Becoming A Conversational Star

Do you ever have an off week? Well, let me tell you that last week was definitely off. It wasn't until very late on Saturday night that I finally came up with something to wear. And surprisingly, I wasn't even half interested in flirting with anyone at church. (A real Fascinating Girl would) In fact I took such rushed pictures of my outfit that I can't even post the blurry mess on here. Let's just say that the dress I ended up wearing is just this dress, but in black. So I apologize for not only the lateness of this post, but also the lameness of my week.

In an effort to make amends this week, I attended a multi-ward speed dating night earlier this evening. I am by no means new to the speed dating scene. I would estimate this is fifth or sixth time that I have participated in this YSA activity.

I tarted myself up the best I could, and went to dazzle everyone with my amazing conversational skills. I took a glance at The Fascinating Girl to see what advice it offered in my accelerated dating, and came up with this gem.

"One of the most awkward feelings is when you are standing next to someone and you can't think of a single thing to say to open a conversation. The thing to do is to say something quickly. Say the first thing that flashes into your mind. It doesn't have to be dramatic, impressive or even interesting. It is not so important what you say as how quickly you say it. Don't let the moments drag on into stiff silence."

Although not one to be at a lost for words, I took this Fascinating advice, and said the first thing that popped into my mind. It made the evening so much better. Instead of repeating all night the common, where are you from, what do you do and what are your hobbies, questions. My "dates" and I had wide and often hilarious conversations.

Of course, like anything of this nature, the only thing I came home with was a sore throat from all of the talking. No numbers were exchanged and I hate to say it, but not even any meaningful relationships were half developed. But I think that I brightened a few days.

And I guess who knows, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship (or two).

More excitement on the way. And hopefully better pictures to come.

Sort Of

Uhmm...can you tell that I had forgotten to take a picture of my outfit earlier in the day? Sorry, this doesn't even half show what amazing look I was able to put together.

So after 18 whole, long weeks of this experiment, I finally, sort of, have results. Sort of are the key words here.

Like the good Fascinating Girl that I have been turned into. I ended up at an event on Sunday night, in the hopes of finding someone new to set my sights on. (After all, it is a new year.) Looking great, I flitted about talking to various people and old friends.

It was in the middle of one of the conversations with an old friend when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a guy that I have been mildly, half halfheartedly flirting with for the past couple of weeks. I gave him a big Fascinating Girl smile and we proceeded to talk about our various Christmas/New Year's escapades.

Thankfully I had just brushed up on the 'Gaining Interest' section of the book. I admired my new friend's manly qualities, took a vested interest as he spoke about his 'pet ideas and interests'. I encouraged him to discuss his 'daring ventures.' When our conversation was interrupted, a few times, I took advantage of the situation and spoke to those around me, not waiting for my friend to return to our conversation.

Just as Fascinating Girl suggests, I decided to "be friendly with everyone, not just him. In this way he never quite knows whether your friendliness is just your nature or whether you really like him."

Surprisingly, just like a lost puppy, my friend continued to return to my side. Testing out this new theory, I again got caught up in a conversation with a passing friend, and my puppy stayed by my side waiting for me to finish.

We continued our conversation and things were just beginning to look like they were going to move into a positive, "let's ask her out" position. But nothing happened. I waited and waited, and sneakily tried to steer the conversation to a place where we could make some plans, but still nothing. After long enough I made my excuses and left him. A Fascinating Girl doesn't spend all of her time waiting for a guy to make a move.

His sad, confused face as I walked away made me realize I had made the right choice. Hopefully he went home and mourned the fact he hadn't moved faster to continue our evening and will be more inclined to do something more next time we meet up. If not, well, there are others out there. (Or at least that is what I am trying to convince myself.)

I guess some results are better than nothing. Although, can we consider this positive results?

Better luck next week.

Potential Mad Men Extra

With the beginning of the new year, I decided to take a more subdued approach to last Sunday's look, keeping the focus on subtle accents.

(I secretly wish that all of my tops had ties like this. I love this vintage detail!)

Recently with all of the excess snow we have received, many of  my social invitations have been for outdoor, sledding, skating, snowball fighting, activities. I consulted Fascinating Girl to how best to approach these activities and found this section.

"Outdoor parties and games can also result in a few being left out. You make sparkle at indoor parties where you are dressed in a soft frilly dress but feel ill at ease at events where people are playing, running, and laughing. Whatever your experience with men, work for success rather than failure and avoid things that destroy confidence."

So for the time being, I am opting to avoid these outdoor parties and games, wishing to stay warm rather than snow covered. Hopefully the snow melts soon.

Trying to come up with an absolutely fantastic outfit for this week. Wish me luck.