Social Skydiving Day Six: [Insert Witty Comment Here]
Welcome to another episode of "Watch Justin be a Nervous Wreck"!
Regardless of how good I do on a day to day basis I've realized that one thing this whole experiment has accomplished is giving me a reason to get out and socialize daily and something even more than that. There's no more full day gaming or coding marathons. There's no laying on the couch and napping all day long. There's just me and this enormous goal every day. The first moment of the day I think how much I hate having to do what I'm going to have to do. A cramping, twisting, knot in my gut that pulls on my throat. It's immediately followed by a sense of exhilaration because I know that that feeling means today's going to be a great day.
I wake up get scared, get excited, then I go out still excited, see someone to talk to, get scared again, mumble a lil something at them in the hopes they latch on like a conversational vampire, and if they don't I kick dirt and have to mumble at someone else. It's totally fun and I hope to stumble my way through many more encounters! ;)
The Dog Park (Killing Two Birds with One Stone)
Normally my Sundays are lazy days. I stay home, play a game or two, code a bit, play around with the dog lightly, etc. I already knew a few days in advance that I couldn't do that this Sunday. I knew if I just stayed home, I wouldn't have a chance to talk to anyone new. I thought for a moment if that might make for a good enough excuse... nah, it was too lame for even me. Dammit.
So I got ready, fed Blacky (my dog) and gave her a bath and we got the hell outta here. There's a dog park at 59th and Aurora here in Seattle but when we stopped by it was not the happening place to be. This place was so exciting there was a couple in lawn chairs in the parking lot. They weren't even in the PARK! pfft. F that. So we went to a dog park we used to go to all the time on Mercer Island.
Much nicer. They just recently rebuilt the whole off leash area so that the dogs are actually fenced in now. It used to be kind of like coral fencing such that dogs could run away if you didn't keep a close eye on them. Guess they originally figured y'know how many dogs ever run away from their owner? ahem. Anyways.
So yeah we get there and there are a few dogs running into the lake fetching the toys their owners have thrown. Within seconds of entering the main off leash area Blacky has her hackles up and is snapping at another dog. *palm to face* This is embarrassing. Unfortunately this is the kind of embarrassing that is really supposed to be embarrassing. There're no mind tricks on this one. She gets aggressive and domineering and that's a direct reflection on me.
I get pissed off at her and pull her away from the people walking their dogs out of the place. I don't make eye contact or anything. I chose to skip that interaction and move on to something easier. :)
Falls in My Lap
My first interaction just fell in my lap. Some women just came up and asked me if there was a small dog section. Totally easy, the ice was broken and we talked on and off regarding their dogs and mine the rest of the time they're there. One of their dogs was really funny. I'd throw Blacky's ball in the lake and she'd go to get it but when she'd come back this little dog about the size of a small pug (with similar look to a pug but with a larger head and pointy ears) would make her drop it in the water. Then the dog would dunk it's entire head under water while trying to grab the ball. It was totally superfluous and really funny to watch.
Anyway, so that happened and I played with Blacky for a bit and then I started a convo with this guy regarding his dog. He would throw the ball pretty damn far out into the lake and the dog would swim out to get it. I mean I've seen other dogs do this but it always frickin' amazes me! Anyway, I've never talked to any of the people who do that before because I'm an introverted wierdo (like many of you! ;D).
I see the guy standing there. He's got a tennis racket so he can lob the dog's play ball into the lake farther. I'm kinda like gritting my teeth thinking about how to start up a talk. I finally just figure to ask him. Totally brilliant outside the bos thinking eh? Just ask! I should put a little tip jar on this blog for all of these magnificent thoughts...!
So I asked him how he trained his dog to do that. He said his dog just does it and so I told him that's really weird and cool at the same time. He said he was impressed with Blacky for going out in the lake which surprised me cuz she doesn't like to go deep enough that she has to swim (one day I'll go to the park in shorts and we'll fix that). But yeah we said a couple other things then I let the convo die and I moved around.
Later on I talked to another woman. She was curious what kind of mutt Blacky was. Always an interesting question because Blacky looks like no specific dog. She's supposed to be a Collie/Australian Shepard mix but I think that's bullocks. The woman half bought that she's a collie something mix. **shrug** Small talk, yada yada yada... nothing big. But I talked, conversed. Good times.
Guy in Elevator with Cross Dressing Dog
My last interaction of the day was in the elevator at my apartment building. I was in the elevator and this guy had some sort of a poodle. You know the kind, beautiful ringlets of soft glistening curls. It walked over to me so I pet it and commented to the guy how soft her hair was. He kind of chuckles and agrees and then corrects me and says his dog is a male. He's all "That happens a lot though." I say, "Well he's got a very feminine hair style!" He kind of chuckles and agrees though it felt a bit like he might be gritting his teeth.
That was the most fun convo for the day.
RE: Goals and Suggestions
So I had a few good suggestions yesterday for my next goals. Thanks to everyone who suggested! :)
So these are my revised goals:
- Always sit next to the most intimidating person on the bus, whether it be due to attractiveness or utter ghetto fear (you know what I'm saying if you've ridden the bus on Aurora!)
- Start a conversation with no apparent ice breaker in sight. Use the common thread of human experience to relate to people.
- Make an effort to get to know other people in my company.
- Next time a conversation with an attractive woman is going well get a number.
That's all until tomorrow! Tomorrow I start school by the way, so bare with me while I attempt to figure out how to juggle these posts with school and homework! Hehe... *gulp*
