So I pull up outside a cafe intending to get a specific branded chai, knowing this place has what I want. Two shops down I see a cute girl working at another cafe. In an effort to increase my interactivity with females, I head in there and order some other over priced brand that I know won't be as good (and it wasn't) to at least get an approach in. I manage to fluff a bit about chai, what she drinks, what ever small talk etc. I get some good basic IOIs with her, she clearly doesn't mind chatting with me. She's at work serving people so I can't exactly take up all her time. I tell her I just moved into the area, and ask whether she thinks there's anything I should check out around here. She can't think of anything, she prefers heading down towards the busier places, etc. Then she's back to work. I wait a couple more minutes for my chai, and say bye to her on my way out as she returns from a table.

I'm annoyed that I didn't ask her name, which would have been easy. Driving off, it occurred to me I had set myself up to potentially sneak in a line about educating her on the best kind of chai (I told her I'm a confessed chai snob), that I'd be more than happy if she'd like to join me for a chai sometime. It feels like it's a bit too soon to ask a girl like that though. But really, what is there to be worried about? Guess I'll have to go back there for some banana bread sometime.

I'm much better lately at simply trying to hold on the spot conversations with girls I've never met. It's a conscious effort I have to keep cultivating within my introverted self. One barrier is my subconscious being aware of the people around us. But I'm doing better at not giving a fuck about that voice. For me the biggest challenge seems to be trying to catch that inappropriate fight or flight response kicking in that makes me subconsciously lean towards fleeing from the potential rejection.

This is my first field report post on here. It's pretty cool having this outlet here where I can write up an experience instead of down-talking myself for the rest of the day for not going the extra mile.