I start off the night by going to a house party in Bellevue thrown by some guy I don’t know. I’ve been invited by a friend, who along with a couple others in my group, is basically the only person I will know there. So I guess it will be a pseudo-social circle event.

As I arrive at the party, I get a text message from BreakerOne saying he’s at Starlight and that he’s sarging the place alone. I reply that I’ll get there as soon as possible after I hang out with my AFC friends for a bit (can’t leave without at least sticking around a bit because don’t want to appear rude).

When we open the door to the apartment where the party is being held, we see a room full of about 30 people playing cards, drinking, and just basically hanging out. All eyes in the room swivel toward us, which kind of takes me aback. I start feeling kind of nervous because I don’t know anybody there and know I’ll have to mingle (As you all konw, I’m a naturally super-shy person).

At first, the people I came with just clump together and don’t really talk to anyone else. This gets boring fast so I decide to open some sets by myself, to get some “simulated” bar/club practice. I realize, that at an event like this, it’s almost just like opening sets at a bar–which triggers my approach anxiety–yet it’s still technically a social circle event, where girls cannot blow me out instantly or be labeled as rude–which in turn reduces my approach anxiety to almost nothing.

I start by opening a 2-set, a guy and a girl, to my right. It’s easy to be confident and outgoing, because I know almost certainly that I won’t get blown out. Next I open a 2-set of girls, one of which is fairly hot, maybe a HB7.75.  The HB7.75 doesn’t seem too into me, so I focus on her HB5 friend, which causes HB7.75 to eventually seek my attention more.

There is one hot looking brunette who is standing with a group of 4 fairly hot blondes and two tall well-built guys. In an absolutely amazing coincidence, I had stood next to her for about 15 minutes on the subway a few hours earlier in the day (I had not talked to her on the subway), and here she is at the same random party as I!

Nevertheless, even armed with that PERFECT excuse to open her, I’m sort of intimidated by her group of friends so I never make the approach (not so much the guys as the other girls, strangely enough). I’m hugely disappointed at myself for that.

Later, I do open one of the tall well-built guys, and he turns out to be really cool and kickback, and I realize it was probably much easier to open that 7-set than I thought. But the hot brunette and her other girlfriends have left the area by now.

But one cool thing is that one of the people I came to the party with, a guy who I always thought was much more social than I, remarks that he “can’t keep up with” me, when he sees me talking to different people left and right. I think to myself that I’ve come a long way from when I used to stand by myself for hours at parties just like this one, not saying a word to anyone, then going home alone. PUA has really improved my overall life for the better.

Back to the present, I get BreakerOne on the line, and he tells me he’s at the back of Starlight with two girls, one of whom is waiting for me. I get kind of excited picturing what kind of hot girls BreakerOne has managed to smooth-talk. I figure I have stayed long enough not to appear rude if I leave now. After chatting with my friends for a bit, I say goodbye to them, telling them I have a prior engagement, and eject from the house party.

As I walk on the sidewalk toward Starlight, I see BreakerOne walking down the sidewalk toward me holding one girl’s hand, with another girl walking next to her. I’m happy to see BreakerOne so I open my arms wide and give him a big hug.

Next I take a look-see at the girls.

Now I’ll be very brutally honest here. When I first saw the girl whose hand BreakerOne was holding, I was taken aback because I instantly considered her a absolute “fugly.” I would have rated her an HB5 at BEST (BreakerOne would later also rate her an HB5 on his own without consulting with me first). When I saw her friend, an extremely short dumpy-looking girl I rated a UG4 who seriously looked like she was in junior high school, I was seriously tempted to whisper to BreakerOne to eject from the set!

However, there is something to be said for the benefits of practice, so I was willing to go along with whatever BreakerOne wanted. If he wanted to close his girl in order to improve his game, I was all for helping him accomplish just that!

But next time BreakerOne, I suggest you consider anything less than an HB7 a warmup set!

Anyway, I realized I now had an obstacle to handle, so I would make that my mission for the next 30 minutes or so.

BreakerOne led the set over to Jelati cafe, where we all sat and talked for a while. BreakerOne had great, relaxed Alpha body language as he sat and talked with all of us while applying consistent kino to this target. I did observe at this point that his target had a pretty decent slender body, which was her redeeming grace and lifted her to “solid” HB5 status.

Meanwhile, I began to divert UG4’s attention away from the main conversation, using any topic I could think of. At one point, UG4 asked HB5 a question about something I said, and HB5 had to break off her conversation with BreakerOne to reply. Can’t have that! So I reengaged UG4 and took her out of the group conversation by focusing on different, simpler topics that didn’t require any interaction between the girls.

This whole time, BreakerOne was working his verbal/kino game with HB5. He’s acting very alpha, leading the conversation and negging her at times, but I was not paying attention to exactly what he was saying or doing, as I was focused on my own grenade-defusing task at hand!

