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^^ Listen to /u/prpna; he's a very wise man.

Gonna answer this and share my experiences without using a throwaway -- booyah!

(Source: nearly a decade of talking to/flirting with/hooking up with random girls in clubs and bars, so I can definitely say that culture difference hardly plays a part here.)

When I'm in a bar or at a club, I almost always use what PUAs call a "direct opener" -- basically, starting a conversation by expressing your interest in her.

Why? Because in these types of places, there's a lot of potential distractions going on (loud music, alcohol, chatty/dancing friends, and the biggest distraction of all: other men) so you need to come in strong and differentiate yourself from every other dude who's approached her.

I always say something along the lines of "I saw you and I thought you were cute, so I had to come over and say hi."

And then I reach out for a handshake and introduce myself. And the conversation begins.

There are very few circumstances in which you would want to ask for her number right away -- dude, you don't even know her, what the hell would you want her number for? You have no idea if the two of you would have anything to talk about or even get along, that's why it comes off as creepy.

Anyway, that opener buys me anywhere from 2-5 minutes worth of interaction at a busy club. There will be times when a girl just plainly isn't interested and will ignore you; but it works surprisingly well in most circumstances (around the same if not better than the Naked Man's 2 out of 3 times! </half kidding>).

While I've used that opener in clubs mostly, I've also had success using it in sit-down "inuman" places as well as coffee shops like Starbucks. It's actually better outside of club situations because in addition to the fact that nobody approaches strangers in these places, it's also a very strong and bold way to start a conversation. And I've heard that girls dig confidence ;)

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NOW THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART: One reason I think it's worked well for me these past few years is this: my mentality when approaching isn't to get anything from them.

In all honesty, if the conversation ends right then and there (and many times, it has) I'll be completely fine with it. I don't even mind getting blown off and rejected. In my head, my only purpose for opening with this line is to give them a sincere compliment: if all I can do is to make her day/night a little better and that's it, then so be it.

(And let's face it; whose day wouldn't be made up if a random stranger came up to you and told you that you're attractive and yet not want anything at all from you?

One time, I was hanging out in Katipunan with my friends and noticed this super cute girl who was drinking with her friend. I wanted to approach, but later noticed that she started crying and wouldn't stop -- presumably coming off a breakup or something. Before I left, I walked up to her and told her that I thought she was cute, and that she was obviously having a very bad day and I thought that a compliment from a complete stranger would at least help brighten up her night. If you've ever seen a girl genuinely smile after a solid round of crying.. It's a beautiful thing. Didn't even bother asking for her number but no approach has ever made me feel like a champ more than that one did. )

Which is pretty much what /u/prpna said, but a lot more eloquently and succinctly than I ever could. I agree 200% with his "she made your day; now try and make hers" statement. Seek to give value, not leech it away from people -- it truly does make the difference between creepy and confident.

What you do next is totally up to you, but in general you definitely want to do at least a few minutes of small talk before you close for the number (or you could go and take the interaction as far as you can for the night before you close it) -- that way, she's a little bit more comfortable with you and you actually have something to text her about when you do text her -- but this is a completely different topic in of itself though.

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There's also the indirect opener in which you start a conversation without revealing your interest (sometimes even going out of your way to downplay it). Somewhere in the replies to this post, someone mentioned "The Game" which popularized the opinion opener (i.e. "Hey, I need a female opinion on something: who lies more, men or women?" etc.).

If I have to go indirect, personally I'm a fan of using situational openers. Basically, you use the situation around you to start a conversation with them. Let's say I'm in a club and I'm buying a drink -- if a girl is waiting along with me (btw one of the best times to time to start a conversation with a girl is when she's at the bar buying a drink) a lot of times I just look at them and say "Hi, how you doing?" or if they're holding a drink already, just reach out with my bottle and say "Cheers" then start some casual small talk.

Not such a fan of this approach especially if I'm really interested in the girl, because it takes a lot more conversation (and you have to be super interesting and/or super good looking) before she'll actually be interested enough to give you her number. Plus I'm extremely lazy to bother going through a whole bunch of this throughout the night. Also, getting the number doesn't always mean that she won't flake on you when you text her -- but it is a way to start an interaction with less risk.

But there are times when the situational opener is actually much more useful than the direct one. For example, if you're at a place where there's a lot of social accountability like a school party or whatever (friends, and friends of friends, where getting hit on by a complete stranger with a very strong come on may make you look a little too weird). Or "day game" situations like at the mall or at a bookstore or at a coffee shop where you might feel too vulnerable/exposed to use the direct opener (sidenote: it's not really a problem -- people are paying more attention to themselves and don't really give a fuck about you, so remember to tell yourself to get over yourself; you are not a unique snowflake).

Actually, when I was starting out with "the game" I once gave myself a mission to ask 5 strangers (female, of course) for recommendations on stores to buy good "guy clothes" from. It's a great exercise, IMO -- straight out of the Stylelife Challenge (now known as "Rules of the Game") -- and actually ended up having a 10 minute conversation with a girl on the elevator about whatever (too bad I was too chickenshit to get her number, but I've learned from my mistakes since then).

