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Meeting people in Texas
Godfather
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So a short backstory:
I've grown up in Texas all of my life (around the Spring district in Harris County), and went through the standard motions of growing up from elementary through high school. I never had too many friends during those years, and I think it was because of my environment and my hobbies growing up (gamer + Texas = zilch). Regardless, I still managed to make a few acquaintances along the way, so I had at least a buddy or two upon graduation. About six months after graduation I decided to study animation in Toronto starting last fall of '08, which was actually the best decision of my life. The friendly atmosphere, interesting city and the school itself really made it easy to meet people, ranging from classmates to complete strangers on the subways/streetcars/whatever. So I spent about a good ten-ish months up there just living it up in between my studies and hanging out with the different pals i've made across the city.
Unfortunately, I had to return back home, and on May 4th I took a plane back home to Houston.
Normally this wouldn't be a real problem, as there are many things I like about Texas, but an obvious side effect of going to school in Toronto means that everything I know is up there, ranging from friends to stuff to do. Basically what few connections i've had in the past down south have practically been severed. There are only two people I know from high school that live around here, but one is spending the summer taking courses at A&M and the other is notorious for dogging people. The former I can deal with, but getting dogged is one of the most frustrating things you can do to a friend, and quite honestly i'm not having any of that shit.
Since I got home I managed to hunt, land and train for a job, and last Sunday was my first day on the job as a server at a casual restaurant, meaning i've been working for a good six days now. So far I only work long, single shift days, which are usually in the mornings from 10:30 to around 5. The problem I have with this job is that the managers don't really give you any time to socialize whatsoever, even if things are slow. Kind of blows, but hopefully i'll be able to work something out as time goes by.
My problem is that I sort of feel locked down here.
Since i'm not in a city environment anymore, it means that i've sort of become a slave to my daily routine; I get up, go to work, come home, sleep, repeat. If I want to make any sort of friends, i'm pretty much stuck with work and home. If this was any other state i'm sure it still wouldn't be tough to meet some people, but Texas has a whole lot of nothing in between areas, and it's absolutely vital to have a car to get around places. I can't just hop on a subway and explore an area like I used to; having a vehicle means I have to worry about gas prices, and how to really stretch a full tank throughout a week's use.
However, that's not even the real issue here; people around this area just don't like taking chances, and are really comfortable with sticking to their routines. Getting something together, even if it's just for an hour or two, seems like pulling teeth most of the time. Back north I could start a conversation with a complete stranger, either on the TTC or just walking down the street, and with very little effort i'd be hanging out with that person ten minutes later doing whatever. I really liked that pick-up-and-play aspect of Toronto, and it's a damn shame that it's not down here in Texas. You'd think that it would be a lot easier to meet people down here given that there's not much to do, but there you have it.
What can I do to get together a crew of friends down here? I've been thinking about getting a different serving job because the current one pays peanuts right now, but given this economy i'm not sure if I have a lot of options, so I might be stuck for awhile. I'll be starting to get into the groove of getting in shape starting this Monday at this new fitness area close to my house, but usually when people go to a gym they tend to focus on themselves, and i'll probably be doing the same thing once I get there. Nothing worse than getting harassed by a complete stranger when you're sweating it up.
I'm open to trying new things, because the last thing I want is what happened in between my senior year of high school and first year of college, where I took some time off to build some funds for school. Since everybody else left for college during that time, and given the fact that everyone at the restaurant I worked at was either in their mid 30's or a hard core drug head, I pretty much fell into a routine of work/home/sleep for an entire year, and it was the hardest time to deal with. I never want to go through that crap again, so i'm trying to go all out to avoid reverting to this.
TL;DR: Came home from Canada, making friends in Texas harder than I thought, and I don't want to become reliant solely on work to make them. What can I do?
I've grown up in Texas all of my life (around the Spring district in Harris County), and went through the standard motions of growing up from elementary through high school. I never had too many friends during those years, and I think it was because of my environment and my hobbies growing up (gamer + Texas = zilch). Regardless, I still managed to make a few acquaintances along the way, so I had at least a buddy or two upon graduation. About six months after graduation I decided to study animation in Toronto starting last fall of '08, which was actually the best decision of my life. The friendly atmosphere, interesting city and the school itself really made it easy to meet people, ranging from classmates to complete strangers on the subways/streetcars/whatever. So I spent about a good ten-ish months up there just living it up in between my studies and hanging out with the different pals i've made across the city.
