Hi everybody, long time lurker, first time (top-level) poster here.

I opened a girl on the bus home today, and learned a few small things about seating choice that I'd like to share with you. Some of these may seem rather obvious, but I find it helps to see small things made explicit.

1) If there is a long row of seats (e.g. facing to the left or right of the bus, not forward/backward), and you're sitting first, pick a seat near the center of the row. Do not sit at the end.

We had exchanged a couple of words waiting at the stop, and then when the bus came I went and sat down at the end of the row. This row of seats was 5 long, so let's say I took seat 1. She followed me in and tried to sit near me, but someone else came and sat down in 3 so she sat down in 5. This made it virtually impossible to strike up a conversation, as the guy in 3 was rather... large and difficult to talk around. Fortunately, he got up and left after a few stops, which brings me to...

2) Don't be afraid to get up and change seats.

So I got up and sat down in seat 3 (it's still rather empty, and etiquette around here is to leave an empty seat in between. Perhaps I should have just sat next to her though), proceeded to ask her name and then the spelling (this shit is gold by the way, chicks love it when you try to guess their spelling), etc. etc.

Anyway, about 2 stops before mine a huge influx of people get on the bus and they quickly fill up the empty seats, including seat 2. As the guy motioned to sit down, I should have just got up, sat down in 2, and let him sit in 3.