My parents would preach something fierce about the dangers of even interacting with strangers online (even just having a generic “how are you” back and forth). In my 20s, I started playing Tibia and really enjoyed the fact that I could interact with people from around the world. I learned plenty of things that I simply didn’t learn in school. When my folks learned I was talking to people I didn’t know, they were appalled. I hate to think how they would have reacted to the knowledge that I shared my first name with some of those people (it’s a veeeeery common name where I’m from).

Then my mom got a Twitter account. Then joined group DMs with like-minded people. Then she started giving out her first name, then her cell number. Then she shared our address. I’m still salty. Luckily nothing bad has ever come of it. The group seems like they’re wonderful people and my mom is able to turn to them when she’s not feeling the best and vice versa.

I forget to eat all the time due to hyper focusing. I’ll hyperfocus on an activity as a way to avoid doing a chore, and then the chore never gets done. I’ll start hyper focusing at 8pm and next time I look at the clock it’s 3am. It absolutely has drawbacks. The best way to get out of it (for me, at least) is to set an alarm (if I can remember).

My aunt and uncle got married new years day of 2000. Very easy to remember.