Within about 20 minutes, BreakerOne stood up, and indicated it was time to go. “Where’s our next venue?” I whispered to him. “I’m taking her back to her house,” he replied. Ok, game on! “I’ll take care of getting UG4 in a taxi and on her way home,” I assured him, clearing his way to the goal line.

We collected their belongings from Starlight, and BreakerOne announced he would see HB5 home safely, so I added that I would also make sure UG4 got to a taxi and on her way home safely, playing the wingman’s time-honored role. BreakerOne and HB5 got into a taxi and departed.

I ended up walking UG4 all the way home (about a 15 minute walk). On the way, I ran into a couple of AFC buddies on the street, who wanted to know who UG4 was. I couldn’t think of how to explain the situation, so I told them she was my high-schooler sister, and I was making sure she got home safely! Seriously, I still don’t know where that one came from! My buddies shook her hand and tried to talk to her a bit, but thankfully they weren’t that interested, and she had no idea what who they were and didn’t care much.

After I walked UG4 home, I hightailed it back to the Starlight area in order to hook up with my AFC buddies. They soon departed however, and I found myself alone in Starlight. Even though I was completely on my own now, I wanted to at least try hooking a couple of sets before I went home for the evening.

I head over to The Kettle across the street. I eventually end up sitting at the long narrow tables at the back of the bar, and grab an empty stool at the very edge of the dance floor.

There is an HB6.5 sitting immediately to my left, with a “stacked” HB8 in a tight black shirt sitting on her left. I want to eventually talk to HB8 tonight somehow. I figure opening HB6.5 is the best way to get to HB8.

But I don’t want to open HB6.5 without appearing social first. So I open the friendly-looking guy in front of me, who turns out to be from the West Coast as well, but the conversation just kind of dies as he is not responsive to my attempts to keep it going.

So now I’m sitting there not talking to anyone for a few minutes wondering if I look social, or look like a social retard. Screw it, I say, and turn to my left to open the HB6.5.

Tonight I decide to try many different tactics in order to see if I can calibrate to the girls’ responses. The first tactic I try with HB6.5 is to open with something kind of wacky and unexpected.

I touch HB6.5 lightly on the shoulder to get her attention. Talking very slowly, I lean way back away from her and say loudly, “I think I drank too much.”

Don’t ask me why I chose that topic, it’s just the first thing that popped into my head. Actually, I hadn’t drank all night, and my choice of opener will come back to bite me in the ass. But for now I just wait to see her reaction.

She glances at me suspiciously, then a moment later frowns and tilts her head at me, indicating she can’t hear me. I repeat slowly and loudly, “I think I drank too much.”

“What?” she says. So I say it yet again, slowly and loudly. I have a half-smile on my face. I must look drunk to her. I can see the indecision in her body language whether to move closer and dip her ear toward me to hear better, or blow me off.

Moments later, she decides the latter. She shakes her head and gives me the quick, familiar wave of her hand that local girls use to “dismiss” a guy’s advances. She has decided I’m “dismissed.” I know at this point that this girl is probably done with me for the night, but I remember that it’s a good thing to keep plowing sometimes.

I try asking her when she arrived tonight, but I get the head-shake/hand-wave again. I open my mouth to say something else and again the head-shake/hand-wave even before I speak.

HB8 has been watching their interaction with an amused look on her face. She grabs HB6.5’s arm and asks excitedly, “What did he say?” HB6.5 replies,”He says he drank too much,” and HB8 is all smiles and seems very amused. They both look back toward the dance floor.

I wonder if I can open HB8 somehow, and even contemplate reaching across HB6.5 to get her attention physically. Neither girls will make eye contact with me. I figure both girls have put me on the zero social value list for the rest of the night. I turn away and survey the dance floor.

Remembering the advice to plow, I tap HB6.5 on the shoulder a few minutes later. “Is she your friend?” I ask, pointing to HB8, who’s ignoring me. I get a quick nod this time. “Did you come together?” I continue, but get the head-shake/hand-wave.

A few minutes later, I tap HB6.5 on the shoulder yet again. I point to a guy who’s sleeping, and say, “I guess he’s had too much to drink too!” Again the head-shake/hand wave.

I figured I have plowed enough with her. I guess I better try a different tactic next time.

Soon, I notice the first guy has left the seat in front of me, to be replaced by two of his buddies. I decide it won’t hurt to try to appear social, so I open up the new guys and we totally hit it off. At one point, I lean in to make a comment to one of the guys, and my shoulder knocks over a drink, spilling liquid under HB6.5’s cellphone, which is on the table.

She is clearly annoyed, snatching up her cellphone and making a huge show of wiping it over and over. In AFC mode, I would have been apologizing to her like crazy, maybe offering to repair her phone if it is broken. But now I just ignore her and her antics. I clearly saw no liquid entered the phone’s internals, so I know she’s just putting on a show.

