I grew up doing a lot of Salmon fishing in Alaska (amongst other activities). It is not uncommon to spend 30+ hours between bites during the early King Salmon season. You spend a lot of time relaxing, looking at the temperate rainforest, and watching for wildlife (seals, sea lions, whales, deer, etc).

While you learned to enjoy the relaxation and lack of control, there were still some days where you really wanted a fish. Maybe it had been several outings since your last catch, or perhaps you were camping and this was going to be dinner (the alternavite was hot dogs?). My father had something he liked to remind me at times like this.

You are only a bite away from a good day

This came to mind last night. I had signed up for an experimental photo-shoot with a meetup group in Los Angeles. Theme: fashion photography. Cost: $28. You arrive with photo equipment, models are there with makeup artists and hair stylists... Setup, snap photos of the models (they get copies), have pizza and go home.

It was sort of the worst case scenario of what I envisioned the event could be. Four lighting set-ups, five extremely amateur models, and thirty photographers (some with only point and shoot equipment) pretty much shooting the model like a firing squad.

So I arrive and assess the situation, determine rapidly that it is going to be a fail. I grab some pizza and a drink (figure it'll just be really expensive $28 pizza dinner at this point). As I'm taking in the spectacle, an attractive HB8 walks by, helping the event organizer with something and commenting on the Air conditioning. I realize that the HB8 works for the facility.

Ten minutes later, I decide to bail. I grab my equipment and head out through the lobby, taking me by the desk of HB8. I stop and ask how late she gets to sit at her desk (she looks bored). She is friendly and seems to want me to stick around (when people stop by asking for help, HB8 tells me twice 'I'll be right back'). After thirty minutes, the event organizer walks out to tell HB8 that they must have blown a circuit breaker.

HB8: "I don't know the electrical systems, we have never blown a breaker in the many parties I've been around for."

Me: "Do you have an electrical room?"

HB8 leads us to the electrical room, we figure out which fuse toggled, fix it. HB8 thanks me, we go back to chatting at the front desk.

HB8 says she is normally the shy type (I tell her she isn't acting shy around me, she seems to like that). Next thing you know we are talking about pole dancing. Turns out her friend has a pole and she was playing on it the night before.

About now she starts dropping really obvious hints.

HB8: "Do you go out in Santa Monica?" HB8: "Ever been to Circle Bar?" Etc.

So I ask if she's been to a place in Venice Beach that I lenjoy (good atmosphere for talk, good taps, lots of locations to bounce nearby).

Casually invite her to join me, hand her my phone, get a #.

Text her that evening, back and forth a few times - I'm gone to Peru for three weeks so we'll see what happens when I return.

Getting back to the point: The meetup event was a letdown. I paid $28 for pizza and a soda. But I didn't let my attitude suck, and I kept my radar on. Ended up enjoying an hour conversation with an HB8 staff member there, # closed, date seems likely.

Lesson: You are only one close from a good day (or saving a crappy event).