MeTaTalkTailHour - Missed you! May 16, 2025 6:56 PM Subscribe
Wow. When was the last time we had a MeTaTalkTailHour?
When I remembered to check, it was always a nice destressor from a long week.
How are you? How are things going?
Specific to the title, have you reached out to an old friend or coworker recently? Sent them a post? a postcard? Or, maybe you missed a specific activity and you get to do it again? (Seasons should be changing so maybe something more outdoors for northern hemisphere vs. indoor for southern hemisphere?)
Please go wild! go crazy! 'tis a conversation starter, not closer (with the caveat of no politics of course.)
I reached out to my ex about our son finishing his first year of uni. I'm in a shelter and can't host him for the summer. He's on a great grant but I have nowhere for him to stay. She didn't reply but her blog says she's touring North America in an old RV, there hasn't been an update in a couple months. I worry about her.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 7:37 PM on May 16 [3 favorites]
posted by Mr. Yuck at 7:37 PM on May 16 [3 favorites]
have you reached out to an old friend or coworker recently?
My wife and I were talking about an old friend of hers who had recently died, and she was surprised to hear I hardly ever look up old friends or exes. So, I tried looking up this boy I'd dated in college and oh my god stalking one's exes has gotten hard. google was just no good for it, DDG brought me similar piles of nothing. I remember this was a lot easier when there were only three people on the internet.
This is kind of a low week for me. I had a virus last weekend, where the main symptom was chills. I was lying in bed basically shivering for hours. But I was also clenching my jaw, and apparently clenched it hard enough to damage a tooth? The x-ray was equivocal, so I'm on antibiotics just in case, and cycling through ibuprofen and tylenol which don't quite work well enough, and I guess if it doesn't get better by the time I'm done with the antibiotics, we'll have to look at something involving drills and hooks, a bright light shining in my face, ugh. I'm surprised by how much it hurts, how persistently it hurts, and how it's kind of like being depressed.
I don't want to end on a low note, so I will talk about my possum. There was this young cat who was visiting our back yard at night, and she looked pretty scrawny but I wasn't sure if she belonged to anybody, so I set some food out for her. It seemed like she might be pregnant, but I couldn't get a good look at her, so I put out this little camera I'd gotten recently to get a better look at her, without stressing her out. Except after she was done daintily eating her food, who should show up on camera but this great big possum?
This was the most exciting thing! Forget cats! So I began to put little slices of fruit out for the possum, and then, as watching her became a nightly thing, I started putting out boiled eggs. She loves eggs...but they're a little too big for her. So she has to try to fit it in her mouth using her little paws, and sometimes it rolls away and she has to chase after it. When she's got a good grip on it, she sneaks off to the shadows to eat it, just out of view of the camera. They can have up to three litters per season, so maybe I will get to see baby possums too? Hopefully?
posted by mittens at 5:06 AM on May 17 [5 favorites]
My wife and I were talking about an old friend of hers who had recently died, and she was surprised to hear I hardly ever look up old friends or exes. So, I tried looking up this boy I'd dated in college and oh my god stalking one's exes has gotten hard. google was just no good for it, DDG brought me similar piles of nothing. I remember this was a lot easier when there were only three people on the internet.
This is kind of a low week for me. I had a virus last weekend, where the main symptom was chills. I was lying in bed basically shivering for hours. But I was also clenching my jaw, and apparently clenched it hard enough to damage a tooth? The x-ray was equivocal, so I'm on antibiotics just in case, and cycling through ibuprofen and tylenol which don't quite work well enough, and I guess if it doesn't get better by the time I'm done with the antibiotics, we'll have to look at something involving drills and hooks, a bright light shining in my face, ugh. I'm surprised by how much it hurts, how persistently it hurts, and how it's kind of like being depressed.
I don't want to end on a low note, so I will talk about my possum. There was this young cat who was visiting our back yard at night, and she looked pretty scrawny but I wasn't sure if she belonged to anybody, so I set some food out for her. It seemed like she might be pregnant, but I couldn't get a good look at her, so I put out this little camera I'd gotten recently to get a better look at her, without stressing her out. Except after she was done daintily eating her food, who should show up on camera but this great big possum?
