Asperger Syndrome

This is an opportunity for volunteers to support a professional mechanic as he guides customers working on their own bikes. If you know how to do some basic repairs, that's a plus, but even if you don't, you can greet customers and manage who gets helped next. Feel free to attend for only a portion of the time if you can't be there the whole three hours. Please note that this event is not usually an opportunity to learn about bicycle repair, since the mechanic tends to be very busy helping customers, especially during the warmer months. But it's a great way to contribute to Velocity, since almost all the funding for the volunteer program comes from the work done at the shops.

Come enjoy breakfast and conversation with us at The Kosher Pastry Oven in Silver Spring. This is a great away to break with your old routine and make new friends. Questions? Click on my picture below to contact me. Hope to see you there! Ross A.

Un'ottima occasione per parlare in Italiano con persone di madre lingua. Aperto a tutti i livelli di conoscenza dell'Italiano. Specialmente gustando una buonissima pinza. A presto. Please consider donating to us via the Pledge widget on this page to help us defray the costs of running a Meetup group. **Note: This event occurs on the first Wednesday of every month at Via Roma**

Join us for the **first Wednesday every month**! This group is a place where older LGBTQ+ women can meet and socialize with one another. We will have discussion, activities, and a chance for you to share what you want future events to include! Invite a friend, and join us as we promote community and friendship among our community of local LGBTQ+ women. Please feel free to reach out with questions to Adam (adamheller@thedccenter.org). We hope to see you there! This event is brought to you in partnership with the DACL: Department of Aging and Community Living

We're playing board games at Your Hobby Place, a Friendly Local Gaming Store in Old Town Alexandria. Feel free to bring your own games. They also have their own library of games available for play. We start at 6:00, but your group can certainly show up earlier. The store closes at 9:30. Snacks and drinks are available for sale, and several good restaurants are nearby. Free parking on Wythe St. and Columbus St. The store is 1/2 mile east from the Braddock Road Metro station down Wythe St.

