Hey guys,

So, I just got home from a date with a girl I met on PoF. How did it go? Well... I'll give it 6/10. I didn't K-Close, and ended up looking like a right AFC in the car at the end when she dropped me off. Wondering whether to kiss her or not, I leant in first, she didn't reciprocate, and I ended up kissing her uselessly on the cheek. Feel such a whopper.

Good points from the night: Conversation was good, in as much as it flowed and didn't break down at any point. We seemed to have a laugh, I was able to be funny and charming and take the piss out of her a little.

Bad points from the night: Well, aside from the kiss... I have so much to learn. Yeah it was a decent date. But it wasn't a "woooosh!" date, no sweeping off the feet or anything. I completely failed to go kino at any point. We acted more like Just Good Friends than anything else. I didn't really 'flirt' - and I need to learn how to do that actually. Its all practice, and I will get this right.

So yeah, a completely average date. From tonight, I take the following positive points:

1. It wasn't a bad date. Tonight was my first real time spent with a girl in 3 months, since I split with my ex who I'd previously been with for 8 months before that, so it was good to see I can meet with a girl who I have never met previously and at least maintain a fairly entertaining conversation.

2. This is my starting point. This is where it all begins for me. That, what I just did tonight, is what I can do naturally, what I have arrived at the game with as a preexisting skill set. Next for me is to improve upon that. You can only improve something once you're aware of its preexisting condition. Now I know. I want to work at this, and I will improve.

However, this has also really put me off internet dating game. Yeah she was nice, HB7 maybe. Average, really. On her PoF profile, and even her FB profile, she seems closer to an 8 or an 8.5. But hey, you learn from such mistakes.

With this HB7, I am going to pursue her until I get at least a K-close. I've already suggested to her that she come over to mine next week to use the DIY-Sushi set I got for Christmas. She seemed keen on that.

In the meantime, I'm ploughing on with my game. Meeting two wings on my lunch hour tomorrow for 90 minutes of sarging action in town. Looking forward to that.

There really are Plenty of Fish in the sea. And I think its high time I stopped using a rod trying to catch the perfect one, and instead chuck a net in and see what comes up.

Just get some good wing men and get out there and meet, meet and meet don't waste you're time with all that PoF and all those dating sites ....

...is the lesson I've learned from this date! PoF, and in fact internet dating as a whole, is just something which circumvents the need to approach women in real life.

But this is my starting point at the end of 2009: using internet dating as an excuse for not approaching real women. Time to change, methinks.

Just an update to this. I've been out today in Chester with a wing friend of mine. We're both working through The Rules of the Game, and I'm up to Day 10 which required me to open 3 x sets, using openers, time constraints, and then a disqualifier, before ejecting from the set. I did all three pretty well, and even opened a few more besides.

In conversation with women I found myself very natural and easy, and my initial AA with women has disappeared. I am also getting comfortable with a few canned openers, and feel myself becoming more congruent with them as I use them.

For the record, using canned material is a means to an end here. Eventually I aim to do away with the stuff, but in the meantime I am focussing on using it so I don't have to worry about what to say.

They say only 30% of what you communicate is verbal - so I am keeping what I say canned for the time being, and focussing on the other 70%. This means I can concentrate on my energy levels, my body language, and so on.

I am finding it increasingly easy to open sets now. I found myself using the disqualifiers - playful banter, essentially - also with ease. In time, I hope that these day game missions become full approaches, but I am taking baby steps.

I am also reading some David DeAngelo stuff, which is really good.

And I am on number 4/24 of The Blue Print. Tyler makes some really good points in this, and so far I have been really fascinated by what he is saying. His approach chimes in with my thoughts not exclusively on women, but on wider society. Quite apart from his points in the PUA arena, the stuff he has on social conditioning is really very good to listen too.

Anyway, just thought I'd add that in. I am 100% off netgame now, and completely working on real life approaches. Hoping now that I've moved back to Uni that there might be some more night game on the way soon as well.

Happy daze!

Sounds like you are making some positive steps Covert. Keep up the good work, and keep listening to the Blueprint. Like you say, it's more about ther wider social aspects.