This was the most exciting thing! Forget cats! So I began to put little slices of fruit out for the possum, and then, as watching her became a nightly thing, I started putting out boiled eggs. She loves eggs...but they're a little too big for her. So she has to try to fit it in her mouth using her little paws, and sometimes it rolls away and she has to chase after it. When she's got a good grip on it, she sneaks off to the shadows to eat it, just out of view of the camera. They can have up to three litters per season, so maybe I will get to see baby possums too? Hopefully?
posted by mittens at 5:06 AM on May 17 [5 favorites]
My weather alerts this week have included fire, tornado, thunderstorm, and dust storm. In Chicago. Only one of those things (the thunderstorm) is part of our normal weather patterns, everything else is fresh and new. Especially the dust storm.
I had a theater ticket last night so I was leaving my house no matter what, and it was a perfectly nice (if windy) hot spring evening when I did. By the time I got on the highway I could see a horrible beige wall of nothing encroaching from the west. I grabbed a short video when I hit traffic going into downtown and realized I was going to get hit by it; this was less than 5 minutes later. I've only ever seen something like that when I've visited the southwest. Never in Chicago.
That said, the play I saw, Bust, was incredible. If you're near Chicago it's definitely worth seeing, dust storm or not. I'm not sure I agree with the "wildly funny" framing there but it was wildly creative for sure.
posted by phunniemee at 6:30 AM on May 17 [1 favorite]
I had a theater ticket last night so I was leaving my house no matter what, and it was a perfectly nice (if windy) hot spring evening when I did. By the time I got on the highway I could see a horrible beige wall of nothing encroaching from the west. I grabbed a short video when I hit traffic going into downtown and realized I was going to get hit by it; this was less than 5 minutes later. I've only ever seen something like that when I've visited the southwest. Never in Chicago.
That said, the play I saw, Bust, was incredible. If you're near Chicago it's definitely worth seeing, dust storm or not. I'm not sure I agree with the "wildly funny" framing there but it was wildly creative for sure.
posted by phunniemee at 6:30 AM on May 17 [1 favorite]
The back of my car is filled with stuff I got from eleven different Jo-Ann Fabrics locations before they close. Got lots of nifty fleece and novelty fabrics. Should stave off withdrawal symptoms for the next 10 years or so.
posted by Melismata at 6:42 AM on May 17 [6 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 6:42 AM on May 17 [6 favorites]
mittens I hope you feel better. I also hope you post a short video of your possum’s cute little hands.
phunniemee- a play sounds fun. At one time me and my ex were seeing a lot of comedy at The Chicago Theatre (I looked it up and this is how it’s spelled!), but it’s been ages. I don’t think we got the dust storm (about an hour north) but definitely some foreboding skies. And a bit of hail a few days ago the dogs did not love at all.
I am on ink sketchbook number 3 in less than 3 months, partially because my computer was out of commission for a number of weeks. But it’s pretty great to be doing lots of art, even if it’s not painting. Painting feels like the thing I could maybe make into a small side gig. Drawing, less so.
Anyway, with my computer back I plan to do a bunch of sketchbook tour videos. And still drawing nightly - while watching Time Team on YouTube which is excellent, calming and sometimes silly - a bunch of British archeologists digging up their past. I’ve actually learned a lot of British history and highly recommend this program to everyone I talk to.
Hope everyone is doing ok. I appreciate this place a lot these days, despite our problems. I am overdue on a memail reply and will do that next.
posted by Glinn at 7:08 AM on May 17 [2 favorites]
phunniemee- a play sounds fun. At one time me and my ex were seeing a lot of comedy at The Chicago Theatre (I looked it up and this is how it’s spelled!), but it’s been ages. I don’t think we got the dust storm (about an hour north) but definitely some foreboding skies. And a bit of hail a few days ago the dogs did not love at all.
I am on ink sketchbook number 3 in less than 3 months, partially because my computer was out of commission for a number of weeks. But it’s pretty great to be doing lots of art, even if it’s not painting. Painting feels like the thing I could maybe make into a small side gig. Drawing, less so.
Anyway, with my computer back I plan to do a bunch of sketchbook tour videos. And still drawing nightly - while watching Time Team on YouTube which is excellent, calming and sometimes silly - a bunch of British archeologists digging up their past. I’ve actually learned a lot of British history and highly recommend this program to everyone I talk to.
Hope everyone is doing ok. I appreciate this place a lot these days, despite our problems. I am overdue on a memail reply and will do that next.
posted by Glinn at 7:08 AM on May 17 [2 favorites]
I went to architecture school in the late 80s - early 90s. Back then, our campus had the architecture, design and art schools, and was a little distant from the university's other more populous campuses, which was how we liked it. We had a little island of creative, interesting, quirky people.
