The art of making friends (in RL)

Hello my fellow dopers,its been a while since I have last posted on the SDMB but I came up with a question that could use some assistance.

How does one go out and make new friends?

Is there a normal method? Or does one just wonder around till you bump into somone of like interests?

Any information would be usefull, as the sock puppets are starting to bore me.
-x

Doubt if I’m the most qualified person to answer this but I figured I would at least give it a bump. (I have lots of friendly acquaintances, one or two people I would call friends, one of which is my SO.) My wishy-washy advice: Talk to people that you deal with every day, just some small talk, get used to socializing. Hopefully through this you will be able to find someone who shares your interests and go from there. Good luck!

Off to make sock puppets!

The best friends are made by doing something together. Join a book club, take a class, volunteer at Habitat for Humanity, join a cycling club etc. You want to create a situation where you see the same strangers over and over again in a friendly setting. Make small talk, be pleasant, and over the course of a few weeks or months you’ll gradually develop a circle of new acquaintances.

Pick the people you get along with the best and see if they’re interested in extending the relationship to something more social: “Hey, you wanna go get a beer after we’re done here?” “Would you and your wife like to come over for dinner sometime?” Voila, friends!

Just don’t be creepy or needy about it. The more casual your attitude, the more likely that you will actually meet someone you like to hang out with.

I agree with Pochacco (boy, does that name bring me back to seventh grade!). I pretty shy and reserved among people I don’t know, unless I’m in the right setting.

Two recent examples: I just went through orientation for a new job*. There were about thirty other people I spent sixteen hours total with, and I spent about four minutes total socializing with them. Just not a particularly comfortable setting, and I likely had little or nothing in common with most of them (they were mostly nurses and I’m a secretary).
However, a few months ago, when I was taking an Improvisational Theater class at school, man, you couldn’t shut me up. Talking to everyone, joking, whatever. Because I knew that everyone around me was going to have something major in common with me, and I know from experience theater types seem to have a similar sense of humor, so I felt very comfortable around them.

Try to get yourself in a place/setting that you’re comfortable in, preferably one that will match up with your own interests, and it’ll be hard not to make friends.

*-A job that will finally let me say, “I’m posting this from work!”