FR#1: Closed, closed, closed?

Date: 2009-09-30

Place--2i's Night Club; Centro-Fly; Taj; CBGB; Chaos; 13 Bar/Lounge
Time--04:00

2 Approached

1 Hooks

1 #Close

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I step through the curtain and into the Taj dance club. My jaw drops - before me tower mostly Black and Latino giants all a good three inches taller than I am. I should have been tipped off by the people at the entrance - this is a predominantly African American venue, which would be fine if I was a PUA. I have this notion that black women are hit on way more than whites. As a result, they are a much bigger challenge.

My heart starts racing and my mind goes blank. Okay, Sparrow - you have three seconds. I need to go to the bathroom.

I take the longest piss of my life - well, I was not pissing the entire time, I was thinking of openers. I exit and walk into the club. Dancing girls here, wall of guys there - I am too nervous to capitalize on what I see, but I see this HB8 and finally take the plunge:

Sarge #2 (#1 will come later):
Sparrow: I need a woman's opinion on something. See, a friend of mine - her sister is 18 and she is getting a tattoo. Here's the problem: she's dating this guy and she wants to get his name on her neck. What do you think of that?
HB8: What? I don't know what you're talking about. [The music was loud (and I was too quiet).]
Sparrow: [Repeat.]
HB8: [Look of disgust.] Why are we having this conversation. [Turns away and chats with a friend.]
Sparrow: [Leaves club.]


Yeah - I chickened out. I had a list of other clubs to bounce to, so no big deal, right? Or so I thought...

I tried five clubs - 2i's, Centro-Fly, CBGB, Chaos, and 13 Bar/Lounge - which I had found on this website: NY.com - NYC Nightclubs. Four out of the five clubs I had found simply did - not - exist, i.e. they had been closed for weeks, months, or years (at least according to the accounts of people in each club's surrounding area). The fifth - 13 Bar/Lounge - was empty by 01:30, even though its closing time was 04:00. Granted, it was a Wednesday night, but this is New York City! I eventually wandered into Taj after the bouncer of a Gay nightclub tells me Centro-Fly has been dead for two years.

Now, for Sarge #1. On the subway into Manhattan, I was flipping through some foreign language index cards, working my oral skills. In walk two men who had just finished playing Tennis. They sit across from me and keep giving me these sidelong glances, so I guess they are Gay. I continue to study, and they continue to look at me with little smirks. This cracks me up, and soon enough, I can't help but smile at how silly this is - because bemused look on my face is definitely not conveying my disinterest in these two gay guys.
Eventually, one of them starts talking with me, and we fluff for awhile. As it turns out, he studied the same thing I study in Undergrad and apparently, he sometimes goes out for beers with some of the professors in my department. I tell him how awesome it would be to grab beers with my professors and he asks that we exchange numbers and promises that we will hang out sometime. Okay, so my first #Close is a gay guy. That is a start at least.

The moral of the story is, sarge everyone - guys, girls, old people, whoever. There are plenty of interesting people around and one of these guys may add something to your life that will change everything for the better. It does not just have to be about meeting girls.

Today, I had just gotten off the Fung Wah Chinatown Bus in Boston and had headed to the subway to catch a train from North Station. As I enter the underground, I see this young Asian girl, HB6 or so maybe, except that she has the most brilliantly colored blue hair. I do not know what she used to dye her hair, but the colors were all different shades of blue, mixed with tinges of purple and green - it was absolutely gorgeous. I took it as peacocking and started a conversation, but she seemed to be as shy as I am, so the fluff died down pretty quickly. Now, if I was a PUA, I would have gotten to know her well. She seemed like a cool kid.

There was another person on the subway - an older fellow dressed in black with these awesome boots. This guy looked pretty interesting, but I did not have the courage to talk with him. If I was a PUA, I could have gotten to know him.

Hundreds of people pass you by everyday; all of them have a story, some of them might change your life completely - if you would only talk to them. Sarging can't just be about women - it's got to be about everyone - otherwise you miss out on the best life has to offer. Thank God I found the PUA community - the skills I have desired for years are learned behaviors. I have hope.