Anyway, we had a reunion at the same campus last weekend, about 350 people from all 3 schools showed up and we had a blast just catching up and dancing to great, alternative 80s and 90s music. It was amazing after 35 years to for one night feel basically like one of the parties we used to have way back then.
posted by signal at 11:28 AM on May 17 [5 favorites]
Anyway, we had a reunion at the same campus last weekend, about 350 people from all 3 schools showed up and we had a blast just catching up and dancing to great, alternative 80s and 90s music. It was amazing after 35 years to for one night feel basically like one of the parties we used to have way back then.
posted by signal at 11:28 AM on May 17 [5 favorites]
Mr. Yuck: where is your son at? Maybe we can find him somewhere to stay.
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:19 PM on May 17 [3 favorites]
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:19 PM on May 17 [3 favorites]
Things are well, like scarily oh my god, is this really happening and is it really this easy sort of well.
Family continues to be a joy and supportive. Mom is healing well after some awful life events. I thought I'd have to get a new car, turns there was just a bad alignment and once that was fixed and tires replaced, it's like a brand new car. Just have to get the original problem causing the bad alignment fixed, but that's manageable. Work continues to be an interesting challenge (pauses to look in the queue). Been spending more time playing darts and doing trivia and it's been a delight. The weather is warm, things are blooming. The new relationship is gloriously solid and fun.A fellow MeFite reached out outta the blue after years, letting me know things were still going well about a previous issue from (counts fingers) 14 years ago.
Life seems full of so many more possibilities, even (or especially?) at 53.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 12:43 AM on May 18 [10 favorites]
Family continues to be a joy and supportive. Mom is healing well after some awful life events. I thought I'd have to get a new car, turns there was just a bad alignment and once that was fixed and tires replaced, it's like a brand new car. Just have to get the original problem causing the bad alignment fixed, but that's manageable. Work continues to be an interesting challenge (pauses to look in the queue). Been spending more time playing darts and doing trivia and it's been a delight. The weather is warm, things are blooming. The new relationship is gloriously solid and fun.A fellow MeFite reached out outta the blue after years, letting me know things were still going well about a previous issue from (counts fingers) 14 years ago.
Life seems full of so many more possibilities, even (or especially?) at 53.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 12:43 AM on May 18 [10 favorites]
Brandon, I am very happy for you!
posted by jgirl at 7:10 AM on May 18 [2 favorites]
posted by jgirl at 7:10 AM on May 18 [2 favorites]
The other day, Little eirias asked me how I liked my new job, and then said: “You seem happier.” This is enough out of character for her that I think it must be pretty obvious. I vaguely sensed I was getting burned out but I didn’t quite realize how badly. Different challenges, different people with whom I have no history, and a different physical space, including (for the warm months anyhow) a bike commute. There’s a lot to like.
posted by eirias at 8:48 AM on May 18 [4 favorites]
posted by eirias at 8:48 AM on May 18 [4 favorites]
I had to stop making baguettes and sandwiches every day about a month ago because I couldn't justify the expense anymore, and while I suspect I will lose my job soon, so far we're fine, though I see the train coming. But it flipped a switch in me. It's only been the last decade that I've made a decent living, but never enough to get completely out of debt, so in reality I've lived most of my life on almost nothing, and I forgot how good and natural it is to me. Frugal is in my immigrant family's blood. I'm actually very good at it. Making delicious food out of almost nothing. I know how to cook, bake, preserve, ferment, grow, process almost anything. From beer to baguettes to cheese to kimchee, I'm actually pretty good at this. So in starting a compost pile, and a small garden, and seeing the strawberry patch I planted two years ago thrive, I'm feeling a little better about things. I'll feel even better if I can keep the squirrels out of the strawberries and we actually get to can some.
posted by Stanczyk at 3:12 PM on May 18 [5 favorites]
posted by Stanczyk at 3:12 PM on May 18 [5 favorites]
Mr. Yuck: where is your son at? Maybe we can find him somewhere to stay.
That's very kind of you. He's at Warren Wilson but I think he's going to NYC for the summer to stay with cousins.
Metafilter has been very kind to me since the flood. I hosted two mefites during the great recession and it's come back to me tenfold.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:03 PM on May 18 [9 favorites]
That's very kind of you. He's at Warren Wilson but I think he's going to NYC for the summer to stay with cousins.
