tl;dr - TRP seriously helped my online dating (messaging) and texting game. I go through messages and texts for this date and try to provide clear differences between how I used to do things before TRP and how I do them now (with much more success) to explicitly highlight the changes. Then I get into the actual date and try to clearly point out the things TRP has helped me learn. I end with two questions relating to possible shit tests, one of which happened in the bedroom.
Online Dating
Some men here are against online dating and that's fine. I like it so I do it. My mistake in the past has been sending long, detailed, personalized messages to women. I'd do everything I can to "stand out"; word play, think of science jokes if their profile seemed nerdy, whatever else conveyed the message that I've read your profile and am into *you*. After reading TRP and looking back, I can't help but laugh and kick myself. It's clear what women say they want and what they actually want are completely different things.
After reading TRP, I reevaluated my messaging tactics. Here's the new way I approach girls, including the subject of this date. We'll call her Sara:
Me: Let's figure it out together.
S: Lol what is it that we're trying to figure out?
Me: Our first date!
S: Haha that was pretty smooth
Me: No need to thank me, I got it directly from your profile. I'm thinking something relaxing like a good restaurant with a bar.
S: That sounds lovely.
Me: Great. What day works for you?
S: Hm... either Monday or Thursday.
Me: Thursday. I know a bunch of great places between us. <My number here>.
The shift is unbelievable. More girls respond to messages like the first one than the detailed and thoughtful ones I thought they wanted. Pick one thing from her profile, write a single sentence about it, hit send.
Pre-Date Texting
The second phase of online dating is texting before a date. Something I never put together before TRP: no matter how much information you exchange via website messages or text, you're complete strangers until you meet. Period. Worse, you're giving away valuable information about yourself for nothing. I used to make every classic mistake you can think of in the text game: show emotion, ask how their day was going, good morning/good night texts, respond quickly, etc. Again, swallowing the blue pill day-in and day-out taught me that this is what girls want. Girls in my social circle told me this is what girls like. Who knows better about what girls want than girls, right? ...right?
So, here are my texts with Sara:
Sara: Hello =)
Me (several hours later): Hey. I just saw this. What's up? (before TRP, if I didn't respond for more than an hour, I'd apologize for the delay)
Sara: Not much. <She details her past weekend, including seeing 50 Shades of Grey>
Me: Ha. 50 Shades, nice. I'll probably never see it. (before TRP, I'd make up some lie about how open minded I am and how that movie looked good)
Sara: Haha, yeah, it was girls night. What did you do?
Me: Mostly packing boxes and paperwork. I got a new job. Comes with a relocation.
Sara: That's wonderful! Congratulations! What's the job? Where are you moving?
Me: Why don't you congratulate me in person? I'll tell it to you over dinner. (before TRP, I would've spilled all the details about the job and run out of things to talk about on the date)
Sara: Lol I may be able to do that.
Me: What type of food do you like?
Sara: Anything except Indian or Sushi.
Me: You don't like sushi?
Sara: I've never really given it a try. There are just some textural things that really make me quesy and I wouldn't want to make a funny face on a first date.
Me: Ha. Not a big risk taker, eh? Well, let's go to <Sushi place with a bar> and we can try it together. If it ends up being terrible, we'll drown our sorrows and laugh about it. (before TRP, I would've simply avoided Indian or sushi, even though I fucking love sushi. Why? Because she said she doesn't like it and I wouldn't have challenged that fact. Why would I?)
Sara: Okay deal =)
Texts the Day Of
Sara: I've had a terrible day at work so I think a drink and raw fish with a stranger is exactly what I need
Me: Well, usually I'd say that's a strange way to wind down, but in this case, I think you're making good choices.
Sara: Haha I hope so
Me: Hope?! You know so.
Sara: Lol, sorry, know so
Before TRP, I would've asked about her day. I would've been supportive after she told me all about it. Instead, she arrived to the date and looked like her day was going fine and she didn't talk about it once.