Join us to enjoy an exclusive 5-course tasting menu ($100/pp) at Chef Edward Lee's groundbreaking restaurant - **Shia** \- in the Union Market District\! Note from SHIA: Due to our committment to sustainability and preventing food waste, we prepare specific ingredients for each guest daily. A charge of $85 per guest will be applied to any cancellations within 48 hours of the booking. $85 Event Registration fee will be applied to each guests's bill. Event registration fee is only refundable if the seat is filled by another guest prior to the dinner. Thank you for your understanding. \*\*Note from Shia re:Dietary Restrictions:\*\* Due to the inclusion of ingredients integral to Korean culture and cuisine, we ***cannot*** accommodate the following dietary restrictions: celiac, soy, legume, nightshade vegetable, or allium. We ***can*** accommodate vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, seafood allergies, shellfish allergies, and nut allergies. The adjusted dishes our chefs have created for these dietary restrictions will be vegetarian, as we do not have the ability to substitute proteins. Individuals with aversions to seafood may not fully enjoy the experience, as a large portion of our menu is seafood-based at this time. Please note that our kitchen operates on a minimal-waste, sustainability-driven model. This means we do not stock additional ingredients for last-minute changes. If we receive notice less than 48 hours before your reservation, we may need to omit elements of dishes rather than substitute additional ingredients. Please let us know right away so we can prepare with care. **The Washington Post** (Sietsema) Over my decades-long watch, few restaurant genres have witnessed more changes in and around Washington than Korean. Back in 2000, the majority of sources were in the Virginia suburbs, where the menus mostly revolved around tried-and-true mandu, bulgogi, seafood pancakes and barbecue. Before the rise of social media, restaurants that specialized in certain dishes **—** say, Tosokjip in Annandale, known for its grilled fish and stews **—** existed under the radar, supported primarily by the Korean community, recalls restaurateur Danny Lee, one of the agents for change on the D.C. scene. Over the years, practitioners started cooking outside the lines and experimenting with fusion. The arrival of Lee’s Chiko and Anju in the District saw chefs feeding us Korean fused with Chinese American ideas and serving upscale homestyle cooking. Service (and alcohol beyond beer and soju) became a priority at restaurants including Ingle Korean Steakhouse in Vienna, and Korean chefs, following the lead of the trailblazing Atomix in New York, hopped on the fine-dining bandwagon with tasting menus. I miss the short-lived Incheon in Annandale but welcome the youthful Onggi in Dupont Circle. Since November, chef and cookbook author Edward Lee is pushing the envelope even more, with a gem called Shia — “seed” in Korean — tucked in the Union Market District. It’s a slip of a place with a dozen seats in the front bar and nearly double that number in a narrow dining room behind a slatted maple door. What distinguishes Shia from the pack is that it’s part of the chef’s nonprofit, the LEE Initiative, originally introduced as a mentoring program. Further, Shia is experimenting with all manner of limited-waste and sustainable practices, which is why some drinks arrive sans garnishes, and there’s no gas and zero plastic. After the kitchen turns them into pulp, used cocktail napkins and printer tickets enjoy afterlives as postcards and coasters. No one preaches here, by the way; they just quietly set good examples. Lee wants his clientele to experience Shia as a restaurant vs. a lecture hall. “This is how we say hello,” says a server as he places a little cup in front of us, trailed by a snack: a hot oyster and scallop bundled in jin, or seaweed. The dish, which you eat with your hands, marries hot seafood, cool Asian pear and spicy ssamjang, an exquisite bite that’s gone as fast as you can read this sentence. The contents of the cup, a tea made with soju and dried omija berries, are refreshingly sweet-tart. Guests seated at the bar are offered a five-course menu; those seated in the dining room, host to the open kitchen, receive seven courses. Shia remains enough of a tough reservation that I’ve been able to secure a seat only in the lounge, a serene space with gold lights, a concave ceiling and wallpaper that depicts clouds mingling with mountains. Scrolls of amberjack arranged on thin red rings of fermented fish paste and lemon juice are topped with little balls of foam that taste like kimchi “air.” (The finishing touch demonstrates Shia’s no-waste goal; the cloud is excess liquid from making kimchi, passed through an aerator.) The lovely fish dish is a spin on the refreshing Korean summer dish mul hwe, to which a delicate, fresh-tasting green chip is added. (The fillip turns out to be hand-harvested gamtae, the rarest of seaweeds in Korea.) We miss the small plate when it’s gone, but only until the pork belly replaces it. Finger lengths of the braised meat share a canvas with abalone and clams scattered on a soothing porridge of barley, buckwheat, millet and three kinds of rice infused with dashi. “Try to get a bite in each bite,” a server coaches my party. Rising from the center is a little tower of fierce white kimchi, which the server says to save for last, “but you do you.” Some nights look like an evening out in Seoul. My visits found different generations of Koreans sharing Lee’s handiwork, a reality the chef addresses with menus printed in Korean as well as English. The owner sees adventure-seeking younger Koreans come in to check the place out, then return with their parents to share the novelty. The Korean menu is meant to make older customers “feel at home.” Surely the saengseon contributes to the sentiment. A square of seared braised sea bass — line-caught, of course — lounges in a liquid salad of crisp greens and broth and practically demands my return engagement. The intoxicating flavor of the soup springs from what Max Chuvalas, who shares the executive-chef title with Chaelin Lee, calls a “fish tea,” an elixir coaxed from fish scraps and white kimchi juice. I also admire the duck, glazed with Korean mustard and presented so the sliced meat alternates with same-sized pieces of gently crisp mountain yam. The accompanying steamed rice, offered in a raised wooden bowl and bulked up with ginkgo nuts, aster, shepherd’s weed and thistle, nearly steals the show. The greens are another salute to sustainability: “Where Americans might see weeds, Koreans see edible flora,” says Chuvalas, who comes to Shia from Dirty Habit but has worked in fine-dining restaurants before. Those who opt for five courses choose between the fish and the duck. The seven-course plan includes both indulgences. My strategy at the bar with a companion has been to order one of each and share tastes. When I first started as The Washington Post’s critic, Asian desserts were mostly predictable. Green tea ice cream was almost always involved. Shia demonstrates how far the scene has come, with endings including bruleed bananas staged with banana chips, same-flavored ice cream and soy chocolate sauce, a fruit salad that changes with the season but always looks like a brilliant orchard, and a honey tuile hovering over apricot foam. The longer script in the dining room embraces extra sweets — caramels and what tastes like a pecan pie from Korea (pine nuts and dates are involved) — revealed in a handsome mirrored box. In recent years, chefs of all stripes have gotten better about offering tasting menu portions that are neither too tiny nor too filling. No one feels compelled to go to the Golden Arches after a meal at Shia, nor will they feel the need to let out their belt. “I’m 53,” says Lee. “As I get older, I don’t have the patience for 20 courses and three hours” of sitting and eating. The chef feels that seven courses, the max here, honors “efficiency and variety.” Hear! Hear! And go! Go! Looking forward to sharing this experience with you! ***Menus change seasonally***. Please see latest menu and information on new dishes on menu on OpenTable[ here](https://www.opentable.com/r/shia-restaurant-washington) and [Instagram page](https://www.instagram.com/shia_dc/). We ask that ALL folks honor their RSVP. If you are unable to attend after sending in a YES, please update your status so that others may join. In the event our group incurs a fee for no-shows / late cancellations, your ability to RSVP for future events will be restricted. Thank you in advance for your understanding. **WAITLIST:** Meetup does not allow a waitlist for paid events. If this event fills and you are interested in adding your name to the waitlist, please send host a message through the app. In the future, we will vary the days of the week and the types of restaurants so that we can attract many different types of diners. Feel free to make suggestions for future meet locations. All diners will pay their own tab. before departing the event. If you are unable to join us in February we hope you'll stay interested and join us for a meal in the future. Looking forward to catching up with you for a fantastic dinner at Shia!

