I’ve got to be honest, these stories are hard to read. Not because they’re not well-written, but because the basic premise is just so painful. I’m pretty outgoing and I wouldn’t go to a bar by myself unless I had absolutely nothing better to do. Doing it when you’re shy and not socially confident is a recipe for misery.
If you want to see why people go to these places, get a group of friends together on a night when you’re in the mood to have enough drinks to get out of your head for a little while. Strike up conversations with other people only as they occur naturally, don’t try to force it. You still may not have the time of your life, but you’ll get a much better feel for the appeal than sitting alone at the bar eyeballing your fellow patrons.
Or if you must do that— jeez, try to inject a little humor into these things. I’m a bit of a shrinking violet in real life and these aren’t that far off from the sort of things I’d write after enduring an uncomfortable social situation, but I’d at least try to make them funny. If it’s painfully awkward, emphasize that. If someone’s boring you, talk about that. At least then you’d get some entertainment value out of it, for yourself and your SDMB audience. These reports read like the listless updates of the saddest alien stuck on the shittiest assignment on the most distant planet in the universe.
This is an exercise in meeting new people and making introductions; that part of a relationship where people go from being complete strangers to becoming acquaintances/friends. I did not invite friends because I thought that would make it less likely for me to get to know other people. I could quite well be wrong.
As stated earlier, meetup for my city is unsatisfactory.
If you’re at bars/clubs on your own, you’ll always give off the stench of someone trying to pick up someone for a romantic encounter - regardless if you talk to men or women while you’re there. Going with a friend, or multiple friends, (mostly) removes that aura and shows that you’re the type of person that other people like. Them being there with you acts as a social reference to others.
There are other options rather than a meetup. I hope you’re playing up the robotic and awkward nature of it all for laughs because it’s kind of uncomfortable. Are you enjoying these excursions you’ve been making because they’re painful to read?
There have to be activities that you do enjoy that you could get involved in which would be better for meeting people you could relate with.
I sometimes play it up, as you can see from my use of military time. I do not actually use military time in day to day communication.
I am partly enjoying them and partly not. They are often a zone of discomfort but, overall, I enjoyed myself. Going into your zone of discomfort can be good.
There are a few activities I can think of but not many. I’ve always been a bookworm; When I was in the second grade, I stole a dictionary from school.