Unfortunately, I had to return back home, and on May 4th I took a plane back home to Houston.
Normally this wouldn't be a real problem, as there are many things I like about Texas, but an obvious side effect of going to school in Toronto means that everything I know is up there, ranging from friends to stuff to do. Basically what few connections i've had in the past down south have practically been severed. There are only two people I know from high school that live around here, but one is spending the summer taking courses at A&M and the other is notorious for dogging people. The former I can deal with, but getting dogged is one of the most frustrating things you can do to a friend, and quite honestly i'm not having any of that shit.
Since I got home I managed to hunt, land and train for a job, and last Sunday was my first day on the job as a server at a casual restaurant, meaning i've been working for a good six days now. So far I only work long, single shift days, which are usually in the mornings from 10:30 to around 5. The problem I have with this job is that the managers don't really give you any time to socialize whatsoever, even if things are slow. Kind of blows, but hopefully i'll be able to work something out as time goes by.
My problem is that I sort of feel locked down here.
Since i'm not in a city environment anymore, it means that i've sort of become a slave to my daily routine; I get up, go to work, come home, sleep, repeat. If I want to make any sort of friends, i'm pretty much stuck with work and home. If this was any other state i'm sure it still wouldn't be tough to meet some people, but Texas has a whole lot of nothing in between areas, and it's absolutely vital to have a car to get around places. I can't just hop on a subway and explore an area like I used to; having a vehicle means I have to worry about gas prices, and how to really stretch a full tank throughout a week's use.
However, that's not even the real issue here; people around this area just don't like taking chances, and are really comfortable with sticking to their routines. Getting something together, even if it's just for an hour or two, seems like pulling teeth most of the time. Back north I could start a conversation with a complete stranger, either on the TTC or just walking down the street, and with very little effort i'd be hanging out with that person ten minutes later doing whatever. I really liked that pick-up-and-play aspect of Toronto, and it's a damn shame that it's not down here in Texas. You'd think that it would be a lot easier to meet people down here given that there's not much to do, but there you have it.
What can I do to get together a crew of friends down here? I've been thinking about getting a different serving job because the current one pays peanuts right now, but given this economy i'm not sure if I have a lot of options, so I might be stuck for awhile. I'll be starting to get into the groove of getting in shape starting this Monday at this new fitness area close to my house, but usually when people go to a gym they tend to focus on themselves, and i'll probably be doing the same thing once I get there. Nothing worse than getting harassed by a complete stranger when you're sweating it up.
I'm open to trying new things, because the last thing I want is what happened in between my senior year of high school and first year of college, where I took some time off to build some funds for school. Since everybody else left for college during that time, and given the fact that everyone at the restaurant I worked at was either in their mid 30's or a hard core drug head, I pretty much fell into a routine of work/home/sleep for an entire year, and it was the hardest time to deal with. I never want to go through that crap again, so i'm trying to go all out to avoid reverting to this.
TL;DR: Came home from Canada, making friends in Texas harder than I thought, and I don't want to become reliant solely on work to make them. What can I do?
Godfather on
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You're doing it wrong!
I'm not sure if dating is what i'm looking for right now; I just need a few extra buddies to kill some time with before I head back to school. That's not to say that i'm against it or anything, just that it's not my top priority yet.
I'm just looking forward to hanging out with some buds who could chill out at a moment's notice; more spur-the-moment type of people instead of stay-at-home. One of my favorite things to do is go exploring around my area, whether it's Downtown Houston or just at some park. It's generally a really good idea to go exploring in pairs, especially in areas like Houston.
I know there is a Play n Trade in Spring I went to for a Brawl tournament and there was a large amount of people. There were a lot of card tournaments somewhere around Westheimer if that's your thing. I'm sure there is some DnD group you can penetrate if you dig in.
You mentioned you like exploring areas. Is this more of walking urban streets or hiking national parks?
