Silverdream wrote:So basically I'm just a terrible networker.
Oh, I don't know. I'm not exactly a social butterfly, mate. Like I said, most of my connections are made through other people. I strongarm/persuade/get lucky enough to find someone and then just remain amenable to most of their suggestions for players.
I have no idea how it is where you are but there are a fair few gamers around me. We had some failed gaming stores in the relatively small city where I live and that brought us into one another's fields of view for a time, so I've seen quite a few other groups form up in various ways as well.
If there is a gaming store near you, you might try hanging out for awhile and joining some of the in house games there. Depending on the store, you might have more luck easing into it by playing whatever is popular and then finding out if anyone RPs. We had one store here that was very wargame (40K, mostly) focused and one that was very card game (magic and yugioh/pokemon) focused. I've seen large D&D groups spring up out of the card gamers especially. And you'd have a place to play, if you don't mind the noise.
We have a store here called Hastings. Its a chain but they like to do a lot of local stuff. When I worked at ours, we had a group that got together often to game during and after hours. Then, it was mostly MageKnight. I'd forgotten to mention that group...I also ran a couple of RPGs with some of those guys for a little while. Now, the store hosts a D&D game for kids...which is super boneriffic and run by a total neckbearded idiot, but still. Sometimes, in addition, places like these will have bulletin boards for people seeking group members. I found myself at my first (and last) LARP this way. But its not always a bust.
I don't know if you work anywhere, but that's always a good place to drop the line. Could be anywhere, though. I've found that mentioning D&D in casual conversation gets all kinds of people excited. A lot of "oh, I've heard of that" and "I've always wanted to try!" Only about a quarter of those people ever follow through, but still.