Just tiding up my in-box and came across this from March last year I'd written after my worst 'being shot down' of the whole year. I'd be interested to hear how you guys would have dealt with the last person.

Day game is one of those things that, if you are strongly of the feeling persuasion in the myers briggs personality type, you dread for one reason. Making other people feel worse. Yeah, sure, I have issues with approaching in crowded places, but the thing that will truly ruin my day is to bring other people down. I am the person for whom the idea that you should leave a girl better than you found her resonates to the point of shattering like a wine glass.

Today's day game started the same as usual. My favourite opener; the interrupting train station direct opener ["where's the train station?" then cut her off mid-response with "sorry, I just thought that you looked hot and I wanted to know if you were friendly too"]. A couple of terrible approaches. They gradually improved until I had sufficient confidence to not only ask "what would sasha do", but to act on it.

I enjoyed the first real approach, she was clearly nervous. I don't think that she stopped fiddling with her headphone cable throughout! Anyway, she was clearly unsure how to deal with a bloke hitting on her. In the day? The incredulity of it! She kept making excuses to go, but never actually leaving. After telling her that we should meet for a coffee, she told me that she wasn't looking for a guy at the moment. Eventually she said that she really had to go as her friends were waiting for her. We hugged goodbye ("you've earnt that at least" she said). I hadn't moved one pace before I heard laughter behind. When she said her friends were waiting for her, she didn't mention that they were within earshot.

They laughed, I smiled. I'd made her day better.

Within a minute, I saw a girl in front going towards a shop. Even at top walking pace, I wasn't going to catch her. What would sasha do? I got my bicep out. That didn't work so I ran.

She was a 6.5. We chatted. Questions went both ways. We were connecting. I told her that we "weren't flirting, well ok, a little bit." I dhv'ed. She slowly turned around to face /me/, not the shop that she was aiming for. I started a story and a minute in realised that she hadn't said anything throughout. I needed interaction. Mid sentence I caught a glimpse of her eyes through her sunglasses: "and so I did this thing and GOOD GOD you've got beautiful eyes". I was back in there. All was going well. I tried to arrange a date she played the boyfriend card. I got possessed by the spirit of sasha. I remember saying some things like; "what's his name" and "I've got a really big... ". Another hug. She told me that I'd made her day.

Big smile on both our faces.

Then it went wrong. "... I wanted to know if you were friendly as well as hot". She walked away. As an afterthought, she announced "you're a creep". I said back: "it was lovely to meet you".

She was not smiling. I am destroyed.

Now I'm sat here on a park bench typing this up.

I've got a 30 minute walk back through town. I was planning on opening more. With my state destroyed, it's probably not going to happen. How I envy those who aren't worried what others think.

An afterthought - I don't think I've used that opener for the rest of the year and I'm fairly certain that I didn't go direct either.