Cliff's Notes (Part II)

Saturday (continued)

So there I was, wearing a microphone headset that was very much not for the purpose of singing Britney Spears songs. Instead, I gave a fifteen minute talk on day game and places other than bars, clubs, and the internet where men could--and should--approach women (because really, how tiresome is the whole bar/online dating scene, anyway?). I was pretty comfortable up on stage because a lot of work went into my speech and I knew that, if nothing else, I was well prepared.

I didn't know what to expect when I was done, but the response to my presentation was very positive. I left the convention room and as soon as I stepped across the threshold into the adjoining room, I was surrounded by men, congratulating me, confirming what I spoke about, and asking a plethora of questions.

"You went up there and told the truth," said one man.

"Thank you for coming here and reminding us that women actually want to be approached," said another.

"I'm sick of bars, too, and I find that the women I meet outside bars and clubs are of a much higher caliber, anyway," said a third.

There was such a commotion that one of the Cliff's assistants asked us to move further away, because the noise could be heard in the convention hall.

More men kept coming up to me. One, a fellow presenter, was keen to promote his product and himself, though he was still very friendly. I was paraded in front of a couple of other speakers, ones who didn't get a chance to hear my talk.

"Oh, it's too bad you missed it," they were told, as I was introduced in a flurry of exchanged business cards.

I had an immense natural high going and wanted to go downstairs to the ladies room for a moment, where it was usually empty (since there were maybe six women at the whole conference) and quiet. It took me 45 minutes to get there, because of all the men stopping me along the way to chat. It was awesome.

Eventually I went back upstairs and heard the remaining speakers.

One thing about the event that was a bit draining was how long the days were. The first person went on at 9:00am and the last wasn't done until after 8:00pm. Even with all the breaks, by the end of the day I was pretty tired. Part of the reason was the number of speakers scheduled (nearly thirty). However, I don't think some of them needed nearly as much time as they took. Some of the speakers who were up there for 30-60 minutes could have easily made their point in 15 or less. I'll be honest, there was certainly some superfluous and repetitive chatter. As well as some, shall we say, exceedingly confident presenters that seemed to rely more on conveying their persona than dispensing actual wisdom or particularly useful and practical advice and techniques. Yet these guys still got huge audience reactions. Actually, I was a little disheartened that the men who spoke about inner game and stressed developing yourself as a person instead of relying so much on tricks and techniques did not get very good responses. But hey, at least the attendees were getting a range of philosophies. If they choose hollow tactics to attract a woman without having something of substance to back it up, they'll only get so far, anyway.

That night was pretty low key. PUA Logan and I had dinner with David Shade, a sex guru of sorts. We talked shop pretty much the whole time, except for when David analyzed my handwriting and read my palm (I love all that "chick crack"). He seemed disappointed to discover that I wasn't bisexual. I don't know if he was flirting with me, but when I started talking about just how happy and fulfilled I was with BF David, he got the point. Not that he ever made me uncomfortable; he was always courteous. Very intelligent man and great to talk with, too.

After dinner, Logan and I were going to find a bar somewhere and ended up walking around in the rain for ages. When he stopped to flirt with some girl outside for an extended amount of time, I decided it was time to call it a night (I had no umbrella and besides, he didn't seem to need my help). I hailed a taxi and went back to the hotel, managing to barely five hours of sleep before getting an early start the next day, wistfully thinking about the extended nap I would get to take on the ride back to New York.

(to be continued, when work and this stupid cold aren't monopolizing my time...)