Frat President's Notebook

        The new post-doc in our lab is a former frat president.  Whatever else may be true about frat guys, they seem to, on average, do pretty well with the ladies.  For this reason I have resolved to study Frat President and attempt to understand his ways.  I will be sharing my findings with you the people in a periodic feature called Frat President's Notebook.
        I consulted Frat President the other day about a situation I encountered where I was at a bar talking to some unfamiliar girls and it was going pretty well until they said, "we have to go watch ER" and left.  I asked him how, as self-proclaimed Ultimate Wingman, he would have prevented their departure.
        Without a second thought, he said that this was an easy situation to handle and that his response would have been, "You don't need to go watch ER-- we can do some doctor stuff with you.  We'll start with you [he notes that at this point he would be addressing the 'hottest one' in the group]; I see lots of problems with you already.  We'll check you with our probes."
        The goal of my Frat President research will not be imitation, but understanding.  I will attempt to elucidate the principles underlying his techniques and behaviour and then apply those principles judiciously and in moderation.  In other words, I will attempt to clear the cheese from the mac.
        My actual response that night was, "ER?  I always call that show 'errr'".  Like me in general, this comment was mildly amusing, but lacking direction or purpose.  Unlike me in general, it was lifted from a Conan O'Brien rerun that I had seen earlier that evening.
        The principle for today is direction.  My interaction with those girls in that bar was fun, but the ideal interaction would be like Highlights magazine:  fun with a purpose.
 

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