One Night In London (Pt 2)

So "J" was away coaching one of the guys on a 1-1 session. 4 of us, "M," "Sn," "St" and myself were left to fend for ourselves after the 5th guy left. "M" started the ball rolling by pulling some random girls into our group on the dance floor. He seemed pretty capable by himself, so Sn, St and I broke off to try out some of the stuff we've learned at the seminars (i.e. No Fear).

Sn was The Man. As we walked past these two girls (a blonde and a brunette) who were dancing with another buncha blokes, he just interrupted them, and pulled me into the group along with him, introducing me to the brunette. I took it that he was interested in the blonde, so I began talking to the brunette. The brunette (can't remember her name, sorry folks) was actually quite receptive...

She told us they were from Holland, and were here for a week on holiday (hmm, seems to be a recurring trend in London). She was visiting the blonde who was giving Sn a pretty hard time (she apparently told him that she can't speak English), and was just out to have a good time. I liked her, she was attractive, fun-loving and open to conversation. Nice.

Dunno what happened, but they left the guys they were dancing with and joined Sn and I (I didn't see St anywhere at that point). It has to be said, Sn is a tall, dark, handsome fella so all kudos to him. I ended up with the blonde who was definitely less friendly, and therefore less attractive... but Sn seemed to be getting along v well with the brunette, so...

To cut a long story short, I started well, but eventually bombed with the blonde. I got past her initial unfriendliness by being fun, but ended up buying her a drink (which is a definite "no" in the rulebook) at which point I've become one of the "other stupid guys in the club." Doh! Exited hastily. Tried a few more sets on my own, to varying degrees of success.

That's when I walked past "Db." He was in the middle of a 2 set, so I was just walking past to slap him on the back and say hi, but he pulled me into the set (Thanks Db!). He introduced me to the 2 Russians, and when he seemed to settle for the one on the right "Y", I fell into conversation with the one on the left "J."

I talked about them being sisters (which they apparently were... but actually, they weren't), read her palms, told her fortune, and just had a bit of a laugh. She seemed to be enjoying it (I didn't feel any resistance, unlike the other sets), and she seemed genuinely interesting too. Bit of a bookworm, not a clubber like her sis (at this point, I'm taking all this with a pinch of salt. This is London! And this is a club! And she's here!), and really uncomfortable in her heels. I managed to clinch her number! A first for me in the community!

Db was doing really well too. We swapped partners, and I danced with "Y" a bit (she was getting harrassed by this drunk fella, so I stepped in to help her out), she seemed to like that too. So Db suggested we all head out for some ice cream. Good move! 15 mins later "J" and i were feeding each other ice cream...

Db was my 2nd master that night. This guy was funny, cocky, and he was getting the girls to eat out of his fingers (he had got both their numbers before I approached the set!). He was holding hands with "Y," laughing and joking along the way. He led the way, and I couldn't be happier to follow. "J" must have felt peer pressure coz she was going along with this, but on me. I managed to kiss em both goodbye too!

On a more critical side, I don't think "J" was that interested in me. I asked her some general questions, and she clammed up (although she really opened up about work... how she dislikes it!). She was having a good time, as was I, but was more "along for the ride" than "wanting the ride" if you get my drift. Still, like I said in my first post... very educational!

One Night in London (Pt 1)

The Sheep had a very educational weekend. See, the Sheep is a pretty average guy. On a "looks" scale of 1 - 10, he probably hovers between 4-5 (from a Western perspective), and 5-6 (from an Asian perspective, a result of average height differentials).

And as long time readers already know, he is completely inept when it comes to picking up the opposite sex, having only had 1 long term relationship (18 months), and a few really short ones that don't really count.

When one is faced with an obstacle, there are three stark choices. Find a way around/through. Turn around. Or give up. For an insurmountable obstacle like women, I have been on the verge of giving up. But then i found a community of men who have apparently cracked the game of picking up women.

So last Saturday, I attended a conference run (for free, bless their souls) by these guys. I was very, very sceptical. The tutors were generally good looking fellas, they didn't need any "skills." The seminars seemed sound in theory, but I doubted that it would work for an average joe like me. Actually, I have it worse than the average joe, being 5' 7 and all...

