Went to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Long Island this weekend. Apparently Saturday was some local holiday called "Irish Day", which really just seemed like an excuse for a bunch of Italian and Irish people living in Long Beach to get drunk and have a parade.

Spent the day walking around, watching my niece ride the rides, etc, and at around 9 my BIL and I headed out to a pretty busy place where there was a live band and the Yankees game on. There were women everywhere, generally younger, and I wasn't sure if I'd be making approaches or not—I was just up for having a good time, getting a little drunk, and maybe making some conversation if the opportunity arose.

I did have a blowout or two—there was one girl standing at the bar and dancing to some ghetto song, and in an attempt to be funny I leaned toward the guy she was with and said "She knows she's white, right?" He laughed, but when she asked me what I said, she grabbed my chin and I playfully said "Hey, no manhandling!" I had thought she was playing around, but the next thing I knew, she had this kind of annoyed look on her face and she turned her back to me, toward the guy. Oops.

Lesson: Even a harmless joke can be insulting if they take it the wrong way.

I saw a mixed two-set, guy and an HB8, getting shots next to me while I was getting a beer. The song "No Rain" by Blind Melon came over the PA and HB8 and I both made a comment about how it took us back to high school, but I called bullshit on her because there was no way she was in high school when that song came out. She asked how old I was ("a hundred and five!") and we had a good laugh, and then my beer showed up so I took off.

About half an hour later, I bumped into her again, but wasn't really paying attention and didn't recognize her after that short interaction. She lit up and said "hey, I know you!" and then reminded me of the conversation earlier. I made some jokes, then asked her name. She gave it to me, then started talking about her night (practically unprompted), telling me that the guy she was there with was a coworker (her "BFFL" as she put it), and that he'd been hitting on her, as well as this friend of his who had literally walked up to her and said "You're hot." I laughed at his clumsy attempt and told her that if I had wanted to hit on her, I'd say something like "Oh, that's really cute, your nose wiggles up and down when you talk!" And the funny thing was, even though she knew I was using a line on her, she still reacted as if I'd meant what I said. She turned her head, made an exclamation and kind of blushed, and I took the opportunity to go "Ha, it just happened again!" (I'm still amazed that a line that gets used so much can still work, by the way.) She leaned into me and did the kind of punch-on-the-arm thing that girls do. We chat a little bit more, blah blah, kino, she finds out I'm a photographer and tells me that she has clients with kids who would love the type of photography that I do for their kids (I had showed her some photos I'd taken of my niece), so she gives me her number and tells me to let her know when I'm in the area and she might be able to set some stuff up.

About this time, BFFL shows up again (and though he and I had a little rapport, he clearly wasn't too happy that she was vibing on me and not him) and pulls her away to go dancing. She kind of looks at me like I should go along, but I say I'm going to get another beer. I joined them on the dance floor a few minutes later and she lights up like a Christmas tree, then we dance for awhile. They decide to get shots, so she drags me to the bar and I have a shot with them (tequila for me, Jäger for them, blech) and then she tells me that they're gonna take off. I tell her I'll send her a text and add her on Facebook and we can hang out when I'm in the area again; she agrees and gives me a hug and then they're gone.

Overall, it was a great night, partially because I had had no intentions of really getting anywhere with anybody, since I was just there for a night. It was also my first time at such a busy joint since I started reading PUA material, so it really gave me the opportunity to see things in a different light, and it gave me the chance to make conversation with a bunch of different people and see how they reacted.

TL;DR Hooked an HB8 by telling her I was going to use a line on her, then using it, and still getting the desired reaction.