So I went to NYC with one purpose in mind: To kino the shit out of it. After doing some research about kino, I've realized that the reason why I've been getting friendzoned was that I wasn't touching my target!!! It's such a pussy move to not touch the girl you're trying to bang, so it was my job to fix that. The end-goal isn't a number-close or an F-close; rather, it's to incorporate the whole touching process. This post is pretty long.

This entry is as accurate as possible, for I'm writing these things down as they happened minutes later. Feedback is much appreciated to know what went wrong and where I can go right.

I woke up at 9:00 am to get ready for my mission. I dress up to the 9's, wear cologne, shaved, brushed my teeth, and packed the essentials into my satchel:
• Water bottle (When I get thirsty.)
• Chewing gum (To prevent getting bad breath after eating.)
• Umbrella (In case it rains or snows. The weather was just shitty. It rained and snowed the night before, and it was frickin cloudy!!)
• Urbanears headphones (To record conversations.)
• Apple phone charger and plug (To prevent my cell from dying on me.)

I go to the bus stop and see these two black women on their phones. I could've opened them, but they were just too busy. They later went to the Walgreens in front of the bus stop, so I just waited until the bus came. Later, this white guy stands at the bus stop with me, so I open with, "Got business to take care of in the city?" He said he wasn't, but was instead going to his hometown. We were talking about his town until he said how there was this mall where the Impractical Jokers go to do their stunts, which sprung the conversation to a whole new level. The bus soon came, and I told the guy it was nice meeting him. Since he was standing too far away, I couldn't really kino him. I got on the bus and left my town.

After taking a break from updating this post on my phone, I see this old woman wearing glasses sitting behind the seat that was across the aisle from where I was sitting (makes sense?). Since I'd never see her again and I needed some warm-up approaches, I opened her with, "I like what you're wearing!" with a smile and mild enthusiasm. She accepted my compliment with a thank you and said that it was a sari from India. "Oh, it's a sari? Nice!" I then offered my hand for a high-five (because I learned that high-fives are given when someone does or says something that you approve of), but I was kindly rejected, then blessed in the name of God. Womp womp.

I get off at Port Authority and grab myself some brunch at Au Bon Pain. It's tough to sarge on an empty stomach, so after paying the cashier, I give her a high-five. She laughed at that, and we made some small talk before I went to the backroom to eat my sandwich. I should high-five cashiers whenever I pay for my shit. I popped a piece of gum and left the venue after eating my sandwich.

I've always wanted to visit the 9/11 memorial, so I took the E train to the site. I totally wasn't expecting to run Game there, but some things just couldn't be planned for. I'm standing underneath the part of the museum where you're sheltered from the rain, and I see this one girl all by herself - a caucasian 7. She wasn't doing much; in fact, it's almost like she wanted to be approached, so I did her the favor. Slightly smile. Turn head towards her (IOI), but turn body away from her (IOD). Hit the record button on the earphone:

Me: "Hey. Are you...[Pause.]...Are you taking psychology by any chance?"
Her: "No, no. I'm just getting out of the rain. Hehe. A little bit. So cold. I'm.....I'm near London."
Me: "Oh, yeah?" [Turn entire body towards her.]
Her: "And I'm doing my geography degree."

A simple no could've done nicely, but we have a solid conversation going. We're talking about levels and shit, and I have no idea what the fuck that is. I'll spare you guys the minor details. Basically, I ran the Who's Better at Lying opener, to which she said that girls are better at lying.

Me: "Are you...haha...lying to me right now?"
Her: "No! Hehe. I think girls are better liars."
Me: "Awww, c'mon! You're lying to me right now." [Slap her on the shoudler.]
Her: "But I can't lie. I'm really bad at lying."

I challenge her to lie to my face. She says she can't, so I go first.

Me: [I extend my hand for a handshake.] "I'm nrjose27."
Her: "Alright. I have really, really, really cold hands."
Me: "So are mine."
Her: [She reciprocates the shake.] "Okay..."
Me: "One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war. Five, six, seven, eight, try to keep your thumb.....straight?"

At this point, I was confused why she wasn't playing along. Her hand was cold and stiff. By thumb wrestling, not only am I kinoing, but it brings back the whole childhood innocence on the playground (Decibel).

Her: "Alright."
Me: "COME ON! WE'RE IN A THUMB WRESTLING CONTEST! Hahaha!"
Her: "My thumb is numb! I can't really move it! It's really cold!"
Me: [Sarcastically.] "Wow, you're so fun right now."

We both talk about Europe and its beaches. She later tells me how she's a second-year undergraduate doing a project about memorials and wants to interview me by asking questions. Oh, and she needs to record it. This is funny because we're both recording each other lol. I jokingly tell her how I feel like a celebrity. So after she asks me a bunch of questions, London-7 asked me if it's true how Americans looooove British accents. I tell her how she has no idea and that their accents sound both sexy and sophisticated. I should've asked her how British people think of American accents, but that would've been qualifying to her. We walked around for a bit, and I tell her how she's walking like a penguin and request her to go wenk wenk. She refused, but laughed.

After splitting, I was watching her from afar trying to interview some of the people that I mentioned. Not only was her body language telling people that she was cold, but she was also lacking confidence. I re-approached her again, saying how she needed to work on that, which she agreed. Re-engaging her for a second time wasn't such a good idea.

After talking to one of the security officers who worked at the site, a large piece of ice smashed onto the ground of the closed-off area. Huge chunks of ice were falling from the neighboring skyscrapers.

Me: "Woah!!! Did any of you guys see that!?"

I caught the attention of a Japanese family from San Francisco. The set consisted of a grandmother, a mother, a third-year college student, and a graduating 8th grader who looks like she belongs in a college (HB7, but she's too young). They asked me why the area's closed-off, and I told them the reason from the security officer. I didn't know my headphones weren't plugged into my phone, so when I pushed the button on the headphones, it didn't to anything, so the conversation wasn't recorded. It was a pretty damn good conversation at that. I can't remember much, but what I can recall was that before parting, I gave them each a goodbye handshake. Remembering the mission, I tried to thumb wrestle with the two girls, but they laughed as they pulled their hands away.

What I did next wasn't really Game-worthy. I just went to Uniqlo to buy some socks (after high-fiving the cashier, I asked him where I could grab a bite to eat, to which he recommended...), ate at La Esquina, and tried to sarge Times Square. I was too tired at that point; plus, I absolutely had no idea where to start in regards to sarge Times Square; there are just so many people taking pictures and going about their business.

Soon, I went back to Port Authority and took a bus home. For shits and giggles, I talk to this middle-aged woman sitting next to me, and she told me how she used to work for this cruise line that offered its employees the rooms that weren't sold on the ship.....for free. I tell her how I was going to Europe in a few months, and she tells me how the Europeans love Americans. Damn, good thing I talked to her.

So that's basically what went down. Going to New York City just to give some shoulder slaps, high-fives, and random thumb wars is child's play and I can do better, but it's a start to let my kino grow and become more advanced and unpredictable. So what went wrong in my pickup? And what could've I done right?

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"I've learned it's important not to limit yourself. You can do whatever you really love to do, no matter what it is." - Ryan Gosling