The only thing I can think of doing is actually saying to someone 'Hey, you seem cool- we should do (NAME ACTIVITY HERE) together sometime'. If you are in a meetup environment, you can accomplish this without them thinking you're hitting on them.

But honestly-it's not just you. If you don't know anyone in an area, it becomes even harder to meet people.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 4:06 PM on September 25, 2008

It's not that unusual to glorify your first serious relationship. . . but it's also not too difficult to have the self control and not hook up with a man that already broke up with you once.

You seem to be self-aware enough that this might be a problem, and also that there were problems in the earlier relationship. You're probably good enough to figure out that hooking back up with him is a bad idea.

And hey-you never know, your ex might have moved on too
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 8:17 PM on August 17, 2008

....close, but not quite. It has a similar tune and instruments, the Reading Rainbow version has a single baritone. These might be the same lyrics.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 5:48 PM on July 9, 2008

Network. People look at experience as proof that you can do certain tasks and fit in to a specific environment. If you can convince someone that you're a responsible person who'd be a great fit in by meeting them in person, it goes a long way.

Or temp-that's what I ended up doing (I fulfilled my work-study working as a barista instead of gunning for a cushy office job because I liked the early mornings, and I was an idiot).
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 4:48 PM on June 25, 2008

A quick Wikipedia search shows Douglas (which contains Bronzeville) to be 85.5% Black and 6.5% white-more diverse what it used to be, but still heavily African-American. I wouldn't be surprised if you faced a great deal of resentment when you moved in. I'd also second the horrible public transportation and lack of easily accessible necessities.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 4:15 PM on June 13, 2008

When my eardrum ruptured, I was pretty much deaf in that ear until it healed. Did the pain disappear immediately? The point of an eardrum rupturing is something you're likely to remember-the actual moment isn't that bad, but the hour leading up to it is excruciating.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 3:47 PM on April 14, 2008

Nothing specific, but I'd watch paper consumption. I'm still fairly new to the office environment, and I can't believe how often someone will print a something out for one tiny bit of information.

Give out water bottles/mugs and take away the styrofoam cups for coffee.

Encourage people to turn off their computers at night, instead of just logging off.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 6:16 PM on April 7, 2008

I think it depends a lot on the local high school.

I went to a Catholic school for four years, despite not being Catholic, just because the local public schools were so abysmal. Before that, I went to an elementary magnet school. The difference between those two places and the local public schools . . . you had parents who cared at least a little bit about their children's education, which usually leads to better behaved students, attracts a different class of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 3:22 PM on April 2, 2008

Target and Half.com-occasionally amazon marketplace.

I'm cheap.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 10:08 AM on March 21, 2008

I find it helpful to be doing something else that's fairly mindless but doesn't require eyeballs (knitting, maybe some instrumental music in the background). Something to distract the distractable part of your brain while making sure you don't wander off.

Take scheduled breaks-and stay on schedule.

If that doesn't work, try making up snide commentary as you're reading (you're on metafilter, you should know how that goes). You have to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 8:24 PM on March 20, 2008

They Might Be Giant's 'Minimum Wage'
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 8:29 AM on March 20, 2008

Agreeing with the pink superhero that it might be the office, not just the office experience.

You can try youth counseling/casework--if anything, it's likely to be more interesting than your current job. Try looking through the Minnesota Nonprofit job postings for something.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 8:54 AM on March 14, 2008

I'm pretty sure Consumer Reports rates laptops/computers annually too. I don't know if they'll tell you anything about durability, but it might be a good thing to check out.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 8:50 AM on March 14, 2008

I tend to wait a month or so after I've beaten a game to see if I still like it/would want to replay it. Then again, I also buy games that have been out for a while, so I'm not really worried about the value depreciating too much.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 7:59 AM on March 8, 2008

Take up needlefelting.

It's also a great stress relief.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 10:20 PM on March 5, 2008

Well, it does get better-but that doesn't mean that it's any good.. The characters will continue to do things that make no sense and Jack will continue to be the worst boss ever, but there are times when it is less horrible than it is in cyberwoman.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 4:18 PM on February 19, 2008

Seconding LeGuin, The Dispossessed is one of my favorite books of all time, and there are a lot of other wonderful stories in the Hainish cycle that are often overlooked.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 5:22 AM on February 8, 2008

Harass the temp agencies-don't be shy about calling them more often than once a week (especially the larger ones), and sign up with as many as possible (yes, I know you've tried a few-try a few more). If they aren't calling you for an interview, walk in to their office and ask for one.

Go down to a local university and check the billboards-people often advertise for small odd jobs-or medical research studies, which don't pay right away but might help down the line (not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 7:39 PM on January 12, 2008

Originally from Chicago, went to school in MA, and now live in Minneapolis.

In general, the rest of the country doesn't think about New England half as often as they think we do. They have a hard time believing that there is life between the coasts.

Bostonians hate everything. The thing that they hate more than anything else are other Bostonians. This is why they try to kill each other with their cars.
There is no middle class in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 8:30 AM on January 2, 2008

Super Mario Galaxy has a two player mode-the second player doesn't do much other than help the first player pick up/fight things, but the game is good enough that it doesn't really matter.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 7:41 AM on January 2, 2008

You might want to check out Helen Levit
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 1:12 PM on December 27, 2007

You were killed by Helen Keller.

I don't know if a teenaged boy would like it, but it sounds pretty awesome to me.

Mr. Rogers works pretty well, too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 12:32 PM on September 25, 2007

Cat Power's Satisfaction sounds absolutely nothing like the original.
Nirvana's Man who Sold the World
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 6:51 AM on September 24, 2007

I really like Tigris and Euphrates, even if it takes a while to get all of the rules down and actually understand what's happening. Ra is pretty awesome, too.

Guillotine (if technically a card game) is a very fun, simple game with hilarious illustrations.
posted to Ask Metafilter by dinty_moore at 6:35 AM on September 24, 2007