Anyway, complete wall of text already so I'm going to end this here, but hope that actually helps you out.

I'm a white guy who learned Tagalog fluently in about 6 months of pretty intense study for a mission, but it is definitely doable! Just make sure that you are speaking the language and not just reading it or listening to it. You focus so much more on correct grammar when speaking it.

My language training used this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Conversational-Tagalog-A-Functional-Situational-Approach/dp/0824809440
As well as a few custom books that were developed for missionaries and that was more than enough to help with basic Tagalog!

Good luck! Tagalog is such a fun language and is definitely worth the effort to learn it!

Not Filipino but I've been learning Tagalog via my girlfriend and her friends whilst also various other sources for self-study recently so might have some useful advice.

The Unilang site was good as a quick crash course. I've made an Anki course of the words found there if you are interested titled "Tagalog for Beginners" and am working on a more robust and detailed deck (though that is far from complete).

The Joi Barros book "Tagalog for Beginners" is probably the best traditional book I've found but since there is a huge amount of code-switching in modern Tagalog/Filipino there is always the issue that it teaches pure Tagalog which might not sound the most natural or even be necessary.

In my experience, what I've noticed is that verbs, pronouns, identifiers and prepositions are the most important to learn initially as a lot of English nouns can be used without any issue.

I've been using https://www.amazon.com/Tagalog-Beginners-Introduction-Filipino-Philippines/dp/0804841268/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523083003&sr=8-1&keywords=tagalog+beginners & it does have some mixed reviews since it doesn't always explain grammar as well,

but to be honest you can't expect to get everything perfect in a study book these days,so I ordered Essential Tagalog Grammar to supplement it (still waiting for it to arrive so can't comment quite yet) along with a dictionary,etc but i think it'd be a decent starting point? at 14$ (it has a 7hr audio cd)

There's also Complete Filipino (Tagalog): A Teach Yourself Guide from the teach yourself series but I don't own it/don't plan on buying it (it's 48$, and I own other teach yourself books,the structure is the same,not sure if i'd want that for filipino)

Hope this sort of helped & if anyone can add to this,i'd much appreciate it aswell

yes, yes. you can check pse.com.ph for more info - and or the bank you frequently use. :)

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for more information on basic stocks - read intelligent investor by benjamin graham.

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p.s. don't invest in things you don't know and or don't understand. and be doubtful of financial advisors. research it as if you're researching how not to get pregnant, if you're a virgin, and about to have sex (meaning take it seriously) :)

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https://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Investing-Essentials/dp/0060555661

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you can get a copy in national book store or any major book store in ph :)

Not intending to change your view here. Just wanted to comment on the following:

>The fact that we are judged if we don't follow God denotes that humans weren't really bestowed with freedom; our fates were already determined: follow Him or face consequences.

You might be interested in Bart Ehrman's How Jesus Became God. In one chapter of the book Erhman said that, historically, religion was never about policing people's morals in order for them to gain access to an afterlife (e.g. "be saved or be damned"). The premise of an eternal life was only an innovation that gained ground during the early years of Christianity, something which was discussed in great detail in that book.

(That, among others, is why the book was titled "How Jesus Became God"...it did not address the question of whether Jesus is god or not, but discusses how that came to be.)

Hello there,
I spent some time in the Philippines and ended up learning how to speak Tagalog. I used a Tagalog-English dictionary and these books helped out a lot too.
http://www.amazon.com/Ramos-Conversational-Tagalog-Teresita-V/dp/0824809440
-and-
http://www.amazon.com/Intermediate-Tagalog-Developing-Cultural-Awareness/dp/0824807766/ref=pd_sim_b_6
-This is the dictionary I used-
http://www.amazon.com/Tagalog-English-English-Tagalog-Standard-Dictionary-Pilipino-Inggles/dp/0781809606/ref=pd_sim_b_6

Good luck sa pagaaral mo ng tagalog! :)

> Amazon reviews are way way better than Lazada

Then there's this. But I definitely agree that the should be more filters.

I highly recommend these books:

• The Intelligent Investor - I owe everything to this book.
  
• Stocks for the Long Run - Incredibly well researched book on global markets.
  
  Madali lang kumita sa stocks. Madali din malugi :). Ginawa ko yung /r/phinvest a few years ago, pero hindi ko na halos nabibisita. May mga pinost ako doon na intro stuff sa investing at stocks.

I once liked a girl but I was shy. After months of seeing her on the hallways, at the benches, or anywhere around school, I finally had the courage to ask her out. She agreed, I brought her to a romantic place for dinner, she was so easy to talk with I did not notice it was already getting late at night.