Then night came and we were broken up into groups of 4/5, tied to a "master." These masters took us into town to show us what they can do. My group's master was a Spanish man called "J." He was brimming with energy, dressed all in black, and was bursting with exuberant confidence.

The immediate thing I noticed was how he did not flinch when approaching women. No nerves were apparent (although I'm sure, like any normal man would, he felt it). He pulled a set of 4 girls into the club with us. I stood around like the chump I was, wondering what to say. This would not be my first "chump" moment...

So into the club we went. We headed for the dance floor and I felt quite self-conscious. "What the heck? A bunch of blokes dancing is supposed to pick women up??" But then "J" started to make us have fun, which drew the curiosity of the people near us, including a couple of girls who voluntarily joined us for awhile.

"J" dragged me (literally) to the bar to chat with the 4 girls who came in with us. I managed to talk to one of them for about 5 mins. All the while, I felt really unwelcome, and really self conscious... "They don't want to talk to me, look at their body language, they're turning away." I exited hastily.

In retrospect, the girl I was talking to seemed mildly receptive. She didn't run, for one. She told me that they were from Sweden, and was visiting London, mainly for shopping. They had not been to the club before, and was quite happy they managed to get in with us for free.

Well, I exited as I was really feeling unwelcome. When "J" was busy with a set of 2 women, us beginners decided to take things into our own hands... embarrassing moments (for me anyway) were to ensue... (to be continued tomorrow... got work in the morning!).

KL and Singapore

The Sheep will be spending his last night in South East Asia tonight. Having been pampered with luxurious hotels, fantastic food, company, and weather, it feels quite sad to be leaving. I've met friends and family, reminiscing on old times, the future, our lives and the changes that have occurred since we last met...

I've been working on 2 companies this week, with a 2.5 day visit to each company in each country (Malaysia and Singapore). Hotels wise, KL wins hands down. For less than the price of the Grand Copthorne in Singapore, the Traders Hotel in KL provides comfort, chic, space and service that are unmatched. Photos to come when I'm back in the UK.

I've also been to Zouk in Singapore, one of its most well known clubs. It was a Wednesday night, and the place was packed to the brim with lovely young ladies. Heck, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I felt really out of place there. I felt... dare I say it... old!

Ok, running out of time here with the Internet connection. Gotta hit the sack anyway, lots to do at work tomorrow. More later.

Mid Boss

I'm the Mid Boss. That's someone who's kinda-in-charge-but-not-really. We get sh*t piled on us by The Boss, and then we try to pass some of the sh*t down to the Peons, but unfortunately, as the Peons have little to lose, we find that, inevitably, the sh*t sticks to us. That's us, the Mid Bosses of this world.

Still, there are worst places to be Mid Boss-ing. I'm back in Holland/The Netherlands, and I'm now in charge. I report directly to The Boss.

Being a Mid Boss doesn't only mean reporting to The Boss. There's also The Boss At Job 2. And TBAJ3. They all want a piece of your ass to kick, and you have no choice but to oblige. Or quit. Which, in my circumstances, is not an acceptable option.

Still, there are perks. This Mid Boss is flying off to Malaysia and Singapore for a 1 week stint of business (with a serious dose of pleasure, hopefully), starting Friday!

Close Call

The Boss, let's call him My Boss (MB) had a call from His Boss, let's call him Big Boss (BB). No, really, this guy is Huge on the Boss Hierarchy.

So MB gets this call from BB. BB is pissed off about something that has occurred in Russia. No, it has nothing to do with Polonium radiation or sushi. In fact, one could argue that it has little to do with us.

But BB was pissed, and the Little ShoeShiners (LSS) around him were taking full opportunity to kick MB's ass.

It was 7pm, I had just wrapped up the day's work at another client. MB calls me. And he sounded pissed off. There goes my "early" night off. MB wants some files. And he wants 'em yesterday. I decided it may be prudent to go pay MB a visit, to see how the shit has hit the fan and how we can clean this shit up.

So I arrive at the main client at 8pm. I was scared shitless... did I f*ck up? Did I completely miss this event in Russia? What's this gonna do to my chances of going to Ozzie? Or NYC? Or Silicon Valley? What about my bonus??

