Hey, why don’t I try meetup.com to find friends? Ooh, there's a 20's/30's social camping club I want to join. And I'll just click join... huh, it doesn't work. And it's all obfuscated javascript without any error messages, so I can't fix it. I guess I should tell the meetup.com staff their website isn't working. What's this? There's no way to tell them anything? Gosh, this is just as bad as the last time I tried to join this group 5 years ago!
Sorry, I do try meetup.com, but I've the worst of luck with getting that site working. And what groups I can join, um... well, today there's
- board games and alcohol
- board games
- rock climbing gym... one of the few sports I don’t enjoy
- a writer’s group I sometimes attend
- a meetup for circle dances and chanting mantras to "attune ourselves to the frequency of love." ...yeah.
I would go to the writer’s group, but I don’t have anything ready to read (and it’s about reading your stuff out loud). Also everyone who attends it is kind of married and happy so I don't really click with anyone. I will admit one of the things that made me reluctant to attend was all the knowing laughs and smiles when the guy read from his satirical advice novel on how to plan your wedding. Like three times in a row. It was so sexist too. Like... “Don’t allow the groom to have any say in design. That is a job for women only.” All that inflated self importance trying to coddle the bride into a false sense of security, giving her an illusion of power so she’ll willingly undertake a ritual to strip her of power and individuality.
Yeah... I don’t much care for weddings.
Tomorrow, there's... huh, the Portland Anarchist Collective's talking about something, but no venue was picked and it's uh... tomorrow. There's a hike through a local wildlife refuge that happens to be inaccessible by public transportation. The "Energizing Foods" workshop at the "TriOasis Wellness Center" is a little over my budget. And... more board games.
God I hate board games.
Hey, but these are just groups I’m a member of! Maybe I should look at groups in general! Even though I can’t join any group with a “/“ in their name, or something.
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Alright, a meetup called “Eat, Play, Live!” I can dig that! Oh it’s... women only, never mind.
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Pints with PDX Project Managers... I think I’ll pass.
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Taco Tuesday with the ACME Motorcycle group!
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Ooh, coffee and conversation, for... survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Does never getting so much as touched in your life count as abuse?
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A uh... volleyball meetup. Okay, but they have no openings for new members.
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PDX Supper Club that sounds... old and boring. And it’s 40+ so I’d be meeting senior citizens and stuff.
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“Butts on Bikes” sounds like fun, except I snapped my collarbone in half falling off my bicycle a few years ago, going about... 5 miles per hour, so I’ve been a little leery of bicycles since then. Let’s see what their next ride is. Oh, it looks a little difficult, 2600 feet of elevation, but at least it’s only 27 miles. Piece of cake, right?
I’ve never ridden more than 5 miles on a bicycle in my life...
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The Weekly Run for “Tech Run PDX” is out, because I broke my ankle so badly a foot doctor told me I’d never be able to go jogging again. Which is okay because I hate jogging, but...
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A tennis meetup... yeah something tells me my ankle would appreciate tennis even less.
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“Jewish Happy Hour”
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Board games and drinking...
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Drinking and Heavy Metal
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“Dragon Boating” which are little viking longboats. In... Vancouver, WA about 3 hours bus ride away.
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“Enterprise Blockchain Meetup” because I’m all about the process synergy blockchain web 2.0 synergy reorg cloud!
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More drinking... in Vancouver.
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“Adults with Elderly Parents” ugh, not yet...
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There’s a D&D group meeting. I bet I’d find lots of girls there!
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Oh, an interesting seminar called “Diversity in Tech: Creating a Culture of Inclusion and Equity.” Women only.
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There’s a Portland Bitcoin Group, the poor fools...
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“Fortunate 500 Toastmasters” Well I’m not afraid of public speaking, though it is an hour away, and I certainly don’t have any speeches prepared. I could think about it, maybe... of course there’s 7 guys per girl, but it’s not like I wanted any friends who weren’t guys, right?
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Seafood dinner... Women only. Gee I wonder where all the women are.
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“Whole Food Nutrition Meetup” might be fun. And hey, it’s in Beaverton, right near the train station! Maybe I’ll poke on over there tomorrow.
Yeah that... isn’t exactly a high rate of success. I think meetup.com may be more of a waste of time than anything, if 99% of everyone’s going to meetups I either can’t stand, or am not allowed in due to my biological sex.