After dinner, I asked if I could walk her home. She was hesitant at first, but I kept on it with a mixture of "pa-cute" and insistence until finally she relented. Along the way, we passed by a group of young guys on the street leading up to their house, one guy noticed us and said "Pare, siyoto mo yun ah". She stopped on her tracks, rushed to the guy and said "hi babe, buti na lang nandito ka na, yung gagong yan oh sinabi ko ng lubayan ako, sunod pa rin ng sunod sa akin".

Tang-ina pare, naiwan ko kasi yung bag ko, kung hindi nailabas ko sana yung binili ko sa [Amazon] (https://www.amazon.com/American-Metalcraft-IC80-8-1-Pick/dp/B00125NJ64) at sinaksak ko sila ng icepick!

Don't worry about the N# levels, they really don't indicate your skill at all. Many people have studied for those tests specifically and had no skill in Japanese other than those tests, and still managed to pass N5. It doesn't test you for anything other than reading.

For learning hiragana and katakana, you can do that over the weekend and the kanji you can learn in two or three months. Personally I'm doing 50 a day. You should look in to a tool called Anki, and some books. Specifically, Teach Yourself Complete Japanese, Colloquial Japanese and GENKI I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese. Send me a PM and I'll see what I can do for sending you some E-book versions of those books.

For Kanji, check out Heisig's Remembering the Kanji. There's a shared deck for it on Anki. I changed the particular deck available on Anki so the kanji is on the front, and the meaning and the story are on the back. It doesn't teach you the meanings of the kanji, which I believe is a good thing; you should learn the readings of the kanji from the context in certain words. I'm currently learning 50 new kanji a day with Anki + doing my reviews.

Hi.

Have you read Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal?

This is the most important Filipino book ever. :)

There is a book about this (disclaimer: haven't read past the intro) : Pacific Rims: Beermen Ballin' in Flip-Flops and the Philippines' Unlikely Love Affair with Basketball by Rafe Bartholomew
https://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Rims-Flip-Flops-Philippines-Unlikely/dp/0451233220

Dell Inspiron 15 7559, [Acer Aspire V15] (http://www.amazon.com/Acer-VN7-592G-71ZL-15-6-inch-Notebook-Windows/dp/B015XBKY6U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445722598&sr=8-1&keywords=vn7-592g) or [Lenovo Y700] (http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y700-series/y700-15-inch/)

Go for i7, maybe you will need it for multi-tasking habang nag cocode ka. para sakin kasi hirap mag alt tab at mag games pag i5 laptops lang e. nabibitin ako lalo na pag Chrome gamit ko. :)

If di ka naman multi tasker at heavy gamer, pwede na ung i5 sayo.. pili ka na lang ng laptop na at least GT 960m (750 TI ata equivalent nito sa desktop)

Edit: MSI GE70 pa pala, parang 40-50k+ something lang yung price nito nung nakita ko sa Megamall dati.

If you want to read more about the subject, I'd suggest reading Pacific Rims by Rafe Bartholomew

It's a good read that explores how Philippine culture and basketball tie together.

> I just watched The Red Pill and honestly

Interesting. Will try to watch it.

Also stumbled on this book on the link you gave: https://www.amazon.com/Self-Made-Man-Womans-Year-Disguised/dp/0143038702

Its about a woman who disguised herself as a man and was surprised on when she found out that men also have problems. Will queue this up on my reading list.

This can help: https://www.amazon.com/Prentice-Hall-Grammar-Composition-Forlini/dp/0137118708

Some books I recommend! Best to immerse yourself in as much accounts to get a better picture of things

• The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos (Ateneo Press link)
  
• Marcos Martial Law: Never Again
  
• Tibak Rising
  
• Subversive Lives: A Family Memoir of the Marcos Years
  
• Down from the Hill: Ateneo de Manila in the First Ten Years Under Martial Law
  
• Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage -- cant find online link but I got this in NBS

Buy one from the US and use a ship forwarding service like LBC to get it here. My suggestion is the Dell Inspiron 7557. Has a 960M and a 6th gen i5 processor.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i7559-763BLK-Full-HD-GeForce/dp/B015PYYDMQ

Hello, does anyone know where I can buy a Genki I textbook?

I tried asking at fullybooked and apparently it costs 10k for a special order. The one at national bookstore simply stated that they don't have one (which I doubt, since she was busy chatting with her worker).

There's apparently a Kindle Edition for $3

https://www.amazon.com/Albanese-Candy-Assorted-Flavors-Gluten/product-reviews/B00DE4GWWY

classic

Hail Santa!

>fortunately

FTFY. Reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/American-Metalcraft-IC80-8-1-Pick/dp/B00125NJ64 bili ka na, pagdating dito masasaksak mo na

There are some classes taught at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) but I only spent 2 months there. 95% of language learning is done by immersion in the country and self study. I had this book: http://www.amazon.com/Intermediate-Tagalog-Developing-Cultural-Awareness/dp/0824807766 I think it is still the one they issue.

Home cooked meal and this DnD book.

How about this edition from Penguin Classics https://www.amazon.com/Filibusterismo-Penguin-Classics-Jose-Rizal/dp/0143106392