Lean Coffee

There’s a beautiful outdoor beer garden in the heart of Del Ray. Let’s take advantage of the nice mild weather this week and try something new. I’ll bring a few social games that aren’t packed yet if anyone wants to play, or just come make some new friends and unwind. Friendly pups are welcome too!

Location: Origin Coffee Lab & Kitchen at the 1101 S Joyce St B33, Arlington, VA 22202. (Not sure why the default address in the map Is different). Low pressure way to connect over coffee and have real conversations, whether personal or professional. Everything is flexible. I'm new as a Meetup organizer. Just reach out and we can find a time and place that works better.

Please join members of the the Arlington Running Club each Thursday night at 6:30 PM for our weekly Run 'n' Quaff at Astro Beer Hall located at 4001 Campbell Avenue, Arlington Virginia 22206 in the Shirlington neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. We are a laid back group of runners that enjoys running a 5-K (3.1 mile) course each week followed the quaffing of cold refreshing adult beverages. We have runners of all abilities from the beginning runner / walker up through marathoners and ultra runners. Our age group spans from early twenties through late seventies and all ages in between. There is someone your age range / someone your skill level at our weekly meetups. No check-ins, waiver forms, or administrivia. No rules, just right. Please join us each and every Thursday night, rain or shine, for the Arlington Running Club!

**Location:** Crimson Whiskey Bar (Either the downstairs whiskey bar, or main floor bar, TBD) The purpose of Thinkers and Drinkers is to facilitate casual but meaningful and interesting conversations with other people in a face-to-face setting. The topics cover a wide variety of issues and are different for every meeting. While conversations may get heated at times, we ask that all members be respectful of each other and refrain from personal insults. \*\*\* **Topic: The Future of DC** DC is set to undergo a lot of changes over the next 5 years. There are changes to the local political structure, massive real estate projects in the works, and the federal plans to "beautify the city." We want to hear your opinions on these and what direction you would want to DC move toward. **Local Politics** DC will be implementing ranked choice voting in it's upcoming primaries this June for the first time in it's history.[ (Ben from Ben's Chili Bowl Explains this)](https://www.opportunity-dc.org/post/rank-your-vote-dc-launches-first-ads-to-educate-voters-featuring-ben-ali-owner-of-ben-s-chili-bow). This includes elections for mayor, attorney general, and city council, which could have a huge impact on the city's future. **Beautifying the City** Trump issued an executive order in March 2025 titled "Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful," and has since gone much further, announcing plans to spend $2 billion within a three-mile radius of the White House, repaving streets and replacing infrastructure he called emblematic of a ["hellhole.](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/aug/22/trump-says-hes-asking-congress-billions-beautify-dc-streets/)" His latest budget takes it even further, proposing a $10 billion ["Presidential Capital Stewardship Program](https://rollcall.com/2026/04/06/trumps-budget-proposal-for-interior-seeks-to-make-dc-beautiful-again/)" for construction and beautification projects in and around DC. **New Developments** It would be impossible to talk about the future of DC without talking about how the landscape has and is changing. Neighborhoods that were previously "Places where you only go to get drugs," like NOMA have become prime examples of gentrified neighborhoods with bustling restaurants and bars. With billions of dollars' worth of residential projects popping up all over the city, other neighborhoods are set to experience similar transformations, especially with developments like the new RFK Stadium.

How about a weekend Happy Hour over unbeatable prices. Instead of silently doing research on your own, it is well known that when you are regularly connected with people of your own investment interest, you are likely to be more motivated, better informed and less likely to miss out on opportunities. Meet and discuss face-to-face.

Happy hour at Lulu's Wine Garden. Come and go as your schedule allows.

Hello, Thank you to everyone who makes these meetups a success! A special thanks to those who are able and willing to make a financial contribution to help keep this group going! Feel free to bring you coffee, tea, or preferred beverage from anywhere you'd like before heading to Quincy Park. **Logistics:** There are 3 parking lots at the park as well as plenty of street parking. The park is also located right near the Virginia Square - GMU metro station. **Note:** This event is on **Saturday**. We will either push to Sunday or another week if weather is an issue. Well behaved dogs on leashes are allowed(and encouraged!)

**Join us in Falls Church for conversations that go beyond small talk.** Higher Grounds – Falls Church is where this growing network of gatherings began: a space for thoughtful, authentic dialogue about what matters most. Whether we’re exploring the nature of happiness, the challenges and possibilities of midlife, spirituality, culture, capitalism, parenting, or the role of art and travel in a meaningful life, every conversation is shaped by the people in the room. There’s no set leader or rigid agenda—just a shared commitment to listen as much as we speak. We start with brief introductions focused on what makes you *you* (not your LinkedIn bio), then dive straight into whatever is on people’s minds. The direction of each meetup emerges organically, making every event unique. MANDATORY: PLEASE REVIEW OUR COMMUNITY GUIDELINES IN THE GROUP DESCRIPTION. Everyone is expected to engage in respectful conversations and listen deeply as well as share. We have a zero tolerance policy of sexual harassment and hate speech. Come ready to share, reflect, and connect with others in Falls Church who are also seeking deeper conversations. **Suggested Questions: Life Stages & Transitions** 1. What did you think you'd have figured out by now that you're still completely winging? 2. When did you realize your parents' advice was for a world that no longer exists? 3. What are you finally old enough to stop pretending to care about? **Suggested Questions: Identity After the Roles** 1. Who are you when nobody needs anything from you? 2. What dream keeps resurfacing even though the "practical" time has passed? 3. How do you handle having the freedom you always said you wanted? **Suggested Questions: AI & Being Human** 1. What human experiences will AI never truly understand? 2. If machines handled all your have-to's, what would you actually do? 3. What becomes more precious as everything becomes automated? **Suggested Questions: Belief & Meaning** 1. What certainties have you given up, and what rushed in to fill that space? 2. How has knowing someone who died changed how you live? 3. What do you believe now that would shock your younger self? **Suggested Questions: The Modern Psyche** 1. What anxiety do you carry that previous generations didn't have? 2. Which of your survival strategies are you ready to retire? 3. What uncomfortable truth about happiness did it take you years to accept? **Suggested Questions: Work & Purpose** 1. When did you stop believing that your job would complete you? 2. What would you do for work if money and status weren't factors? 3. How has your definition of "making it" changed over the years? **Suggested Questions: Relationships & Connection** 1. What relationship dynamic do you keep recreating, and why? 2. When did you realize your parents were just people trying their best? 3. What kind of loneliness doesn't go away even when you're with others? **Suggested Questions: Time & Mortality** 1. What are you running out of time to say or do? 2. How differently do you spend your time knowing it's finite? 3. What will you regret not trying, even if you fail? **Suggested Questions: Society & Culture** 1. What social convention do you follow even though it makes no sense? 2. Which generation do you understand least, and what might you be missing? 3. What aspect of how we live now will seem insane in 20 years? **Suggested Questions: Personal Philosophy** 1. What rule for life did you create after learning something the hard way? 2. When did you stop believing that everyone else had it figured out 3. What paradox about life have you learned to live with?

