Well this is a bit late. Wound up having a busy weekend. Pretty interesting in general though, and I tried to keep all of the quirks of the places I passed through in mind for the write-up afterwards.
So first, starting back on Friday night.
It was fairly late when I went out, so the only places still open were bars and clubs. I went over to this one pub I know the staff at, thinking that the fact that I know the barmen/barmaids would help ease over the awkwardness of being there on my own. Turned out the bar was totally dead though. There was one table with two guys and two girls who all seemed to be friends, and two girls and a guy sitting at the bar. All pretty close as well. I knew the guys running the bar, so I sat down at the counter and ordered a drink. I was only planning to stay for a bit, but one of the barmen came off his shift and said he’d stick around and have a pint with me. It would’ve been pretty impolite to leave at that point, so we wound up sticking around until we were the last ones left in the bar. I think I may have been able to strike up a conversation with the two girls and the guy at the bar if I had been a bit braver about it. They were talking to the on-duty barman about what drinks to order, and I probably could’ve cut in at that point and rolled that into introducing myself? It’s something to keep in mind for next time.
It was maybe 1 am by the time I got out of there, so I headed down the street to another bar further out. This one was packed, so maybe I should have hit it up first. It was also pretty dark and noisy. I don’t really know any of the staff at this one though, so it felt really awkward to just be sitting there by myself. It’s also kind of an artsy bar, so people were dressed up kind of odd. Like this one guy at the bar next to me was dressed up in a bowler hat and suite that made him look a bit like Winston Churchill, and he had two girls with him. Further down, there was a guy who looked like he might have been going for a genie look? He was shirtless, wearing a red vest, had a shaved head, and an earring. He was also talking to himself, and there was like a bubble of space around him. Dressing up like a genie is apparently not a good idea, even in artsy bars. Though maybe it was the talking to himself that really did him in… I have a feeling it was more the talking to himself. Anyway, I waited at the bar for a few minutes, but the barmen were busy, and I was feeling pretty awkward. The genie guy was also giving me a bit of anxiety. I ended up taking off after a few minutes. I do not think this place was a great option. I don’t think I could start talking to someone here without seeming totally forced while doing it.
I slept in for a while the next day, so the morning was a bit of a write off. I had a friend come over to visit for the weekend as well, so I just went out with her to the next few places. We went out to a café and a festival. The festival was fun, but it isn’t really something that’d be a reliable option. The café was interesting. There was a pretty wide range of people from teenagers to people who looked pretty old. Apparently they have open mic on Wednesday nights, so it might be fun to go up and try a song or something. Might break the ice if I’m trying to talk to someone… I’m thinking it might be a good place to do my assignment on talking to girls who’re sitting down.
The last place I checked out on the weekend was probably the most promising for me. There’s a big jam in one of the city parks every Sunday during the summer, and it’s really more my scene. I went with a friend again. There’s a lot of chill girls who’re a bit rough around the edges. That’s kind of how I prefer people anyway. I also noticed that while we were looking for a spot that one totally hot girl we passed totally fixed me with a huge smile. I smiled back, but I wasn’t sure what to say, really. Maybe I just could’ve said ‘Hi?’ Not sure how the conversation would’ve gone beyond that point though. And I wonder if she only felt safe enough to smile at me because I was walking with another girl? I’ll try going out to the park again on my own and see if anyone makes eye contact. I noticed there were one or two single guys napping in the sun. I’m not totally sure how I’d start a conversation with one of the groups of girls if I was there on my own though. Maybe just wander over and ask for a light and see how it goes. It’d be worth a shot when I get to that assignment anyway.
Well I stretched a pretty simple assignment out over a whole freaking weekend. Ah well. I think I got some pretty comprehensive recon done. And it helped to write down my thoughts afterwards. Hopefully some of the behaviors I’ve thought through will be a bit more automatic in the future. I think I’ll definitely try the first bar, the café, and the park again on my later runs.
