)
HER: :-)

While talking with her she slides the headphones on sort-of, with her ears poking out somewhat so she can hear me. We vibe for maybe a minute or two and she eventually gets back to her music.

I think with this particular set I didn't commit her body AWAY from what she was doing (listening to music), so that's a lesson for me: turn her at least 90 degrees (ideally 180 degrees) away from what she was doing while engaging her.

5) Two cute girls walking their dogs outside the Apple store. One of them is on the phone so I open the cuter one with:

ME: Excuse me, do you know if there's an ATM around here?
HER: I think there's one nea--
ME: Actually, I don't care. I just came here to flirt with you. :-)
HER: :-)

Introductions and vibe. This one's actually going really well with Rapport, UNTIL her friend's dog gets loose and runs after some other person's dog to sniff butts. After they recovered her dog that broke the vibe and they bounced.

Not sure what I could have done beyond that. I got ADOG'ed.

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Overall an excellent day at The Grove. I have to rest up since I'm double-booked socially for the evening and have to drive around Downtown LA for two things.