IRL Experiments: Update

After many months of telling myself I needed to leave my house to find a new connection, I’m happy to say that my experimentation with meeting people IRL is going well.

Calling card update: I admit I’ve only given out one of my calling cards but as expected, they were flattered to receive it. I don’t think it will coalesce into a strong connection (he’s a cat guy) but it was fun to have a nice, friendly conversation with a stranger in a flirty context.

I also finally made it to the ENM mixer that I’d been RSVPing to for months and continuously flaking out on. It was a rousing success. I forgot how much of flirting is just… chatting and being yourself. Yes, making intense eye contact, breaking the touch barrier, and mirroring them to signal interest are important. But the ability to just carry on a delightful little conversation with a stranger is still the core of flirting. And man, when it comes together, it hits. I’m excited for a date next week, gleaned from this crowd.

Lastly, some of my other “longer cons” for IRL experiences have not yielded any dates or flirtations, but it’s been very fun to get out of the house nonetheless. I joined a tennis league to get myself playing tennis for the first time in years, and I still haven’t had an actual match. But I’ve started to connect with other people in my neighborhood who play tennis and I think I’ll get to play at least once by the end of the summer.

I’m wrapping up my volunteering experience for the FIFA Club World Cup and while I didn’t get any phone numbers (well actually, I did, because I got added to about 10 different WhatsApp groups), it was so fun to get involved in a new way with a community that I already loved. I met some diverse, interesting, and kind people who love soccer on a global scale. I’m very much looking forward to next year’s World Cup, here in North America!

So here’s to getting out of the house, because people still meet people in real life. Who says they shouldn’t be meeting me?