Hey Fred (not nearly as patient as Lixy....I'm just gonna start abbreviating now if that's ok ).

1) Welcome to Pixies!!

As far as meeting people.....I understand where you're coming from. I was shy, once upon a time....and then I started moving, a lot. Part of me is still shy, but I've figured out a couple of tricks for meeting people. Mostly though, it's just variants on what you've read here.

Do old things. Your old favorites. Just do them a lot more. The one thing you know is that (apart from us and other virutal folk)...the people you want to meet aint in your living room. So you gotta go where they are.

Do new things. All the stuff that you've never tried and always meant to? Here's your excuse. Yes, it's hard to get off your tail and go to that first meeting/class/climbing gym/whatever...but you were gonna be out there doing things for the sake of being out there doing things. May as well cross some stuff off your "things to do before I'm 40" list. Anything that gets you out there.

Smile at people. Make eyecontact. Don't chase them around the bookstore looking for an opportunity....but folks tend to respect quiet "I want to be on my own right now" signals. You need to try not to make them. Especially if you're shy....shy folks like us will give off loads of "warning...you're entering my personal space...back away slowly" signals that we don't mean to. So you've gotta look friendly.

Let people know you're new, and confused or puzzled, or just...well....new!! OK, so you're not new to the area....but that's why new activities/clubs are a good idea for you. Good folks like to help out the new folks (errr....I mean....look at this thread for starters). It's a kick ass filter for finding the people that make good friends in the long run.

I know none of it's easy. Meeting new people is tough. But the good news is you REALLY only need to meet one or two. Cause odds are, once you hook up with someone...they're going to introduce you to a whole new circle.

Anyway, welcome to Pixies again...and do let us know how the friend hunt goes for you. Among other obvious skills...we make damned fine cheer leaders around here.

G (wondering where she lost her pompoms this time)