Anybody can join this Meeup.com... all they ask is your email address and you choose a password. Basically you can search any group of your interest by typing in the subject and your zipcode. If you become a member of the Meetup.com and search by categories like "Cooking and Recipes" or "Dining out" in Los Angeles Zipcode, many groups should pop up, including mine.
Meetup.com charges monthly fee to the organizers, but no fee to just join. Some organizers charge monthly or annual fees to the members, but many others ask for donation like my group. You browse those groups that interest you, and if you decide to join, you click the button to join. Some groups require organizer's approval, but others you join instantly. If you see any events you want to attend, you RSVP on the site and some events requires prepayment by either Paypal or Amazon payment, but usually organizers allow cash or check payment as well for the people who are not familiar with online payment methods or don't want to use them.
The above site is for mainly posting upcoming events and reviewing past meetups. It allows communications between members and organizers by mailing list or message board.
I've been doing this for more than 2 1/2 years and I'm really enjoying it. I have so many things to share and felt the need to create my own blog to talk about what's happening with the group or with me and all kinds of future meetup planning.... But above all, I always have a lot to tell, and my members need to read my lengthy email messages lol Instead of sending out the emails, I decided to write here so that members who are really interested in knowing what's the next event, etc, can come here on their own to check out.
Anyways, here I am, starting another blog and I know this will distract me in a nice way and help me forget the loneliness to be in a still foreign city away from everybody.
Sally
