Meeting People

[Sean0775]

First post, so this is going to be a bit of a book.

 

I'll start with a little background info on myself. I'm a 24 year old man living in Western Illinois. I'm currently making a respectable living as a retail manager and plan to stay in that line of work for a while (Note: I'm on 3rd shift at the moment). The town I live in is in the middle of a nasty economic downturn and there is very little to do here, but I can't bring myself to transfer stores as I like 95% of the people I work with. So what's my problem? I cannot meet people for the life of me.

 

My last relationship lasted around 4 months. It was my first experience dating a single mother, but we had differences of opinion on how to properly raise children, plus I was putting in 60 hours a week during the last month of the relationship. The sad part is, that was the longest relationship I've ever had. Being a salaried supervisor at work, I am not allowed to date/hang out with any hourly associate. It's a very good way to get fired, and nothing is worth the risk of losing my job (I was unemployed for 8 months after college, never again).

 

Part of my problem may lie in my interests. Unlike a lot of my age group, I am totally done with the bar scene, in fact I was done before I started. That goes for partying in general, as I got most of it out of my system in college. That eliminates a large chunk of the dating pool in the area. I've tried online dating, and while my longest relationship came from it, I don't think it really works that well. I'm not religious in the least, so no meeting people through church. I'm a musician, but not the type of musician that is seen as "cool" by the majority of people as I feel musicianship > showmanship (ie, standing and playing, no missed notes). To top that all off, I'm a gamer (video games, card games, tabletop, etc).

 

Now that that's out of the way, I do have a couple options popping up that are somewhat worth mentioning.

 

1) For months now two of my female co-workers have wanted to make me their "Project". Basically, they want to go through my closet, throw out all the bad stuff (I haven't updated my wardrobe in years), and have me buy new clothes that are actually stylish. My ex got me dressing a little more "Now", but after the breakup I have regressed since I didn't feel what she liked really fit my personality. Part 2 of this is said co-workers and I going bar hopping, though they both know my feelings on that. Note: They're both salaried, so I would not get fired for taking them up on it.

 

2) A guy I just hired wants to set me up with a female friend of his. The fact that she's 19 (5 years younger) has me a little apprehensive in the first place, but I think the real nail in the coffin is that I wouldn't be able to hang out with her if anyone I supervise is also there. I suppose meeting her wouldn't hurt, but I really don't see it going anywhere due to the circumstances (nothing is worse the risk of losing my job).

 

So that's about it. I'm mostly just unsure of where to go from here, and I do recognize that the reason is just because I am who I am. A few years back this probably would have been one of those "Nice Guy" rants, but thankfully I outgrew that lame excuse and mindset. In short; I am not afraid to admit that I am, by many standards, uninteresting and lame. I am a creature of habit and tend to follow the same routine from week to week, which is partially a side affect of having set days off due to working 3rd shift.

 

I'll stop rambling at this point and hope for a little feedback, thanks in advance.