Metafilter has been very kind to me since the flood. I hosted two mefites during the great recession and it's come back to me tenfold.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:03 PM on May 18 [9 favorites]
When was the last time we had a MeTaTalkTailHour?
almost a year ago... thank you, a non mouse, a cow herd, for this revival! i was thinking of these when i wrote my meta post, though it was so long ago i’d forgotten the name
Specific to the title, have you reached out to an old friend or coworker recently? Sent them a post?
yes! a couple actually. this is going quite well. just taking a break from writing a reply letter to check what is going on online then heading back to paper
posted by HearHere at 4:29 PM on May 18
almost a year ago... thank you, a non mouse, a cow herd, for this revival! i was thinking of these when i wrote my meta post, though it was so long ago i’d forgotten the name
Specific to the title, have you reached out to an old friend or coworker recently? Sent them a post?
yes! a couple actually. this is going quite well. just taking a break from writing a reply letter to check what is going on online then heading back to paper
posted by HearHere at 4:29 PM on May 18
I spent the weekend rebuilding my server droplet that hosts my blog because I discovered that the old one had persistent connections to shady IPs. Honestly, a rebuild was probably long overdue but it still irks me that nothing on the internet can even be considered "safe".
The one saving grace is that I am pretty sure that my blog itself was not hacked or serving anything malicious.
The new droplet is working well, with just the background noise of scriptkiddy attacks to bother me. Spare a thought for the Metafilter admins, who must deal with a lot more.
posted by AndrewStephens at 8:50 AM on May 19 [1 favorite]
The one saving grace is that I am pretty sure that my blog itself was not hacked or serving anything malicious.
The new droplet is working well, with just the background noise of scriptkiddy attacks to bother me. Spare a thought for the Metafilter admins, who must deal with a lot more.
posted by AndrewStephens at 8:50 AM on May 19 [1 favorite]
I went to go see Orville Peck play the Emcee in Cabaret on Broadway (spoilers: he was great and it's a great production and I'd love to go again but I really can't justify the cost). But that did make me want to reach out to a college friend who played the Emcee in our school's production of the show. That was a weird production for a lot of reasons, but my friend seems to be doing pretty well, from what I can tell from Facebook (I know that's an incomplete picture of a person's life but hey).
It's been more than 20 years since we've talked and I don't think we're going to be besties or anything but he's still someone I think about fondly so I'm glad to reconnect even if it's just in the most casual of ways.
posted by edencosmic at 5:10 PM on May 19 [3 favorites]
It's been more than 20 years since we've talked and I don't think we're going to be besties or anything but he's still someone I think about fondly so I'm glad to reconnect even if it's just in the most casual of ways.
posted by edencosmic at 5:10 PM on May 19 [3 favorites]
I bought a book about bookstores, and that prompted me to email an old bookstore friend.
Chronic fatigue is kicking my butt, but maybe if the weather will warm up, I can get moving. I did some garden prep and planted a few things. I'll go to the farmer's market Weds for more, I hope that one farmer is there - she always has unusual tomato seedlings as well as some heirloom varieties. The squirrels will go after them, the bastidges. I have lots of things I need to do, but can only do some.
I need to get my very long hair cut back by a lot, this seems to take a lot of energy.
Life is generally pretty okay except for the idiocy hurting my retirement savings, which are just enough and not extra. The impending fascism is a concern, too, my hair is on fire daily.
posted by theora55 at 6:19 PM on May 19
Chronic fatigue is kicking my butt, but maybe if the weather will warm up, I can get moving. I did some garden prep and planted a few things. I'll go to the farmer's market Weds for more, I hope that one farmer is there - she always has unusual tomato seedlings as well as some heirloom varieties. The squirrels will go after them, the bastidges. I have lots of things I need to do, but can only do some.
I need to get my very long hair cut back by a lot, this seems to take a lot of energy.
Life is generally pretty okay except for the idiocy hurting my retirement savings, which are just enough and not extra. The impending fascism is a concern, too, my hair is on fire daily.
posted by theora55 at 6:19 PM on May 19
Re books: today I received an ebay shipment of the series of encyclopedias that was the internet of my childhood. It was the Arthur Mee Children's encyclopaedia. So pleased to see this set again, though with a lot of apprehension because it will be hard to read this through adult eyes.
posted by dhruva at 7:15 PM on May 19
posted by dhruva at 7:15 PM on May 19
I need to get my very long hair cut back by a lot ... my hair is on fire daily.
Not the best way to shorten it, seems to me, but to each their own...
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:39 PM on May 19 [3 favorites]
Not the best way to shorten it, seems to me, but to each their own...
