Hi all,

I had my first session today as a born again hobbyist (only dabbled a couple of times over a decade ago), and it went very smoothly thanks to all of the wonderful advice on this board and TER in general.  Tried to follow all of the rules/suggestions and only had two little hiccups (listing this as it may help other newbies):
1)  Read through the help center at TER, posts, etc.
2)  Looked through the reviews
3)  Signed up for P411 and contacted the lady through there.  Made verification a cinch.
4)  Looked for a newbie friendly lady who doesn't require additional screening beyond P411 (so didn't have to provide employment information except to P411)
5)  Set up a date and time with a well-reviewed visiting lady
6)  Groomed, cleaned, and nails cut, breath mints, etc.
7)  Took only essential IDs (if needed), left wallet, other things in car/home.
8)  Walked into the hotel confidently, said hello to staff when greeted, tried not to look suspicious.  
9)  Showed up with envelope, placed on table, and then relaxed with the help of a wonderful lady.  
10)  Followed her lead, and let her know what I was comfortable with or interested in.  She treated me wonderfully.  

Only two hiccups:
1)  Was 5 minutes late to the hotel and 10 min late to the room.  Missed the exit and ran into some traffic.  Texted the assistant to let her know, and both the assistant and lady were fine and the lady joked about being late often herself.  
2)  Felt like part of that brokerage commercial where the guy confidently places a trade while walking slowly with a soldier, firefighter, olympian, etc. but gets interrupted with a phone call and it rattles him.  I had everything going smoothly except for running a little late, parked the car, and was ready to get out of the car, walk across the parking lot in command , and enter with an air of confidence.  Well, I open my car door and the keys in my pocket triggered the emergency alarm, and it would not stop for anything.  Then the trunk pops open.  I'm frantically pressing my keys, closing the trunk, all while the horn and lights are going off, and thinking I must look like an idiot (and hoping the lady can't see this from her room).  Fortunately, was parked at the end of the parking lot and doubt anyone inside noticed.  Sigh.  Regained composure and then strolled into the building to get back to the reason I was there.    

Just wanted to share and also thank everyone who takes time to help those of us entering the hobby

Hiccup #2 has me ROFLMAO now tell us about the girl. Welcome to the hobby

One never knows what Mr. Murphy will have in store for us.  Might want to get your car checked out, might have some electrical problems.

We all have things that don't always work out as expected....part of the game.

Swim

END OF MESSAGE

No worries--haven't forgotten one of the most important lessons learned here .  I submitted it earlier today (not up yet though)

Good for you bro! You clearly are one of our prized pupils. I dont see a chink (sorry GaG, lol) in your armor at this point. You are doing everything well.

One thing I would stress is that I always try to get to my session way early, say 30 minute or so. This game is about stress reduction and relaxing prior to always helped me. If you plan on that, if you miss that exit next time, you'll still have time to spare. Not all guys have that extra time but if you do, take advantage of it.

If you do get there early, dont hang out in the lobby or your car in the hotel's parking lot. Go to some place 5 mins away like a diner, different hotel lobby, coffee shop, etc and wait there. No need attracting attention to yourself. Some people will think this is overkill but it's just another layer of protection that I think is warranted, if only for your peace of mind.

Welcome to the club!

on YouTube?  

That would have been funny as hell!

Hiccups aside... glad you had a good time.

The Forest Waits