Join a virtual group that meets on Wednesdays and Sundays and focuses on conversational skills and building early friendship and dating confidence for neurodivergent adults. All are welcome, but this group is designed especially for autistic adults with little to no relationship experience and those who struggle with holding conversations or making new friends. The group is currently open at no cost to Neurodivergent District members but is part of the [Constellations program by Harrington Matchmaking](https://www.harringtonmatchmaking.com/constellations-membership). Currently, most participants are between ages 20 and 45 and are members of Constellations so they've signed up through the website. Many live with family, in supported or semi-independent housing, College Living Experience programs, or similar settings, and are looking for a safe, low-pressure place to practice conversation. Sessions are coach-led and structured. This is not a free-form discussion group. Each meeting includes guided practice, clear coaching, optional weekly sharing, and supportive feedback. The majority of the sessions are virtual, with occasional in-person meetups once a month on weekends in the Washington, DC area. **Drop-ins are allowed (you don't have to attend every week) but an RSVP is required so you receive the Zoom link.** **Sign up here:** **[https://harringtonmatchmaking.as.me/constellations10](https://harringtonmatchmaking.as.me/constellations10)** Feel free to message me with questions. \- Kate Inez Harrington kate@neurodivergentdistrict.com 202-925-0001 \*This group is part of Constellations by Harrington Matchmaking, which offers year-round access to coached programs, social opportunities, and dating support. When possible, members are matched with other members for friends and/or dating. Learn more [here](https://www.harringtonmatchmaking.com/constellations-membership). FAQ at end of web page.\*

Hey everyone, we have all been snowed in and could all benefit with some socialization. Come on out to Barnes and Nobles Potomac Yards and sit in the cafe and meet some locals. I will get there early and be wearing my crocheted Thanksgiving Turkey hat. Come on out and make a new friend. Socializing is healthy and there is no better time to make a friend then now. Hope to see you there

Hi everyone! 😊 First, a **big thank you** to everyone who joined our last meetup before the holidays — it was genuinely great spending time together, and I really appreciate everyone who came out and helped make it such a welcoming space. Just a quick reminder that our next meetup is coming up: 🗓️ **Saturday, February 7** ⏰ **10:00 AM** ☕ **Compass Coffee – Rosslyn** 📍 **1201 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA** 🚇 **Short walk from the Rosslyn Metro** Compass Coffee has a relaxed vibe and **two floors of seating**, so we should have plenty of space to hang out and chat. This is a **casual, low-pressure get-together** for neurodivergent adults (and supportive friends/allies) to connect, share, and just be ourselves. Whether you’ve been before or this is your first time — **you’re very welcome.** Feel free to bring anything or a parent or a friend that helps you feel comfortable (headphones, fidgets, a book, etc.). Hope to see you there! ☕✨

