Thanks very much for the notes. Having actually pushed myself out the door and having done some exploring this evening I'm feeling substantially better. Here's a log of what I did on Saturday in Portland:
I visited Kells Irish Pub on Saturday evening.
I arrived at about 7:30PM. There were some good looking women but they were younger. I wasn't sure whether it was kosher to approach any of them.
I watched several people, and a few caused their eyes to go to mine but they weren't smiling, so I assumed that meant they weren't interested. However at past visits to this pub some women did smile and one did say hi. I was still too verklempt to act, sadly. And at a pub you never know what you're going to get.
At about 9PM I went to Greek Cusina, as per the recommendation of an a guy I asked in my apartment complex. There was a bridal party going on - a hen's night out. There were many young attractive females dancing around. At one point they came over and saw that I had white socks. They were doing a scavenger hunt and one of the items on the list was to kiss a guy wearing white socks. So they decided to kiss me. So that was nice. As they passed one of them did put their hand on my shoulder. Sadly I didn't keep track of which one did that. However I did hang around the dance floor while they danced in the event that whomever did touch me wanted to say hi again.
Before I went upstairs at Greek Cusina I sat at the downstairs bar. I said "Hi, my name's XXX" where XXX is my first name to one lady. She wasn't feeling well though (as per what the told the bartender earlier) & she left. Next two ladies came in & sad next to me. I again said "Hi, name's XXX." I wasn't really attracted to the lady I said hi to. But one her companion responded by muttering "looser." After that snotty response I went upstairs and found the "hen party" going on, where I got kissed by one lady and touched on the shoulder by another.
After watching the "hens" dance around on the dance floor at Greek Cusina for a while I left and returned to the area of Kells. But I decided not to go in since it was 10:30PM and I had already been out for several hours. But I did mill around the outside of the other nearby clubs for a while.
After I returned home I visited a pub right next to my apartment. There was a lady bartender in there who I spoke to about the religion of my youth & why I had left it. Also about how I had come to Portland to start a new life. I had some chocolate ale which was nice. I prefer dark beer.
Anyway, so here's a tally of what occurred this evening:
1. I went to one bar/pub and wasn't sure whether it was kosher for me to actually open my mouth and speak to the well dressed 20 something ladies in there.
2. I went to a restaurant with two bars, one downstairs and one upstairs. In the downstairs bar I said hi in a possibly dorky manner to two different women. One walked away but she wasn't feeling well. The other set that sat by me muttered "looser" when I opened my mouth to speak to them.
3. In the upstairs part I found a bachelorette party going on. They did have a sex blow up doll and a huge blow up penis they were toying with in their party. Greek dancing ensued, and there was a belly dancer. I got kissed by one of them as per a scavenger hunt. And touched on the shoulder by another. Sadly I didn't keep track of who touched me. And I still felt held back by the prospect of actually speaking to a lady quite a bit younger than I am.
4. Next I spoke to a lady bartender at a pub which is right next to my apartment about why I came to Portland.
My dress was an orange striped shirt and black 501 button-down preshrunk jeans. Clean shaven and a nice haircut.
As I milled around the other clubs I watched the people, their faces and conversations. Some looked at me. When they did I said hi and smiled. I observed the people in Kells generally hanging out in groups.
Before I went out I determined that I only had one life to live and that I was going to live it.
The day is now Sunday and later today I'll work on doing more approaching. On Saturday during the day I did visit the Rose Garden in Washington Park with Gizmo (my female Timneh Grey Parrot). Some attractive ladies spoke to me once they saw her. I didn't ask for their phone number. And if I did I bet it would come off as dorky and forced. Who knows. I guess you've got to start somewhere.
Flirting with every possible women would be nice. But coming off as some sort of idiot isn't pleasant. I could use my professional quality voice perhaps. But I have the impression that the mere act of opening my mouth in the context of trying to pick someone up would result in much laughter. Maybe I'm wrong. But it was nice to be touched.
For the coming week I've signed up for speed dating, but I'm not sure if the event will occur. Also I'm planning to check out some social events for the non-religious to see if I can find a bar hoping partner (and of course a dating partner too). And also I'm thinking of using meetup.com as a means of emailing women - the ones who're members of the same meetup groups I am.
Thanks again for the advise. Later today I'll work on more research and implementation.
Also one book I mentioned previously advises that sensitive men go to strip clubs more, and to stare in the dancer's eyes while they're doing their thing. It also advises eating more meat. All that sounds cool. Maybe a strip club visit or two will help reduce my overall dorkiness regarding pickups. Also listening to hip hop and indie rock is helping, instead of spending all my driving time listening to NPR. And I do have some weights I'm starting to use. Why I've waited to do all this until I was 41 is beyond me. But getting out of Utah was key.
p.s. I also recently found a good blog at the following site:
http://datingguy.wordpress.com/2007/...ttempts-16-17/
Also I just found the following list of places hen parties tend to take place in Portland:
http://portland.citysearch.com/roundup/41197