Pick-ups

There is a "Pick-up artist" convention. Let me repeat. Dudes come together in our country to share strategies on how to pick up women. Where did I learn this fact? In therapy with a sex addict client. Confidentiality be damned! I have a ton of clients a month, so detective that! After hearing his stories and the baffling discovery of this new part of life, I crossed my arms and discussed the next steps of his recovery. Look at me acting all professional and self-righteous and then googling "Pick up artists Philippines" right after my man leaves the room.

Apparently, this thing is huge. I've shared pick-up stories with my friends, granted they're stories and not strategies, because strategies account for some level of success I believe. But this thing is huge, as in there are literal conferences on these things. You'd bet your buck that this type of thing happens in the States, but not in the Philippines. Not my Philippines. Ang bayan koý tanging ikaw, Pilipinas kong mahal. But alas, there is an actual community, a cult-like community dedicated to helping other men pick up chicks. Forgive my naivety.

The thing is... you can laugh all you want regarding the desperation of these men. I did. But you know what, I got the response of being laughed at back. So fast forward a few months, I actually meet some of these pick-up artists who attended a Cognitive Behavioral seminar. Psychology is just a melting pot of different fields ain't it? We had beers after and after sharing my shock at this discovery, they share that they're in fact moderators. And they had that look, as if I was living under a rock or something. They had that "Are you for real?" look. And then even when I asked friends and colleagues about these scientific pick-up strategies thing, I got more of those "Are you for real?"s. Doctors, 40 year-old women and respected psychologists telling me... ARE YOU FOR REAL? 

So yes. Tell me what I've missed world, because apparently I'm not real and have been living under a rock. Pick up is a here, unlike my jaded idea of the innocent Philippines. Ang bayan koý tanging ikaw, Pilipinas kong mahal.