By Popular Demand: Now Available as a Book

Posted on June 12, 2012 by People Person

Yesterday, the BBC published an article about talking to strangers and I was featured prominently in it. book-cover-lores Because of that exposure, I reached 40,000 new people, and during the course of the day, I received dozens upon dozens of heartwarming emails about the Project. I feel so connected to the readers having now read so many of their stories, all I can say is it was very cool and more than a little humbling.

Many, many people have asked if the blog is going to be a book or a movie and I have repeatedly said no. But then, around mid-day, I read an email from a teenager who had attempted suicide. I know, serious stuff. He’s fine now, he got the help he needed, but he said the blog was really inspirational to him because he had always felt so isolated. There’s more to the story but suffice to say it had a big impact on me.

Anyway, long story short, I changed my mind and decided to publish the blog in digital form. It’s just a collection of the posts, but they are collected in chronological order and you can take it with you to the beach or wherever without the hassle of reading it online. I published it at Smashwords because it was quick and easy. Here’s the link. [Edited to add that it's now available on Amazon here and in the UK here.]

Michelle was instrumental in putting it together in such a short time and she even designed the cool cover for me. I had to charge 99 cents because that’s what the minimum was, but if anyone feels like they don’t want to pay, they can always read it here for free.

My goal of course isn’t to make a big payday here (though the thought did occur to me that this timing is fortuitous with the wedding in ten days). I just wanted to reach as many people as possible and see if my story can inspire people to find their own happiness. I feel so fortunate to have embarked on this journey and to have made friends with so many people in person and online. I just wanted to say thank you. And good luck on your own journeys.

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Farewell

Posted on May 18, 2012 by People Person

I was going to end the blog in June after my wedding, but as the date gets closer, I am starting to realize that this wedding thing might actually take up more of my time than I thought. So I’ve decided to say goodbye on a high note and not be one of those bloggers that just fades away with fewer and fewer posts. walking-away

It goes without saying that this has been an incredible journey. Almost two years ago I made a decision to take control of my life by doing something simple: talking to strangers. It turned out not to be so simple after all and I never could have imagined ago the impact that my decision would have on my life.

It’s not just the obvious boon of meeting and marrying Michelle. Or the relationships with countless others, both profound and mundane, that I’ve nurtured over the course of the Project. The result I’m most proud of is the change in me.

I used to overthink things and the dialog in my head about what the other person would say if I started a conversation would be too much to overcome. Does this person just want to be alone? What if they don’t like me? What if I embarrass myself?

Now, it’s not that I don’t care, I do, it’s just that I know most people like people. And those who don’t, the people who say “Fuck off,” well, I’m better able to brush it off. Because I’ve racked up some wins, I can better ignore the defeats.

Talking to people has become second nature. I really am that guy in the elevator now who says, “How’s everybody doing?” (Okay, maybe not really like the Sparklets guy, but I have spoken to a lot of people in elevators.) I just like the excitement of not knowing what’s going to happen when you interact with another person. It still makes my heart race when I approach someone, but now it’s exciting, not terrifying.

I think what I’m trying to say is that I’ve become the person I never even knew I could be. Sure, maybe I’m unemployed, but that doesn’t seem to matter right now. I’m about to go on this journey with Michelle and it just feels awesome.

I know I’ve said most of this stuff before. After two years, I’ve said pretty much everything I can think of. But one thing I don’t think I’ve said enough is how much I appreciate the support and emails and comments from the people who’ve been following this Project. For every comment you see, I get a few private emails from people telling me about their lives. About how they’re shy or just in a situation where it’s tough to meet people. I respond to every one of them and I tell them if I can do it, so can you. Sometimes, it’s heartbreaking to hear about younger kids–teenagers or college students–telling me about how hard it is. But trust me, the hardest part is taking that first step.

I don’t want to be all self-congratulatory, patting myself on the back for my own successes or for being all “inspirational” to other people. But I have learned a lot and I think it’s worth sharing. It all boils down to this: people were not meant to be alone. We need human interaction. It’s what makes life worth living. And unfortunately, sometimes that takes effort. Sometimes it takes a shitload of effort. But it’s never not worth it.

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Staples Cashier

Posted on May 4, 2012 by People Person

I went to Staples just now and bought some fancy pens for the sign-in book for our wedding. At the cash register, staples1 I also saw some Slim Jims. I don’t know why Staples sells Slim Jims, but I happen to enjoy a Slim Jim now and again as you may recall from my incident at the Ralphs when I bought 14 of them.

I don’t know why Slim Jims always get a reaction from the cashiers. They sell them, shouldn’t it be no big deal if someone buys them? Now I was buying 5 but that’s not that many.

