well... 'friends' worked for me. we've dumped sh1tloads of stuff on each other over the years and then somehow we realised we liked each other that way, so... *shrugs*... here we are.
maybe i am weird for a girl. maybe most girls are looking for the totally hot, wild guys and keep the nice boys for friends only. or, maybe not. don't take this as the only piece of advice worth following, obviously there's other stuff you can do to find a gf, but really if you're that desperate for a relationship i'm not sure you'll get one, or a good lasting one anyway, because i don't think chicks are all that turned out by desperate guys.
anyway i'm not sure i made this clear: you don't make friends to get dates, you make friends to make friends. if the friendship mutates into something more, then that's a bonus.
date ideas: come up with your own, stop trawling my brains. the point of the date is to spend time with her, not to fully impress her by how creative and rich and randomly attractive you are.