Hi Banana,
I've been thinking about your "how do you make friends"-question. As Whick said, many times "friends" turn out to be no real friends at all. So maybe the question is not how to MAKE friends, but why it is that some people turn out to be friends at the end and others don't. For some mysterious reason people tend to see me as very sociable (is that an English word?), but the truth is much the same as in Wick's case: to me many people are merely acquiantances (again- is that an English word?) rather than friends. The funny thing is that with real friends you do not have to reason about what you should or shouldn't say. Conversations just go as they go and in some cases they can make real friendships by doing that. So do not bother too much asking yourself how to make friends. Just try to meet people (join a reading club if you're not able to practice a sport, or try forums on the internet if you prefer). You will see that friendships tend to pop up unexpectedly and unplanned.
I wish you all the best, Banana!

Do what suits you, Banana.  If it doesn't suit her, then that tells you something.  I couldn't tolerate a woman that was upset if I opened the door for her.

I agree with Whickwithy, any woman ( or man) who sniffs at common courtesy, old fashioned or not, isn't likely to be a very nice person and certainly isn't likely to return little acts of kindness. But on the other hand, if you do chivalrous things with obvious discomfort of your own, or too much flair, that will look false and creepy. Just be natural and not over the top. I'm v proud that at the Special Needs school where I teach, the kids have lovely manners, they do hold doors for adults, say P and T , and we reward them for it. Respect has to be two way. You sound like a nice guy to me, just relax....don't try too hard.

Wow, Kat, your school is my ideal of such.  That needs teaching a lot more than most things.  But, then, I also think that self-discovery is desparately lacking, the most important form of learning, and more desirous than all of the money-making stuff one is perceived to need to survive (there's that darwinian prick, again).

:^o :-& X( :-/ Haven't posted for a day or two and I've missed my little smiley friends

We live down the road from a chicken farm and when the wind is in the right direction.........!!!

Appy61 said:

We live down the road from a chicken farm and when the wind is in the right direction.........!!!

But, then again, most of the time it is fine. Is it actually a chicken hatchery? Up the road from us is what is called a broiler house (or two). Here, they receive day old chicks and raise them for about 10 - 12 weeks and then, well, let's not go there... If it is actually a hatchery, then it may not be that bad. My uncle (actually Godfather) runs a large broiler farm in Parson Drove near Wisbech, and has about 10 of these houses and they live on site. I spent many weeks there in Summer holidays as a kid and cannot remember the smell at all. When the houses are in use, I would say little to worry about. It is when said chickens have 'gone' and they muck out that you get the smell. It is very occasional, doesn't last long and only a problem if the wind is in the right direction.