The woman said, “You really like them Slim Jims.”

I said, “No, they’re for my dog.”

She looked at me kind of weird and said, “For real?”

“No, they’re for me. Are you happy? I’m buying five Slim Jims for myself, okay?”

She said, “I don’t care. As long as you don’t give ‘em to your dog.”

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On the Turning Away

Posted on April 23, 2012 by People Person

We went to get froyo yesterday and Michelle had to run back to the car to get her frequent eater punch card. pink-floyd-on-the-turning-aw-22054 So in the short time I was waiting for her I sampled the different flavors and started making comments out loud, like “Huckleberry? More like Suck-leberry.”

One hot woman laughed, and I felt the need to defend myself. I said, “You try it. It tastes like frozen salad dressing.”

She took a sample, shuddered, and I said, “See? Now the Boysenberry is actually pretty good but that’s not coming back till next month.”

She said, “You must come here a lot if you know their flavor rotation.”

I said, “Yeah, well, my fiance really likes to fill up her punch card.”

But suddenly, her smile just kind of faded. I wasn’t even thinking this was some kind of flirting thing, but I definitely got the sense that she was interested. Just then, Michelle came back in with her card and said, “What looks good?”

The hot girl said, “Enjoy your yogurt,” and continued on.

Michelle was like, “Making friends, I see.”

It was weird, ever since I stopped looking at women as potential dates, they’ve become more interested in me. Are women that into the air of indifference? I can’t believe that I’m acting any differently here.

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First Dance

Posted on April 13, 2012 by People Person

We’ve been finalizing our wedding plans and that means lots of trips to flower people, cake people, caterers, and bands. 1111_maria_taylor_album We decided we wanted to do something different and cool so we’re having a live Brazilian band at the wedding. Neither of us is Brazilian, obviously, and it’s not like we know anything about Brazilian music, but it’s cool, and different, and so we’re meeting with Brazilian bands.

So we went to listen to one band at a club they were playing and we had arranged to meet with them during a break. These guys were great and we wanted to hire them to play the wedding. So we negotiated the fee and everything seemed perfect, and then I remembered we wanted them to play a non-Brazilian song for the first dance. It’s kind of an inside thing, but Michelle and I really like this song called, “Song Beneath the Song.”

So I said, “Oh, I forgot, can you just play one song that’s not Brazilian?” I explained the story and told them the song.

And the bandleader, who’s this Brazilian woman, says, “No.”

I’m like, “Seriously?”

She said, “We only play Brazilian music.”

And I said, “I know. I get that. I’m just saying the one song for the first dance.”

And she looks at me and says, “No. You want a band to play that shit from Grey’s Anatomy you can hire a whiny American band.”

I couldn’t believe it. So I turned to Michelle and said, “We should talk about this.”

I told the bandleader we’d get back to her.

Am I crazy here? Is it really a major faux pas to ask a Brazilian band to play one song not from Brazil?

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Unaccompanied Minor

Posted on April 9, 2012 by People Person

I went back home for Easter and I always have a fun time talking to people on planes. airplane-window On the way back yesterday we had a layover in Dallas, and we got seated next to an unaccompanied minor sitting in the window seat. She was 11, in fifth grade, but she looked much older. She started talking to me right away and I kept turning to Michelle like, “You saw this, right? She started talking to me? I didn’t strike up the conversation with the hot 11 year old girl.”

Anyway, her single mom sends her to Florida all the time to visit her grandparents, who she thinks are “totally boring.” I asked her what shows she watches (“Wizards of Waverly Place”), whether she has a lot of friends (“not really”), and what food she likes (“pasta” and she does most of the cooking for mom). We literally talked for three hours and it was kind of exhausting. I had to run everything I was about to say through some kind of filter to make sure it was appropriate.

Her mom wasn’t at the baggage claim in LAX when we got there and it kind of raised a red flag, like maybe she was lying and she doesn’t really have a mom or something. I don’t know, the whole thing just seems so incredibly dangerous. Who would send an 11 year old girl across the country by herself? Am I old fashioned here?

I asked her if she was okay, where was her mom, etc., but she assured me that her mom would be there to pick her up. Michelle and I looked at each other, and eventually we just said okay. I mean, what could we really do?

I hope she got home safely.

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Crossroads

Posted on April 2, 2012 by People Person

Many of you may have assumed that my lack of posts lately was related to my decision to bring the blog to a close in a couple months. Not exactly. crossroads_poster In fact, the real reason I haven’t been posting is because I lost my job.

