Beautiful sunny day, clear skies.

Had an appointment on the other side of town, so went to spend some time at a nice park nearby.

Brought my book to read, and sat down at an area overlooking the rest of the green.

While reading, did some recon of the surroundings to scout for prospects. Baddies galore, but most were in groups of two or three. I was considering approaching a two-set, but then I saw a solo in the distance.

It was hard to tell her attractiveness from how far I was, but I decided to go anyways because I was out of options.

She was facing away from me, so I walked up from the side before opening. I went direct, and then commented on the book she was reading. I sat down to continue the conversation. Whenever possible, I find that sitting down sooner makes the interaction more comfortable and natural.

Didn’t get good IOIs. Starting from her handshake which was firm and business-like rather than soft and feminine, and continuing with her rather closed body language and keeping her sunglasses on.

Nevertheless, she entertained conversation. We talked about a variety of topics, some shallow and some deep. She mentioned the concept of a “third place” when talking about the park we were in, and I was impressed because I had not thus far met anyone who also had known of that term. I tried to use this as a way to qualify her, but wasn’t too successful.

After the conversation started to lull, I told her my time constraint and that I wanted to get back to my book, so I asked her if she wanted to get a drink sometime. I didn’t like how I phrased it as a question instead of “let’s / we should grab drinks sometime.” I also noticed that while she affirmed the request, I could tell something about her tone was not as enthused as I would have liked, and so I knew in my gut that this number would be fake or flake.

Reflection: - Practice qualification more. Something like, “I like girls who appreciate good urban planning. We might get along after all.” - Close confidently. Statements are more powerful than questions. Assume attraction.

Question: - In these stationary daygame sets, I worry that the girl will be uncomfortable if she doesn’t know how long I am going to stay in the set. However, I sometimes have seen the power of a longer in person interaction in resulting in a more solid number. What is the sweet spot for a length of interaction? And should I always introduce a false time constraint right away?

As I was leaving the park, I spot a cute girl reading on a bench. I walk past and hesitate, but I turn right back around and open. Not sure why I didn’t open directly, but I was in such a flow state that as soon as I said hi and grabbed her attention, I was so intrigued by the fact that she had 4 colored markers next to her book that I teased her about that instead.

She appeared shy, but did ask me questions and seemed mildly receptive. She said she was waiting for a friend, and I ejected after a few minutes and wished her a good day.

However, I did find her attractive, so looking back I should have stayed in the set longer. I forgot that I didn’t open directly as usual, so a reason for her reservation might be because I didn’t display my intent. I could have made a direct compliment. I did tease that “I guess it might not work out (between us)” based the fact that we went to rival institutions, and this elicited a positive response

Reflection: - Teases involving the “we” frame / future forecasting are very powerful and polarizing. Will try to use these more. - Don’t forget to display intent whether directly or through the vibe. Make it clear why I am talking to her. - Always be closing. If I like her, I should let her be the one to reject me, and not self-reject.