by Lynn Thorne
Tatyana Schum was single, 30, and looking for new friends. So she decided to take action. No, she didn't sign up for "speed friending," hit MySpace or join a book club. Instead, she organized a condo crawl through her Park Fairfax neighborhood near Shirlington.
Now, a couple of times a year, Schum and her fellow Alexandrians spend an hour socializing at one condo owner's house, sharing everything from gardening tips to decorating ideas. They then move on to a kind of roving party at several other neighbors' condos that continues until late in the evening.
"I wanted to meet people," she said. "It seemed that there were so many young, single people in my neighborhood. And they were right there. But I didn't want to exclude anyone. It seemed natural to have the whole community involved."