MB was definitely pissed off. He was kinda impressed that I took the initiative to go sort shit out, but only just. So I sorted shit out as MB and my colleague were having trouble finding the relevant documents. I explained that we did procedures A, B and yes, we did C too. No, I don't believe we f*cked up. But please explain what the heck's happened.

In the end, MB agreed that no FUBAR occurred on our end. We did everything we had to, no questions about it. But it's not gonna be enough to clean the shit-scarred fan... we still missed the "Russian Event." Let's hope our contingency plan doesn't find more "Russian Surprises" or we will be SO screwed. Even though we did everything right.

Welcome to the corporate world, BlackSheep. This shit is what you signed up for.

The Sheep's Sevenlives

I discovered "the community" late last year when I picked up Style's infamous book. I was sceptical at first, but the name David DeAngelo struck a bell. I remember occassionally flipping through an article written by him on askmen.com. I googled Style and quickly realised he was the real deal: PUAs existed. What the hell was I doing at uni??? I should've been first in line to sign up in the community!

I guess it's never too late. I'm still a frickin' AFC (that's average f****ing chump) at 26, with only one long term relationship under my belt. I get AA (approach anxiety) with every HB (hot babe) that I meet, I run out of things to say at parties, I constantly get AMOG'ed (alpha male of the group blanking me out), I'm a wallflower in social gatherings, my peers are getting married and I'm struggling to start a 2nd relationship! I'm frustrated, depressed and desperate to improve my confidence, my game, and most importantly... my life.

So I trawled the web, looking for a way to climb out of the AFC pit. This year, I will change things. I will fix this problem. I will join the PU community. I will sarge and I will wing and I will learn. I will stop being an AFC. I will sort this aspect of my life out.

That is my resolution for 2007.

(and passing my last exam to become fully qualified!)

Real Life Drama

Starring:

BlackSheep
The Fake Girlfriend
Young Nastyman
Nastyman's Nice Girlfriend
Nastyman's Cute Sister
The Couple (A and B)
The Kid
The Brokenhearted

Scene 1:

As the train ground to a halt, the Sheep slipped on his red-tinted sunglasses, reflecting the sun's glare as the doors opened. He slung his guitar onto his left shoulder and stepped off the train. He took in a deep breath, preparing himself for the game that was to come, and walked toward the apartment block where his Fake Girlfriend lived.

Scene 2:

Already, Fake Girlfriend had received several phone calls from Young Nastyman. In the past, Fake Girlfriend had an affair with Young Nastyman whilst Young Nastyman's Nice Girlfriend was away on holiday. Fake Girlfriend felt guilty after, and called things off, but Young Nastyman would have none of it.

Young Nastyman's latest attempt was to use his Nice Girlfriend's birthday as an excuse to invite Fake Girlfriend to the party. Hence, the Sheep was called in as the Perfect Candidate to stop Young Nastyman from pestering the Fake Girlfriend.

Guitar and girl in hand, the Sheep and the Fake set off for the restaurant just before the sun set.

Scene 3:

At the restaurant, the Sheep noticed that Young Nastyman had strategically set the seats out so as to seat Fake Girlfriend next to him. His Nice Girlfriend (who, the Sheep is puzzled to admit, looks somewhat more attractice than the Fake), was in fact sitting two seats from Young Nastyman, with Young Nastyman's attractive Cute Sister between her and Young Nastyman like so:


Empty - Empty - YNM - CS - NGF

YNM immediately pulled out the chair next to him for the Fake to sit in... thus began the night's complex tug of war.

Scene 4:

The Sheep could not help but sneak a few glances throughout the night at Young Nastyman's Cute Sister. Damn, she's hot. And the Sheep also noticed that she was sneaking a few glances his way, and smiling every time too. The Sheep felt torn between loyalty to a friend, and baser instincts...

YNM was incessantly hitting on the Fake. So the Sheep decided enough was enough. He whipped out his guitar and sang YNM's girlfriend a birthday ballad, much to the approval of the ladies. YNM was visibly quieter after that. However, little did the Sheep know what he was up against...

To be Continued... (Cue Cheesy Romantic Theme Song)