Lately i've really enjoyed taking night drives; just hitting the freeway and just getting away from it all. I wasn't able to do that in Toronto, and it's been really enjoyable lately. Of course gas is a problem, so I can't do it nearly as much as I used to, but it's always a great feeling listening to my mix while cruising around in the evening. It's always fun having a buddy along for the ride, but either way is fine for me.
The Play n Trade is actually a really good idea. I'll have to hunt down the exact location during the weekend and give it a shot. Is it a game store or one of those things were you pay a flat fee for a few hours to play your games? Dungeons and Dragons isn't something i'm really into, so i'm gonna have to give that a pass.
Usually the farthest i'll plan something out with my northern buddies is just to meet up somewhere, and then we take it from there. We pretty much meander about, shooting the breeze until we either see something interesting or make a decision to go somewhere. There have been many instances in which we've planned out entire evenings, but the best experiences have always been the ones that haven't been planned.
On another note, so far i've got zilch at plentyoffish.com. I sent out ten messages, and a couple of them got deleted right off the bat. That's to be expected, but after exploring the forums a bit it seems that the only meet ups that actually happen are from people who's profiles make them look like they're whoring themselves out. Is this something i'm gonna have to resort to to make this site worth my time?
I'm getting to the bottom of this!
(I've talked to a a few people from that site, it's been less than a week)
If you're serious, it's a bit like that, yeah. Every woman picture is practically a cheesecake shot, which while not terrible makes it a little hard to take that person seriously. I'll scout through profiles, find ones that have similar interests and shoot them a message commenting on said bios. I tell them i'm not interested in dating, but just hanging out for an hour or two.
If you're joking, hurrr...
I've actually started sending, more or less, the same message to everyone who seems interesting enough to talk to.
http://www.gk2gk.com/
http://sweetongeeks.com/
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
Kind of rocky to be honest. I'm not sure i'll be keeping in touch with this person to be frank, but at least it's a start.
I think i'll try the geek sites now; see what's going on over there.
Also, if anyone's around the Spring/Woodlands area and wants to chill just let me know.
So, during this year, I think you should look into either:
1. Summer school: It's not just for dumb people! You can get way ahead on your school just by going in the summer.
2. Internships in your field: These will not only look great on your resume, but also, you can use these as a form of travel to live somewhere you've never been for 3 months.
3. Off campus housing and plain old summer job: No explanations necessary.
But you know, I owe it to my family to visit down there for a few months, because there's a very strong probability that once I graduate school, i'll be having to live up there because that's where the work is. So once I start living up there, i'll probably only see them once a year or in a blue moon.
Plus the only other animation hub in the states is LA, and there's no way i'm living in a hole like that.
On a side note, I got two more responses at plentyoffish today. One of the girls is in Missouri till August, but the other one lives in Willis, Tx. It's a bit of a drive, but i'm sure we can work something out.
I'm also very interested in meeting the gamer/geek culture around here, because the few ones that i've met so far have been extremely reserved and quiet, as opposed to the outgoing, rather open with their interests Toronto crowd.
I wouldn't worry too much about it. You're going to have to break the bond, might as well start doing it next summer. I went back my first summer from college, and I really hated it. I got a 40 hr/wk job and just worked and slept most of the time, occasionally hanging out with the random friend or two I still had down in my hometown.
Never again. That was the last summer I spent any significant amount of time with my family. Now I just visit them for a week or two during summer and winter break, because they live almost 1500 miles away. Summers away from home are pretty awesome, I gotta say.
Unless you are extremely attached to your parents, or they force you to come down, I would start to break away from them.. and it's a lot easier to do it when you are 19 then when you are 22-23. I mean, it's obvious you like Toronto a lot more than you enjoy being in Texas, so why not stay there? Time to grow up
I'll probably stay a month back home during the next summer, but right now i've gotta roll with what I got.
I'm currently setting up a meet up for tomorrow (my only day off), and hopefully it'll go better than last time.
On a side note, what the hell is it with people having kids at such an early age down here? Having a daughter at when you're only 21/22? That's crazy.
I mean, I still stuck it through and had fun, but it's incredibly deceptive.
I'm using the geek2geek site now. We'll see how that turns out.
And, as always, i'll let you know of my results on POF.