Monday 12 December 2011

The Game

I am busy reading the book, The Game by Neil Strauss. It’s a very interesting book about how to be a player, apparently with the aim of finding the right woman or something along those lines.

What brought this about was a sneaky suspicion that I may be being played. And considering that I thought I knew the Game pretty well and have played it for many years, this was not ayoba! I have seen this book around, on various men’s bookshelves… This was a book I could no longer ignore and had to know more about. So I bought it and the follow up book, “The Rules of the Game”. I now consider myself a bit more educated in the way of the pick-up and feel confident that I can spot a pick-up if need be. Although, I’m not sure if guys are consciously doing it.

So far, I have learnt a couple things from the (first) book and have put some of the techniques to use, with positive results! For example, he talks about ‘negging’. This is when you pay someone an underhanded compliment. I used it on a young, hot colleague of mine. He was showing off his (very impressive) biceps, so I said “Nice, but I’ve seen better”. He then tried to change my mind the rest of the night. And obviously I got to squeeze them regularly, in a bid to change my mind. It got even more fun when I told him that his best friend was above him on my “Hot List”.

Some of the techniques in the book are a bit over the top and sometimes just ridiculous. Things like learning magic tricks, NLP, hypnosis and so on. The way I see it, you shouldn’t have to do all sorts of tricks to pick up a girl.

Something else I have noticed while “out in the field” is that a lot of guys have a problem with the
follow up. They can make a great opening, but then fail to impress further. For example, I was out with the girls on Friday night and a guy walked past and said he would also be looking after us, just after our waiter had introduced himself and said the same thing. Not a bad start… later he came to speak to us, with his married friend in tow – who left about 10 minutes later. From then, this guy proceeded to dig himself deeper and deeper into the “I’m a moron” hole. He showed off his car keys (Mercedes – an old man car), his horse, talked about how he loved hunting (which I refused to talk to him about, because I don’t agree with it), spoke into his walkie talkie (he apparently owns a security company), even dropped his pants (not his boxers, thank god!!) and the list goes on! Eventually he left because we were talking amongst ourselves and having a giggle at his expense. But before he left, he decided it would be a great idea to surprise me with a big smooch… not the best surprise, but bless him, he tried! And left us with A LOT of good private laughs!

So the lesson here is if you think got Game you need to back it up… this isn’t a sprint, it’s a
marathon. Don’t be a chop.

I must say that is quite a fun social experiment so far… I could really have some fun with this,
though I do think it gets a bit boring and empty eventually. People shouldn’t have to have plays that they run to meet each other. It’s real life, not a basketball game.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

There's nothing wrong with a Mercedes. You've obviously not owned one. Rather an old man car than an M3, or a french car.

"I have seen this book around, on various men’s bookshelves…" -- how do you end up in such apartments? serious question.

Someone forced "The Mystery Method" upon me, for not having been on a date yet. Deleted it after reading the first two pages. It advocated being (or seeming) confident, and making a good first impression. I guess it's natural to want to make a good impression..

If you had a good friend, who has asked you on a date twice before.. Someone without issues, who made you happy, who's not the least attractive man on earth, who's completely open and honest with you, who's not delusional, just fundamentally in love. -- Would you see him in a different light if he did something along the lines of moving a mountain for you? -- Or is that limited to Hollywood?

I rather like societies which are bereft of this Game. (I.e. arranged marriages) Women still have an option to bow out and do their own thing (thus not prohibiting love), but it takes a certain weight off society..

WhizBangLouLou said...

All I'm saying that Merc's are not my favourite cars... I'd probably never own one (unless it was a sporty topless model).

And I'm also not saying that I have great taste in men... it is definitely something I am working on :)

Making a good first impression is important, because it really is true that that is probably how you will be remembered before you're given an opportunity to better the impression you make.

Did your friend know you were asking her on a date? Sometimes it's not that obvious (people tend to come across more casual than they intend in these situations - i do it myself). I say give it one more try, you really have nothing to lose and be open about it and what your intentions are! Personally, i like to know exactly where i stand.

And moving a mountain? A bit overwhelming in the beginning but I think it would be appreciated... every girl needs someone who will do anything for them to prove their love! hollywood has taught us to secretly want that!

Wouldn't it be easier if there were no gameS? If we just got a list of the people we would date (to learn from) and then once we had been through that list, the name of the person we would ulitmately end up wiht and who would move that mountain?