How Do You Meet New People?

[IggyWH]

I just moved to San Diego this week from Pittsburgh, where I've lived all my life until now. I don't know anyone in SD at all and never really been in a situation where I'm completely on my own for meeting people.

Anyone care to offer any suggestions or help on how to go about doing it?

I understand it's quite complex and not a simple answer to such a basic question. In my opinion, I have a great personality. I'm sure I rub some people here on 2p2 the wrong way at times, but it's because I'm a very sarcastic person and that doesn't come across well on a message board. When I'm full blown myself, people love to be around me as I'm the life of any conversation and can make anyone laugh at one of my many stupid stories. My main problem though is opening up to people to be that 100% me all the time. When I meet new people, sometimes it's too much for them to handle, so I've grown into being shy around people I don't know.

Here's a couple ways I've come across so far as to meeting new people :

1)I got my roomie who is my age and has been here for a couple years, so he has a core group of friends. I'll try leeching off him a little, but I really don't want to be that annoying roommate guy.

2)My friends who have cold moved to other cities found success in kickball leagues. I'm thinking of doing the same and maybe joining some other sports like baseball/softball.

3)Let's just get this out of the way now, yes I am lame. In my lameness, I made a post on Craigslist looking for someone to hang out with. I got a couple "weird" responses such as a couple with the guy who is bi and them looking for someone to have a threesome and two "not gay" guys who offered me some discrete dome.

I then got a message from a girl. We exchanged a couple of emails and she seemed real cool. I was a little worried when she sent me her myspace though and she was hot. I figured if a hot girl is replying to my ad on CL, she must have some serious issues. I usually get along with women best since I'm not the "let's go get laid tonight" type of guy and love having women friends. I am the what seems to be a rare breed of guys who has women friends because I like having women as friends, and not having a woman "I just want to screw and hoping desperately in a moment of weakness she'll want to bang me" friend.

I'm pretty freaked out about meeting people off the internet and took me a while to even call her, but I did and she seemed normal. I was going to roll solo out to a bar last night just to get out, even though I know I would have had a horrible time. She offered to come along, I took her up on it and had a total blast. I got one friend in SD now, but I don't think CL is the route to go about it.

This is probably more of an OOT topic, but I'm looking for real responses and not just one liners fired at me. If it makes you feel better though, you can tell me how lame I am also.