The Actual Date
We arrive separately to said Sushi restaurant, which I've been to before and know has good sushi. The conversation is pretty standard first date stuff: jobs, family, sports, etc. She looks at the menu nervously so I tell her I have it covered and order us a sushi boat. It comes out and she is immediately intimidated. She asks me how we are going to eat all of that, so I pull out the chopsticks. She admits she doesn't know how to use chopsticks.
Blue pill/beta me would've assured her it's alright, that she can use her hands or a fork, and that we're just here to have a good time and try something together. I certainly don't want her to feel intimidated. Girls don't want to be intimidated. It's an adventure!
Fuck that guy. You don't know how to use chop sticks? Let me teach you. I move to the seat next to her (we're in a booth) and show her how it's done. I take a small piece of ginger and put it on my plate. Then I tell her to do the same. She struggles and looks to me to help her. Instead, I laugh and tell her she can do it. Otherwise, I remain stoic and patient. She's learning, I'm teaching. She gets the ginger on her plate.
Before TRP, that would've excited me. This girl got the basics of chop sticks, right?! Maybe a high five? No. The meal is still in front of us and she's terrible at it, and that's fine. She's just starting. Let's move to the good part. I tell her to pick a piece and I'll follow her around the boat. I put my arm around her shoulder as I tell her about the different fish and how the whiter they are, the more 'fishy' they might taste, since that was her fear. She picks up a red piece. Well, she tries. For like five fucking minutes.
Beta me: just pick it up and help her. She doesn't want to struggle on a date.
Alpha me: Stoicism. Patience. She's learning something new.
She picks up the piece and looks to me for approval, excitedly. I squeeze her leg once and only say "Nice. You can eat it now. You've earned it." Direct eye contact.
She picks the piece back up and tries to dip it in the little soy sauce bowl. The thing falls apart (because she sucks with chop sticks still) and gets all over the table. She says (and I think this is really telling):
Sara: Help me out! Damsel in distress!
Me: No way, you got this. It's just a smaller piece now.
Sara (eventually gets it): Wow, you didn't cave at all. I like that.
Me: I'm not the type of guy who caves that easy.
Note: I could've done better. In retrospect, I could've said nothing there at all, instead of praising myself. Quiet stoicism, amused mastery. I just didn't catch myself in time. She didn't seem to mind.
The rest of the date goes pretty much like that. The conversation is good, and whenever it starts to get boring, I just pull her attention back to the sushi or help her with her chopsticks.
The only thing she did wrong repeatedly was take out her phone. I let her know I was displeased with that (by playful teasing) and so she would apologize every time she did it, but she kept doing it. I'm honestly not sure how to handle that. She explained to me she had a situation she was dealing with (something something shitty room mate) and I told her that if she needed to leave, she could. She said she had no intention of leaving, so I said she didn't need to look at her phone because she wasn't going to take any actions tonight. It didn't stop her but I kept my frame. How do I handle this in the future?
The Bedroom
I got her back to my place and we spent a little time talking to my room mate, then I gave her the grand tour of my bedroom. "I don't usually do this", etc. TRP has taught me enough to know about that and the escalation was fine. There is one thing that this girl did, that some girls do to me, and I just don't know how to respond. I'd like TRP's opinion:
When a girl says to you "you can do anything you want to me" in bed during sex, my gut reaction isn't to immediately let the lizard brain take over and manhandle the shit out of her, especially if she's a stranger. Hearing that or "tonight is all about you" pulls me out of the zone (and my frame) really fast, because my gut says what I was doing before she said that wasn't good. I'm already doing what I want. What the fuck?
Edit to clarify - "you can do anything you want to me", etc., is being said to me during sex, not before.
Edit 2 - I'm getting a lot of comments about the venue. Here are some answers for everyone:
The sushi place is across the street from my house. I can see it out of my window.
The sushi boat I got costs $40 and feeds 2. It wasn't some ridiculous overkill gesture.
The bar at the place is great and serves good drinks and good prices. I paid $70 for the date, total.
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