Tired of awkward mixers and dating apps that go nowhere? This is a low-pressure morning singles social designed so everyone actually meets. Join us at Caboose Commons in Fairfax for coffee, brunch, and real conversations. We’ll start with a light, guided format to break the ice (nothing cringey), then open things up for relaxed mingling. This event is about connection—not speed dating, not swiping, not standing around wondering who to talk to.

Gently flow to release the week's stresses, then deeply stretch with the yin and restorative yoga in an accepting, calm environment enhanced with candlelight and meditation. Leave feeling relaxed, refreshed, restored and ready for what the weekend has in store for you! **Please reserve your spot at www.piesfitnessyoga.com.** The session is offered InStudio only. **Sign up for sessions must be made at least 2 hours prior to class.** The address is 1322 Prince St Alexandria, VA 22314. Our entrance is located on the side of the building, parallel to West St. **Street parking is available and additional parking is located at Shiloh Baptist church, spaces 3,5,7,9.** The church is located across the street from the studio, on the corner of Duke St. and West St.

This is the sign you've been waiting for! Come write with us Sunday at 7:30 am at Kaldi's Social House in Arlington. Kaldi's opens at 7. Note: Street parking may be limited due to piled snow. There is a parking garage under the Board Room (Garfield Park Garage, 925 N. Garfield St) a short walk from Kaldi's that costs $6 Grab a coffee and join the group! We generally have 10 to 14 writers attend each week, and new folks are welcome to drop in anytime. Intros start at 7:30 am. We will write for one hour. After writing, feel free to debrief, share thoughts or get advice. Our meetups are a safe space for writers to work on their craft. No one will read or critique your writing. Kaldi's Social House website: https://www.kaldissocialhouse.net/ \* Resource \* Many thanks to Justin for putting together a shared file of resource discussed at the meetings. Feel free to add to it! [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13LONNjZvsO5hEXM7NsBnWCgy3GgPgjAbQxE0lPxp7hc/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13LONNjZvsO5hEXM7NsBnWCgy3GgPgjAbQxE0lPxp7hc/edit?usp=sharing)

Join Neurospicy Columbus at the Stauff's for coffee and then a stroll through the Book Loft nearby! This will be a friendly chat for like minded individuals with Autism and/or ADHD (or somewhere on the Neurodiverse Spectra).

This is a free, in person meeting. Burdened by a stressful relationship? Unhealthy relationships can trigger feelings of anger, despair or self-doubt. They can create dwindling spirals of fights and seeking to make-up, or trying to “pin the blame” on someone or something. If you don’t find the RIGHT reasons, or select the correct sources of the problem, the problem can just get worse and worse. Whether in love or personal ties, with friends or at work, our life really IS affected by the quality of our relationships. Good ones can promote pleasure and survival while less optimum ones can lead to annoyance, anger, self-doubt, stress, or even affect our health and ability to survive well. Whether you are suffering from a divorce, or a painful break-up, don’t know who to trust (or who to CHOOSE) as a partner, friend, boss or employee - the anxiety of relationship troubles can really make a mess of things. Maybe you’ve suffered a betrayal, or are dealing with hostility or criticalness or invalidation. Dwindling relationships can involve destructive behavior, where we hurt those we love, or start succumbing to self-destructive thoughts, attitudes or behaviors that spiral out of control and affect much more than our immediate relationship. Past losses in love or life can affect how we act or react to new people and situations and hold us back from even starting to create new, possibly great relationships! How can one get back onto a saner course of action? Come to our Meetup, where we can introduce you to some of the knowledge, tools and techniques of the breakthroughs in the field of the mind that we can apply to this ever important area of life: human relationships! Break free from self imposed limitations Here we will discuss: • How to “erase” the trauma of past hurts and betrayals so that one isn’t always repeating past mistakes. • Why and how do the negative emotions of others affect you? • Why is my partner withdrawing and what can I do about it? • Why do we sometimes feel compelled to hurt the ones we love? • Fights & arguments - what's really behind them? • What underlies “corrosive criticism” or the need to invalidate self or others? • How one can stably change one’s outlook on life so they can affect positive change? • Where do compulsive destructive behaviors come from and what can be done about them? • How to form closer bonds & keep growing the relationships with the people you care about? • How to enhance one’s own ability to survive and create positive healthy relationships whether in love, family & friendships or in work, business or one’s career? Relationships can be hard and life itself IS challenging. Why not arm yourself with the knowledge and breakthroughs that have been made about the mind, mental reactions & interpersonal relationships, so that one has better awareness and control over themselves and life in general. Learn where painful experiences are “stored” and how they can unknowingly affect us. You will also find out how one can “erase” those past painful experiences so that one is free to move forward without being tripped up by the past. Learn too, about what can lead some people to become “toxic” personalities and how to identify those traits in others so you won’t be tripped up trusting the wrong person. Our free Meet-ups occur in a safe environment where one can learn, without fear of judgment or criticism, and without the recommendation of harmful mental techniques or therapies, just how YOU can get yourself onto a happier & more successful path: in love & in life. We look forward to having you join us! This class is sponsored by the Dianetics & Scientology Life Improvement Center of Central Ohio.

