I am walking to the bank and I decide -- just decide, that's it, no "maybe" or anything like that -- that I will approach someone for LMEC during this trip.
After the ATM I'm returning to work and I notice a guy smoking outside. I approach him.
I use the typical "experiment" intro. He agrees to participate. Thinking about my conversation with Jessica (who asked if she could blink) I tell him (half seriously, half jokingly) that he can blink and breathe.
He asks if he can smoke. I tell him he can.
We start. His head is kind of tilted back, like his chin is lifted. I feel like this creates an interesting posture from which to make eye contact. I recall Neil doing this. It seems to me to be more of a "studying" posture than a "connecting" posture. I feel like it puts distance between us. I notice that he's taller than me. Several times I remark to myself mentally that his eyes are brown. A few seconds in he takes a drag from his cigarette and blows it out of the right side of his mouth. It's kind of funny and we both smile a bit at this. He doesn't take another drag until right before the end of our session. I think "try to make myself as open to connection as I can" while we're making eye contact.
The timer beeps and I hand him a card. I ask if I can use his first name and picture on the blog.
"Uhhhhhhhhhhh... I don't have a picture of myself with me," he says.
I tell him I have a camera and pull it out of my pocket. "OK," he consents. (It almost seems to me like he's giving in.)
His name is Phillip. He tells me that he just shaved for the first time in years. He doesn't even recognize himself.
"This is what you look like," I tell him as I show him the picture.
We chat a little. He's an artist -- a painter -- who just moved to Portland for "his girl." He and I both like Portland a lot. I ask him if he has any questions before I go and he asks if this is for a blog, to which I say it is, and he asks if I will write down the URL, to which I say that it's on the back of the card.
Phillip is interesting to me because he's friendly and a willing participant, yet also seems to have a "whatever" attitude about this.
Thanks, Phillip, and welcome to Portland!