I was dumped days before this last Christmas and have been a complete wreck ever since. Last night I found seddit and decided that today I would begin the process of rebuilding myself and meeting more women around my campus.

Today was the first day back from our week long break and it is currently -22C (-8F) with snow blowing in every direction. In the line of the Starbucks located in our main library, I started chatting with a stranger who was at least an HB8 about the weather and how bummed I was about being back at school. To my absolute amazement, she instantly smiled and started engaging in conversation with me about how her break was and what she's studying. I didn't introduce myself or ask her for her name however. Once she got to the till and purchased her coffee, she waved goodbye, smiled and scurried away. Nothing really materialized but I was pretty happy with the result.

Later in the day I found myself sitting outside my next class and noticed a woman sitting close to me who was reading the textbook. I approached her and asked when our next midterm was. After a prompt reply I said "given how dedicated to this class you seem to be I thought you'd be a good person to ask." She smiled and we started talking about the class and what our majors are. Then as soon as the class before ours began to exit the class, she collected her stuff and abruptly left to get a good seat.

So overall today has gone well but I seem to be noticing a pattern of getting off to a good start then completely falling off course. I'm still in the early stages of getting over AA and am not completely comfortable approaching women yet, But I'd like some advice on how to take things to the next step next time.

Specifically, when do I introduce myself and ask for a name? And how do I keep her engaged long enough to really be on to something?