Want to start growing something

I've never been a plant person. Never disliked them, just never specifically was into them. But for some reason, for the last month I've had this really really driving urge to grow plants. I don't know why. So I've read here and there, and came across Tapla's soil mixes, so I know about that, but what I don't know is what to grow.

You can see that I'm in a 9b area (Silicon Valley). I rent a room in a house, so my location options are limited. Meaning, I can really only keep stuff in my room. I MIGHT be able to move a plant to a sunny area of the house for parts of the day, but no guarantees. Further, my room and window are on the north side of the house, so there is no direct sunlight. The room does see light, but obviously it's only indirect. Also, my room ranges from 60°-80°F and about 40%-70% humidity, depending on time of year (toward the lower end right now). Now on to a couple of questions.

1) So given this information, what sort of plant can I successfully grow in here? It would probably need to be something smaller. I'd like something cool (I saw Persian Shields in a recent post, i.e. cool), or pretty, or fragrant, or some combination.

2) Given that I killed a cactus last year, which I still feel bad about and makes me sad, I need something that'll be easy for me to start with (I thought cacti were exactly that...? :/).

3) Tapla seems to have a few soil mixes. Which one do I go with? And given that I will only have one small plant in my room, where can I get just small amounts of the ingredients? I can't use a 50lb bag. Remember I'm in Silicon Valley, if anyone is familiar with the area.

I'd really appreciate any help you guys can give me.

You need to select from the LOW LIGHT section of the garden center. Plenty to grow for foliage plants. Chinese Evergreen, Pothos, Philodendron, Snake plant, ZZ plant, Arrowhead vine, Cast iron plant, Dieffenbachia, Peperomia, Piece lily.

Plenty of options for plants then. My main thing at this point is getting the soil. Not sure where to get just small amounts of this stuff; enough for one plant. I guess I'll google around and see what I come up with.

You can buy a small bag, you may want another plant or two later! It's addicting!

I'm looking around online, and I seem to have found all of the components for the 5:1:1 mix at my local Home Depot for less than $20 total and it'll make 4 small batches. And I won't even need one small batch to start out with. I guess I'm in business.

Looks like you're headed in the right direction. So smart of you to do some research first, and to start off using good ole gritty mix. That plant list that Tommy provided is a good one also - you want to start off with tried and true foliage plants. (Persian Shield is beautiful, but not a house plant by any means.) You might want to learn about double-potting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG9PImILzh8, and if you'd like some input on what different plants look like and how they can be displayed, drop in to my Pinterest boards http://pinterest.com/marliegraves/indoor-gardens/ and http://pinterest.com/marliegraves/home-interiors-with-plants/

I was thinking of maybe getting the soil ingredients tomorrow. But, the one thing I've never known about is watering. How am I supposed to know 1) how often to water, 2) how much to water, and 3) how much sun to give a particular plant? I know this can generally be looked up online, but when it comes to an individual plant, how will I know? And how do I approach seeds, especially in these mixes?

Watering depends on the plant but in general if you have a very well draining soil it's less of an issue. Some plants like to dry out between watering, some like consistently moist soil.

That's the thing...is there a way to know what an individual plant will need other than googling? Signs, symptoms, things to watch out for, etc?