Posted by Kev on December 15, 1998 at 02:00
It has been a while since my first post on this topic, but here’s a belated part two. You might remember the first post was finding the right location to increase the probability of outdoor sightings. This post will focus on positioning yourself. This is important for several reasons:
1) Maximise sighting potential
2) Not damaging chances of sightings
3) Personal safety
It is no good positioning yourself where you have a narrow or restricted view of proceedings. People will pee anywhere and you need to be aware of this - the alley behind the pub is not always the place of choice. On point 2, and on the same topic, if the alley is the most likely place for a quick pee you don’t want to be standing down there. Women will not go and pee in an alley if they see some guy hanging out in the shadows. You need to be inconspicuous, part of the typical scenery for the given location. Finally, personal safety comes under two banners. Firstly you need to be aware of your surroundings, sightings usually take place at night, near popular venues but in dark and relatively secluded spots (use the alley again as an example). These locations attract types that you don’t want to come in contact with, for example, teenage gangs or muggers. Secondly, (as discussed as a result of some of J’s posts), you don’t want to be caught hiding somewhere that makes your intent obvious. Friends of the person you had hoped to spot peeing would take a very dim and possibly violent view of such behaviour, let alone the fact they may quietly go off and call the police.
So these are the main reasons positioning is crucial - how do you do it? You need to be removed from the scene you are observing, not part of it. If two women break away from a crowd for a quick pee, you cannot immediately break away from the same crowd and follow them. Outside a popular night venue the carpark often works best, in a car obviously. You could be waiting for someone to come out whatever. That way you can observe a wide area and make use of the fact you are removed to say walk from your car to the nightclub, “accidently” walking past any peeing people, without actually “following” them. Further from the safety aspect, if there are dangerous types about, you can observe and monitor them as well, and stay in the car if it doesn’t feel right. ( I posted one case previously where I did just that, it would have been a great sighting but it would have involved a gang in the dark so I passed up the opportunity) This also won’t inhibit people going as you initially observe from a distant and inconspicuous surrounding. Another way is to grab a drink or some fast food and sit/stand a little way away from the crowd, or perhaps hang back looking at your watch waiting for someone (this works especially well where people are lining up outside). Once again this allows you to stand back from the crowd/entrance but look inconspicuous. Note however that these latter two only work for relatively short time periods. You can’t be seen standing waiting for someone for several hours without raising eyebrows.
At large outdoor events there are really two choices to monitor. Either the port-a-loos, or a protected area (say bushes, parked trucks) behind the crowd where port-a-loos are a long way away. The portable toilets are where the long lines form, and you can often spot women breaking away from the ends of the lines looking for some cover, maybe trees or more than likely behind the row of portables themselves . The second case women walk out of the crowd, walk around looking for the non-existent nearby portables and just head for cover instead. Often the cover is obvious, and you need to think where would you go if you had to. What usually makes the cover obvious is that heaps of guys are peeing there, and so the women head in a similar vicinity. Clumps of bushes, carparks, behind trucks used for the event, buildings etc. In all cases the choices are many, and the need to be removed from the area becomes more crucial in order to observe a wide an area as possible. Once again you can’t be seated next to the portables and get up every time you see someone head for cover, or you cannot lurk in the bushes or behind the portables. You could however, stand at a concession stand a little way aways having a drink and then walking back to your “spot” passing any sights on the way. At really big events I prefer to keep on the move around the edge of the crowd, moving to various concession stands etc. I find that way often leads to a constant “stream” of sightings. Remember the bigger the event, the fewer the facilities, and the more alcohol involved will guarantee many sightings, you just need to keep your eyes open.
The final post I will do will be on getting as close to the action as possible and striking up conversations.
Email: kev123@hotmail.com