Just found this site from multiple message boards and recently pre-ordered FFXIV,

Signed up in hopes to find the right server and hopefully a guild to join

|| д°)ノ Welcome!

Indeed, no time like the present to pre-order.
We are in T-minus countdown mode to launch afterall :P

I recommend checking out the results of the server polls
as to which servers the Oceanic Community here are going to.

JP Legacy - Masamune
JP New - Tonberry
NA Legacy - Sargatanas
NA New - Behemoth

Also, would be a good idea to check out the latency tests thread
and see for yourself which region will provide you a more enjoyable play experience :D

Depending on the server of choice there are a fair few guilds (Free Companies) out there with open doors.
The big ones would seem to be Mirai, Synapse & Einsof.

PS: A Lloyd Irving fan I see? Good tastes you have. ъ(｀ー゜)