Here’s what happened. We’ve had a new managing director running the L.A. office for a while now and he’s been a real hard ass. I was up for a promotion and that means a review and I guess Justin didn’t think I was ready for the big leagues. He didn’t exactly fire me, he just sort of implied that I was never going to rise in the company and that I should “pursue other opportunities.” So I guess technically I quit but either way, I am now unemployed.

I shouldn’t complain because I know I’m doing much better financially than most people out there. And not to make me seem like an even bigger dick but I got a severance package that will cover my expenses for the rest of the year.

But the big question is, what the hell am I supposed to do now? Find another job in banking? I always complained that this wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life but now that the job is gone, the idea of trying something else seems pretty scary. Michelle thinks I should try writing a book about the Project but I don’t want to be one of those cliches. Or maybe I really would love to write about it but I’m afraid I’ll suck at it and I’ll be one of those losers in the Starbucks that I make fun of.

It’s also just a really bad time to start a new career. The wedding is coming up in two months and we’ve got a ton of things to do. Well, actually, it’s really good timing to be unemployed so I can focus on the wedding, it’s just not a good time to find another job.

So that’s where I am, in case you were wondering. Once again at the crossroads.

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The End…?

Posted on March 19, 2012 by People Person

S. Dillinger writes:

Hey, I was wondering if you could share some of your stats info with us. Like just how many readers stay current, or do you find more people finish the blog and move on once they get up to speed. theend

I saw someone mention that you’d been name dropped on a radio station, I was curious as to how many others have shared your blog that are in a position to have a lot of listeners/followers check out your project.

Also, do you see an end to this thing in the near future now that you’ve acomplished some of your goals. I mean do you plan to stop blogging and just continue a normal life filled with conversations with strangers?

Side note: I tell tons of people about this thing, you’ve done a great thing here and have helped many, even if it’s something as simple as a conversation about the weather, it’s a good thing.

Thanks for the kind words and spreading the love.

It’s hard to say if people are sticking around or if they leave and are replaced by new people, but the numbers have been pretty steady over the last several months. The only “public” mentions of the blog that I know of were a couple of times where a celebrity tweeted about it. Someone invited me to do a radio interview a while back but I didn’t accept and I don’t know if they mentioned me anyway.

To answer the big question, I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, and the answer is yes, I am going to end the blog in June. It’s been very time consuming with work and my new boss, and I know a lot of people are going to be upset when it ends, but ultimately, I think it’s served its purpose, especially for me. And besides, I think that ending it on my wedding day will be a nice poetic close to this saga.

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First Tuba

Posted on March 11, 2012 by People Person

Gotta make this quick because I’m catching a flight to Boston for work. two_f_tubas This weekend, Michelle and I took her niece to see Holst’s “The Planets” at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. They do this whole thing where a goofy guy acts out the music and narrates the performance. The place was filled with kids and they loved it.

Anyway, I’m always fascinated by unusual careers. Jobs I never would have thought of doing in a million years. Not because they’re bad, but because they’re just so unusual. Naturally, I was watching these men and women in the orchestra playing their instruments and it occurred to me that some of the less “sexy” instruments must make for interesting cocktail conversation. Like, “I play the xylophone. Professionally.”

So Michelle said, “After the concert, you should go talk to one of the musicians.”

So I did.

I asked the women at the door if I could talk to someone from the orchestra and long story short, I talked to First Tuba for about five minutes. I had a hard time having the conversation because the whole time I just kept thinking, “Wow, you must really love the tuba.” I managed not to insult him, and he even let Michelle’s niece attempt to play the tuba, which is actually pretty hard to do.

I wish there were some kind of funny twist ending to the story, but sometimes you talk to someone and it pretty much just goes down like you expect.

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Army Guys

Posted on March 5, 2012 by People Person

I get asked a lot about how the whole experiment has changed me and here’s an example. army_eating I was eating lunch and two guys came in wearing Army uniforms. They got their lunch and sat down. The thought popped into my head, “I should say something to them, just an ‘I appreciate you’ or something.” But as soon as the idea of saying something to someone pops into my head, this new alert fires in my brain that says, “You can’t not say it now.” So it’s not so much an encouragement as a refusal to wuss out.

It actually makes me smile whenever that alert goes off. I’m like, “Shit, I really don’t want to say something, but oh, all right. Fine, I’ll do it.” Then I go over and start talking.

In this case, I literally just said, “Sorry to interrupt, guys, I just wanted to say thanks for doing what you do.” They were very appreciative that I said something. So this just reinforces the alert in my brain because it always winds up being the right thing to do.

So if you want to start doing this experiment with me, focus on the “don’t wuss out” factor more than the impulse to talk to people. Because the impulse happens naturally, you just need a mechanism to avoid not following through.

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