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:39 PM on May 19 [3 favorites]
Ahhhhhh edencosmic I am waffling on going to NYC just to see Orville in that show, and trying to justify the cost, hahah.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 7:52 PM on May 19 [1 favorite]
posted by Sparky Buttons at 7:52 PM on May 19 [1 favorite]
Me? I'm sad and i hate myself and i'm tired of everything. Glad that some folks are doing well though.
posted by adrienneleigh at 7:54 PM on May 19 [4 favorites]
posted by adrienneleigh at 7:54 PM on May 19 [4 favorites]
adrienneleigh: "Me? I'm sad and i hate myself and i'm tired of everything. Glad that some folks are doing well though."
Sorry 😔
I've been very woe is me lately because my tailbone still hurts plenty from when I broke it in FEBRUARY and I'm pretty sure the NSAIDs my doctor prescribed me last month to help after my convalescence plateaued are eating my stomach because I've been having a disquieted tummy which means my butt has been bearing insult in multiple ways.
I'm still my favorite person at least but damn am I tired of everything else right now.
posted by phunniemee at 8:08 PM on May 19 [4 favorites]
Sorry 😔
I've been very woe is me lately because my tailbone still hurts plenty from when I broke it in FEBRUARY and I'm pretty sure the NSAIDs my doctor prescribed me last month to help after my convalescence plateaued are eating my stomach because I've been having a disquieted tummy which means my butt has been bearing insult in multiple ways.
I'm still my favorite person at least but damn am I tired of everything else right now.
posted by phunniemee at 8:08 PM on May 19 [4 favorites]
Sparkly Buttons, it was a splurge for me to the point where I'm not even going to bother to add up how much it was because I don't really want to know (I paid for the tickets, hotel and bus separately over the course of a month so it wasn't just one chunk but still). I do recommend it, if you can, though! My friend who saw it with me wasn't really familiar with Peck but has seen Cabaret several times with different casts (including Alan Cumming) and he was impressed. He was even wondering what other Broadway shows Peck could be in.
posted by edencosmic at 5:00 AM on May 20 [1 favorite]
posted by edencosmic at 5:00 AM on May 20 [1 favorite]
I'm studying for the bar and I cannot stop this low level churn of panic. Has anybody been through this or is going through this now?
There's a lot going on around here -- mostly, my MIL is (probably, slowly, painfully) dying of a hip fracture in the same facility where my FIL died of the same thing last year, and I am struggling to string together childcare for my toddler so I have at least a hope of getting enough study hours in, and all our friends are reaching out wanting to see us now that it's warming up (and I both miss them and feel like I don't have the bandwidth). It's actually less stressful than many other times in the past few years (decade?) and studying *should* be a kind of escape. Like just do my videos and practice questions and be fine. But I'm all bug-eyed about it anyhow.
posted by night traveler at 10:52 AM on May 20 [3 favorites]
There's a lot going on around here -- mostly, my MIL is (probably, slowly, painfully) dying of a hip fracture in the same facility where my FIL died of the same thing last year, and I am struggling to string together childcare for my toddler so I have at least a hope of getting enough study hours in, and all our friends are reaching out wanting to see us now that it's warming up (and I both miss them and feel like I don't have the bandwidth). It's actually less stressful than many other times in the past few years (decade?) and studying *should* be a kind of escape. Like just do my videos and practice questions and be fine. But I'm all bug-eyed about it anyhow.
posted by night traveler at 10:52 AM on May 20 [3 favorites]
There was a shooting at my son's university yesterday - two students are dead in an isolated shooting. It's finals week for him, so they've cancelled exams and he's coming home today instead of Friday. He wasn't near where it happened and is "fine" in the sense that nothing's totally fine but taking it in stride.
He'll get here tonight and I've already told him I'm going to hug him until it gets awkward.
posted by Twicketface at 12:10 PM on May 20 [4 favorites]
He'll get here tonight and I've already told him I'm going to hug him until it gets awkward.
posted by Twicketface at 12:10 PM on May 20 [4 favorites]
Twicketface, I’m sorry to hear that. The story made the news where I am too. It made me morbidly curious what it means for student grades when exams are canceled. Giving everyone one less chance to pull up their grade seems cruel, as does universal incompletes; does everyone just get an A?
posted by eirias at 6:06 PM on May 20
posted by eirias at 6:06 PM on May 20
My thoughts too, eirias. Will people start shooting each other to get out of exams?
posted by Melismata at 7:25 AM on May 21
posted by Melismata at 7:25 AM on May 21
A very normal conclusion! Yes!
posted by phunniemee at 7:37 AM on May 21 [4 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 7:37 AM on May 21 [4 favorites]
Greg_Ace, I like my metaphors shaken and stirred. Blender works pretty well.
posted by theora55 at 2:26 PM on May 21 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 2:26 PM on May 21 [1 favorite]
Oh, that's an even worse way to cut your hair!!
