Well I guess it's time to finally make this log
November 1st, 2011
I took a quick trip to the PNC Bank branch on Main Street in Newark, then over to Margarita's to join the family for pizza. And just as I suspected, nobody cared. I don't have the SERPA Quick Disconnect for the van yet so I just put the handgun on a piece of white paper on the passenger seat.
I've been involved with pro-2A advocacy for several years and have never really cared what people thought of me as long as those opinions didn't negatively affect the things I support (ie I'm a function over form dresser, but know when to dress up). I knew that my appearance would reflect on OC as a whole and could dissuade someone from making an unnecessary MWAG call if they thought I was "ok" so I did put on some better cargo pants and a polo. I wasn't afraid of confronting the "norm" by carrying, however, so I don't think that contributed to my "neon sign" feeling. I think it was more just needing to confirm for myself in the real-world that people really don't usually notice or care that you're carrying. I've also been working on having a hightened sense of situational awareness so that may have contributed to the "everyone's looking at me" feeling. The "neon sign" was pretty much gone before my pizza was, but I think I'll always feel a bit different than before simply because of that awareness.
Oh, and one other thing - a loaded, chunky, heavy handgun is, well, HEAVY! My small size and lack of muscles do tend to make things seem heavier to me than other guys, but I was still surprised at just how heavy the thing feels after a couple hours. And I wasn't even carrying a spare mag today (plan too in the future). Oh well, maybe I'll just build some dang muscles and stop whining I'll also look into getting a new belt. The one I was using today is the thickest leather belt I have, and it's barely over 1" wide by ~1/8" thick.
November 1st, 2011
I took a quick trip to the PNC Bank branch on Main Street in Newark, then over to Margarita's to join the family for pizza. And just as I suspected, nobody cared. I don't have the SERPA Quick Disconnect for the van yet so I just put the handgun on a piece of white paper on the passenger seat.
I've been involved with pro-2A advocacy for several years and have never really cared what people thought of me as long as those opinions didn't negatively affect the things I support (ie I'm a function over form dresser, but know when to dress up). I knew that my appearance would reflect on OC as a whole and could dissuade someone from making an unnecessary MWAG call if they thought I was "ok" so I did put on some better cargo pants and a polo. I wasn't afraid of confronting the "norm" by carrying, however, so I don't think that contributed to my "neon sign" feeling. I think it was more just needing to confirm for myself in the real-world that people really don't usually notice or care that you're carrying. I've also been working on having a hightened sense of situational awareness so that may have contributed to the "everyone's looking at me" feeling. The "neon sign" was pretty much gone before my pizza was, but I think I'll always feel a bit different than before simply because of that awareness.
Oh, and one other thing - a loaded, chunky, heavy handgun is, well, HEAVY! My small size and lack of muscles do tend to make things seem heavier to me than other guys, but I was still surprised at just how heavy the thing feels after a couple hours. And I wasn't even carrying a spare mag today (plan too in the future). Oh well, maybe I'll just build some dang muscles and stop whining I'll also look into getting a new belt. The one I was using today is the thickest leather belt I have, and it's barely over 1" wide by ~1/8" thick.
"Be Prepared"