⚠️ **IMPORTANT: You must sign up and buy a ticket here to attend:** [https://groupvibe.com/](https://groupvibe.com/) **This is a curated, small-group meetup make new friends in Washington.** Each meetup brings together 4–6 like-minded people for casual conversations over brunch. We use the Groupvibe platform to organize and ensure everyone’s a good fit. 👉 **To attend, you’ll need to complete registration via this link:** [https://groupvibe.com](https://groupvibe.com) Once you register, and **buy a ticket or become a Groupvibe member**, we’ll share the exact location and match you with your group. **Why this works:** \* Smaller groups make real conversations easier \* Matching helps avoid awkward dynamics **Note:** RSVPs here on Meetup don’t reflect total attendance. Many attendees register directly via our website. This meetup is organized by **Groupvibe**, a small team passionate about helping people form meaningful friendships offline.

Come join us for brunch with a view of the Potomac

Columbus Code & Coffee is an inclusive, informal co-working session. People of all skill levels attend, and we love it that way. Many people (optionally) bring projects to work on, and many other people (optionally) socialize the entire time. It's entirely up to you! **What to Expect at the Intro Circle** \~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~ Near the beginning of the event (1:30 pm), we do a standup: * Organizer announcements, updates, and logistics Round 1 - (7 secs max): * Your name * What you're working on * What you can help others with Round 2: * Community events you wanna plug. If none, that's cool too. Round 3: * Job opportunities you're hiring for OR announce that you are looking for one. If none, that's cool. After the introduction circle, everything is self-organized! Feel free to work alone, pair up, attend one of our workshops/presentations, or mingle!

Who else is ready to sit outside? Join us for a casual chat over coffee & tea at Grandview Grind! Come out and meet some new people, enjoy your favorite drink, and make some new friends!

Join us for a tour of Brothers Drake Meadery in Grandview, hosted by the owner Oron Benary. He will explain the mead-making process and offer us generous samples of their fine meads. Mead is basically wine that is made from honey instead of grapes. There are many different flavors that range from dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, to sweet. They are best known for their Apple Pie Mead. Oron has offered us a special price of 5.00 each person for the tour and tasting, which is normally 25.00 per person. I've taken the tour several times, and it's always enlightening and fun. Rebecca will bring a tea that will pair well with the mead for a tea tasting afterwards. Park anywhere around the building. Please avoid parking in front of the houses in the neighborhood behind the Meadery. Please keep your RSVP current. Knowing how many will attend will help Brothers Drake plan accordingly to accommodate us.

Colombus Code & Coffee is thrilled to partner with Central Ohio Azure to put on the global Azure community day! RSVP here: https://www.meetup.com/central-ohio-azure/events/313484939/ View the session lineup and speakers at [Global Azure Columbus 2026](https://coazure.github.io/cbus-global-azure-2026/) On **Saturday, April 18, 2026**, the Azure Columbus Meetup, DevOps Meetup, and Code and Coffee Meetup are hosting our local edition of Global Azure 2026. This is a free, community-driven event packed with learning, networking, and all things Microsoft Azure. Whether you’re building modern cloud-native apps, experimenting with AI agents, deploying containers, automating infrastructure, or just beginning your Azure journey, this event is for you! **What to Expect** * Engaging technical sessions * Real-world Azure architecture & cloud-native patterns * AI, agents, automation, and modern DevOps * Food and drinks (because learning burns calories) * Time to connect with fellow engineers, architects, and cloud enthusiasts **Who Should Attend?** * Software engineers (any language, any stack) * Cloud architects * DevOps engineers * Data professionals * AI explorers * Platform builders * Anyone who loves solving hard problems with great tools If you build, deploy, automate, scale, monitor, or optimize in Azure, you’ll feel right at home. **Why Global Azure?** Global Azure is a worldwide community event where Azure user groups host learning sessions on the same day across the globe. It’s grassroots. It’s technical. It’s practical. And it’s powered by people who genuinely love sharing what they’ve learned. And yes, it’s free to attend!

**Let’s catch up and take an afternoon break.** **Grab a coffee or snack and let’s chit chat! Gayle and I will bring adult coloring books and/or a simple craft if you’d like to unwind and relax.😊**