This is a FREE, in-person workshop about mastering the science of reading people and predicting their behavior. **Stop guessing and start LEADING.** Join us for a FREE and highly interactive seminar, where you will learn to use the Emotional Tone Scale to read people, predict behavior and handle any objection with ease. The edge you'll gain: * ****Read People**:** Instantly decode human behavior. * * **Predict Actions:** Know their next move before they make it. * * **Influence Others:** Master the tools to win in work and life. * * **Build Trust:** Know exactly who to trust and how to handle them. * Attend this workshop and start developing the mindset of success! **Seats are limited. Reserve your spot today!** Hosted by: Church of Scientology of Central Ohio 1266 Dublin Rd, Columbus, OH 43215

At Evolve Synergy Sessions, you'll be part of a supportive mastermind where we share challenges, brainstorm solutions, and inspire one another to take bold steps in our businesses. Grow your network, gain fresh perspectives, and build meaningful relationships with like-minded women who are committed to success. Whether you’re looking to move the needle in your business or simply need a space to connect and recharge, this is the perfect place to fuel your entrepreneurial journey. [Add Event to Calendar](https://evolvecolumbus.eventcalendarapp.com/) \*\* Please note, we will be arriving around 8:15a for open networking! Get there early and get connected! Contact Alexis Morley at [alexis.morley@edwardjones.com](mailto:alexis.morley@edwardjones.com) or Terri Lawson at [terri.lawson@e-merge.com](mailto:terri.lawson@e-merge.com) for more information.

Come attend a free in-person seminar where you will find out why you: -Feel isolated -Can't express yourself openly -Get nervous or anxious in front of people -Run out of things to say or feel tongue-tied -Feel introverted -Don't feel comfortable in any social setting -Can't make more friends -Are shy and miss opportunities to connect in a meaningful way And we cover what you can do about any one, some or all of the above. This seminar is the weapon against loneliness, isolation and boredom, come join us! COME TO THIS SEMINAR AND LEARN THE SECRETS TODAY This seminar is brought to you by the Dianetics & Scientology Life Improvement Center. 1266 Dublin Road, Columbus, Ohio 43215

Join us for a free in-person seminar where you will get knowledge and tools to build your confidence. Do you ever: -Feel isolated -Can't express yourself openly -Get nervous or anxious in front of people -Run out of things to say or feel tongue-tied -Feel introverted -Don't feel comfortable in any social setting -Can't make more friends -Are shy and miss opportunities to connect in a meaningful way At this workshop we will cover what you can do about any one, some or all of the above. This seminar is the weapon against loneliness, isolation and boredom, come join us! COME TO THIS SEMINAR AND LEARN THE SECRETS TODAY This seminar is brought to you by the Dianetics & Scientology Life Improvement Center. 1266 Dublin Road, Columbus, Ohio 43215