HB8 and HB6.5 must have confirmed that I am indeed drunk by my words and actions. So much for appearing cool and social. The new guys don’t seem to care at all though, and we have fun talking about pickup tactics they use in the club. I will later see them actually get some success with various girls throughout the night, so they have some game.

Soon HB8 leaves and heads toward the bar. As she returns, she has to pass close to me. I know I am on her shit-list anyway, so I decide to open her just to see what happens. Time to change the tactic though!

I think remember a tactic that one PUA instructor wrote about being a man in expressing your direct interest. I decide to give it a go.

As HB8 passes near me, I touch her shoulder to get her attention. Surprisingly, she immediately dips her head and puts her ear near my mouth. I am speaking quickly and more clearly now, trying to let her know I am in fact not drunk.

“I wanted to meet you and talk to you ever since I got here,” I tell her. She moves her face back to look at me and smiles, seeming genuinely pleased. I beckon her closer again, and she immediately complies, bringing her ear next to my mouth again. “What’s your name?” I ask her. She tells me her name. “I’m HeavyCav,” I say, offering her my hand. She takes it, and I shake her hand but don’t let go. I am keenly aware of the close proximity of her large rack.

“I think you are the most beautiful girl in the club,” I tell her, actually meaning it because I don’t see anyone hotter at the moment.

“Oh thank you,” she says with a pleased smile, squeezing my hand. Then she moves past me, and is gone. I’m kind of startled by her abrupt departure, so I just stare off at the dance floor. Remember how I opened HB6.5? I conclude HB8 must think I’m really drunk after all, and didn’t mean what I said, or even that I know what I was saying.

I wonder what I could have done to keep HB8 talking. On the other hand, I’m quite surprised that I got as far with her as I did though, seeing how she witnessed HB6.5 blowing me off. I would have thought HB6.5’s blow out would have earned me an instant blow out with HB8 as well.

I start talking to the other guys again, and soon we are laughing and having a good time. Soon I notice that HB8 is hovering behind me, and I can turn and re-engage her if I decide to. But after the way I opened her, I can’t think of any way to re-open her that doesn’t sound needy.

I continue to mess around with the guys for about 5 minutes while I try to decide what to do. When I look around again, HB6.5 and HB8 are gone.

Soon after, another pair of girls come dancing nearby. One of them is wearing a Rastafari-style African knit hat. I immediately open her when she comes near. “Hey I like your hat!” I tell her, pointing at her head. She stops and stares at me like I’m the most retarded person on the face of the planet. Umm, ok, maybe she’s heard that one too many times today. Before, such a reaction would have made me feel bad about myself, but I am able to shrug it off now.

A cute 3-set of girls moves in in front of me.  They are in the HB7.5 range. Two of them leave, leaving HBactress behind. She looks very much like a certain TV actress (of course not as pretty) but I can’t remember the actress’s name!

I decide to open her with a high energy approach with a big smile. I touch her shoulder. “Hi,” I say. “Are you and your friends from out of town?” She looks at me and indicates she’s not quite catching what I am saying. Then abruptly she dips her head and ear toward me. I have to repeat it a couple times. I finally get her to hear the question. “No,” she says, “We’re from around here.”

“I ask because I noticed your fashion style is a bit different,” I explain. I am still smiling, speaking clearly and fairly quickly, and nodding my head. This time it’s obvious I’m not drunk. But she gives me a noncommittal answer. She looks somewhat bored but not eager to blow me out.

I take out my cellphone and show her the time. She automatically leans in to look.  “When do the buses start running?” I ask her. She gets slightly more enthusiastic at this point as she explains the bus schedule. I lean back to reassess, and after a moment she leans forward to speak, actually pulling on my forearm with her hand. She explains a bit more about the bus schedule. I lean back when she’s done.

I’m trying to remember the name of the actress she looks like, but it’s not coming to me. I get stuck at this point because I really want to tell her the name of the actress she looks like, I don’t just want to say a phony-sounding, “Hey you look like a TV actress.” I figure if I can remember the name, she will see I am being sincere.

As I’m trying to think of it, or just anything else to say to keep the conversation alive, she leaves the area.

After a while, HBactress returns. I immediately tap her on the shoulder. “You’re still here!” I exclaim. “What?” she says. I repeat what I’ve said. She still can’t hear me. I repeat it yet again. Finally she just kind of smiles and gives me a hand wave. I think she can’t make out what I’m saying at all, but I don’t know how to plow on. I can’t think of a good topic to re-open her with. Finally she moves away from the area. I decide to call it a night and eject from the bar.

DEBRIEF: I didn’t get any number-closes tonight, nor did I feel like I even connected with any girl conversationally. Even though it was pretty much crash and burn, I feel that I perhaps learned a bit of calibration. It’s not getting much easier either - it almost feels like every time I step into a bar, I have to start over from scratch each time.