Strange Encounters

Observation is an important if not vital part or security guards duties. As a guard one must be able to make judgment upon any individual based on their behavior. For this assignment I chose to do my observation at a local bar when I work as a security guard.

It’s a Saturday night close to 10 o’clock. Saturday nights have a potential of being very busy and full of surprises. I chose this day specifically to encounter as many scenarios and patterns in peoples behavior as possible. I was sitting at the bar, positioned in such way that I could see practically everyone.

In few minutes my first “victims” have arrived. My subjects were three girls that arrived together, and two guys that were sitting at the bar before me. The girls sat at the lounge without ordering any drinks. I was expecting at least one of them to go up to the bar to order a drink. I noticed them scoping the place, and checking people out. Few minutes later, one of the girls walked to the bar and ordered three beers. I noticed that she specifically chose to order the drink in such was that she would be noticed by the two guys sitting by the bar. It worked. As the bartender pulled the beers from the cooler, a conversation arose between her and the two guys. She was being very sweet and somewhat flirtatious, as she pointed at two of her friends sitting at the lounge. As she got her beers she walked back to her friends.

The two guys seemed interested, and it didn’t take more than few minutes for them to get up, and go up to those three girls, and introduce themselves. They sat next to the girls and began talking. After few minutes of conversations and a cigarette break, I noticed that the two guys are now sitting closer to the girl. Taking advantage of the fact that is was loud, they would come closer to the girls and say things to their ear. I was beginning to see which girls were being targeted as potential “hookups”.

A man just walked in to the bar, and right away caught my attention. It looked like he already had a few drinks before, so I decided to watch him and observe his behavior. He started just like anyone else in the bar; scoping the place, and ordering his first drink. As he drank his beer, he looks at the band that was playing that night in great admiration. But his attention quickly changed to a lone woman that was sitting few seats away. Unfortunately for her, the seat next to her was empty, so this man walked up to her and as he tried to introduce himself, sat right next to her. By the woman’s reaction, it was easy to tell that she was not happy with her new company. Just to avoid contact and conversation with that man, she would keep her eyes on the band and pretend that she didn’t hear half of what he was saying. He was quite persistent, but fortunately for her, one of the guards noticed his behavior and asked him to leave.

After about two hours, it was clear even to an untrained eye, that most were there to meet new people, even though not every encounter was successful, that was the chance they had to take.

The band is taking a break after playing non-stop for over an hour, and so did some of the guests. The atmosphere at the bar quickly changed, from some what passive to very active. People started interacting with each other. Most conversations were not very creative. They would start with a question, followed by an introduction. When I first started my observation, people were still very hesitant about talking to each other. However after few drinks, their demeanor has changed significantly. I had to stay and observe a little longer.

I turned my attention back at the two guys and the three girls. Things seemed to be going fairly well between them; however one of the girls was almost completely ignored by her friends and the boys. The drinks on their table were multiplying by a minute, and the guys had to open a tab. It didn’t take long for the girl that was left alone to get up and move to the bar seeking attention. As she proceeded with her order, a guy that happened to be having a drink next to her, offered to buy her that round. She took the offer and ended up spending the rest of the night in a company of a man who gave her his undivided attention.

The ratio of girls over guys was about three to one. And girls took a full advantage of that. I didn’t see a single girl buying more than one drink for herself from the moment she arrived until the end. The rest was bought by the admirers. It began to look like a competition. At one point it was a timing game. If a guy didn’t make a move quick enough, another would. I was observing the changes in people’s behavior, and found it very amusing. Ironically I was familiar with many scenarios from my own experience.

It has been three hours from the time of my arrival, and things have changed quite a bit. No longer you could see an individual, but a crowd that seemed so alike and careless about anything, that everyone started to get along, dance, joke and drink some more. I was curious to see if any of the encounters had a potential for a second date; however as I discovered later towards the end, most were just being opportunistic, and taking advantage of the company whether it was a male or a female.

Barker talks about culture and linguistics in chapter three, which very well applies to the given social scenario. The productivity of power and the discourses of gender caught my eye and helped me during my observation. Of course the lacks of discourse in most conversations were the main cause of failed connections; however the attempt of attention and of a personal gain was still present. “According to Freud, the libido or sexual drive does not have any pre-given fixed aim or object. Rather, through fantasy, any object, which includes persons or parts of bodies, can be target of desire”, (Barker, Chapter 3 P.97).


Five rounds of tequila-$ 60.00, two rounds of Red bull vodka- $ 24.00, having a date to share some good times with, without worrying about the consequences- Priceless!! For everything else there is MasterCard.