the game at the gym

the game by neil strauss. a book that spread like wildfire among my friends last year in gainesville. curious, i checked it out from the library. my hater blockers on, i still felt the judgmental eyes of the library clerk, seeming to say, "you macho chauvinistic pig! i can't believe you..." for the uninitiated, the game is a book by a self-proclaimed pick up artist. in it, he tells the tale of the underground world of men whose sole purpose in live is to (sadly) pick up as many women as possible in their life. most often, these sad little men are able to date out of their pay grade because of the mind games they play on unsuspecting weak women. (i don't mean that women are weak, i mean that they prey upon women with low self-esteem.) they think so highly of themselves that the book is bound to look like a bible. horrible book, no? i won't spoil the ending in case you are intrigued by it. i did pick up a few tips on how to interact with women in general, and how to read their subtle and not-so-subtle body language. it's made me wary lately, especially at the gym.

wanting to know someone's name, while seemingly innocuous, is misconstrued as showing interest. climbing last night, i didn't want to convey that; however, at the new gym, where no one seems to use one another's names, asking names is almost taboo. especially since i've been climbing there for the better part of 6 months now, and still know very few people's names. as i've been climbing well lately, and pretty happy, i seem approachable enough. when it's a mixed comp-any of climbing, the girls aren't as intimidated to ask for help, and often will just watch a stronger climber to figure out the beta (sequence of how to do it). last night, after the mixed gender sendfest, two girls were working on a problem and struggling with a move. they're both nice, and i've climbed with them before, but i have absolutely no idea what their names are. did i ask? nope. same dilemma as earlier in the school year with one of my coworkers, though i'm pretty sure in this case, they don't know mine either.

the all-too-common banter of rock gyms, in a social setting, would convey interest as well. back at the grg, an outsider would really have no clue about interest levels between some climbers. did grgers date each other? sure, but not as often as you would think with the flirting and posturing that went on between the males and females (or the males and males for that matter!).

some unexpected insights from a player hater about the game...