How to get new people in your life: is your social pool less Olympic-size and more of the kiddie wading variety? Switch off the cable, throw on some lip gloss, and use our tips to meet millions. (Social-Life Advice).

* We all know the type that girl who strolls into an out-of-the-way bar in the middle of Nowhereville and waves to three people, regularly has to buy extra memory for her Palm's address book, and has buds from all walks of life. Well, you can be her. It just takes acting kind of brave and chatting up some new faces to beef up your network ... and your social life. Not to imply that you've morphed into some sort of loner, but maybe you just graduated, moved to a new town, have been cocooning all winter, or are just plain anxious to inject some new blood into your circle. So we racked our brains and came up with a slew of tips for making a million new mates. Try them ... then clear some room on your calendar.

pretend you know perfect strangers

Most of us are just different around folks we know than we are around strangers--looser, at ease, more likely to show off our true charm. So do a little mind flip when you meet someone new or walk into a room full of strangers: Act as if you're already thick with the folks in front of you. Instantly, your expression will change from fearful to friendly, your body language will become more approachable, and you'll feel freer to say the things that are so you ... and that lure others in. "That's the difference between a great schmoozer and one that's so-so--the great one just assumes people like them," says Nicholas Boothman, author of How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less.

scope out a new scene

Check your local listings and pick out an event--say, a beer tasting--that you don't know the first thing about. Just showing up will instantly make you more desirable than a medium-bodied microbrewed lager. Think about it--people love to flaunt their expertise to anyone who will listen. And when you're joining a crowd that's sick to death of seeing the same suds connoisseurs--or whatever you choose--week after week, you'll be irresistible new blood. Ask an interesting-looking person the difference between hops and barley and things will start rolling from there.

change your schedule

Hit your regular haunts at a new time--you won't believe how many fresh faces you'll discover when you pop into your bar for Thursday happy hour instead of on Friday night or go to your nail salon at a different time. "After oversleeping and missing my A.M. workout," says Melanie, 25, "I dashed to the gym on my way home from the office. It was packed with people I'd never seen before. A minute after lining up for the elliptical trainer, I was chatting with two women about shin splints."