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:30 PM on May 21 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:30 PM on May 21 [1 favorite]
Mittens-I absolutely love possums! I hope you will share some photos of your new friend.
I am still unpacking from my move in February. Part of it is I've been holding off buying furniture I need until the old place sold. Well it finally sold! So now I'm figuring out what pieces I need (definitely another bookshelf) and where to hang up pictures. It's only 4 or five medium boxes left. Today I was unwrapping the second to last box of framed photos and art. So many photographs and I have no idea where the hell to put them. I wish I knew someone here to help me. I'm not very good with visual organization.
posted by miss-lapin at 5:27 PM on May 21 [1 favorite]
I am still unpacking from my move in February. Part of it is I've been holding off buying furniture I need until the old place sold. Well it finally sold! So now I'm figuring out what pieces I need (definitely another bookshelf) and where to hang up pictures. It's only 4 or five medium boxes left. Today I was unwrapping the second to last box of framed photos and art. So many photographs and I have no idea where the hell to put them. I wish I knew someone here to help me. I'm not very good with visual organization.
posted by miss-lapin at 5:27 PM on May 21 [1 favorite]
Oh I forgot, I saw on LinkedIn a colleague from when I was a professional tutor in nyc got a new job in publishing. I wrote him congratulations on his new post. We haven't spoken to each other in over 25 years, but he reached out after that. We've been catching up via email. He has a few books out now. Nice to see he's still thriving.
posted by miss-lapin at 5:52 PM on May 21 [3 favorites]
posted by miss-lapin at 5:52 PM on May 21 [3 favorites]
I have not reached out to anyone recently, but my cousin reached out to me several weeks ago, which lead to a nice weekend in a neighboring state, catching up with family I rarely see since my mom died.
I'm still dealing with some lingering effects from whatever gastro illness I had last week and the "build back good bacteria" diet feels like it is taking forever to work. I'm sorely tempted to go back to broth and crackers.
Twicketface I am so sorry about what happened to your son and I hope that he (and you) will be ok.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 5:03 AM on May 22 [2 favorites]
I'm still dealing with some lingering effects from whatever gastro illness I had last week and the "build back good bacteria" diet feels like it is taking forever to work. I'm sorely tempted to go back to broth and crackers.
Twicketface I am so sorry about what happened to your son and I hope that he (and you) will be ok.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 5:03 AM on May 22 [2 favorites]
On the theme of the post: you ever have one of those old friends who emails you, you forget to respond in a timely fashion, and it just snowballs into a dumb shame dance? Anyway, I’ve been in one of those since the fall with a grad school classmate. Well, two weeks ago my new colleague hired him, so I had to get over myself and email him. It was, as any normal observer could have predicted, totally fine. Now we have a dinner date with him and his wife next month.
I also owe a beloved former coworker a postcard. And today I owe like four or five former coworkers manuscript comments. Better get to it.
posted by eirias at 6:27 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]
I also owe a beloved former coworker a postcard. And today I owe like four or five former coworkers manuscript comments. Better get to it.
posted by eirias at 6:27 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]
you ever have one of those old friends who emails you, you forget to respond in a timely fashion, and it just snowballs into a dumb shame dance?
"Hi finally! I opened this and was so delighted to hear from you but then didn't reply and it has sat in my inbox shaming me this whole time, you know how it goes. [Continue with email as normal.]"
It's a universal experience, just like when you forget someone's name even though you've met them three times before, and it's okay to just acknowledge it and move on. If we're all embarrassed a little bit all the time, then no one has to be embarrassed.
posted by phunniemee at 6:35 AM on May 23 [3 favorites]
"Hi finally! I opened this and was so delighted to hear from you but then didn't reply and it has sat in my inbox shaming me this whole time, you know how it goes. [Continue with email as normal.]"
It's a universal experience, just like when you forget someone's name even though you've met them three times before, and it's okay to just acknowledge it and move on. If we're all embarrassed a little bit all the time, then no one has to be embarrassed.
posted by phunniemee at 6:35 AM on May 23 [3 favorites]
you ever have one of those old friends who emails you, you forget to respond in a timely fashion, and it just snowballs into a dumb shame dance?
Only every damn day. Or my favorite: get email/text from a friend, write a response, get distracted and forget to hit send, then discover this several days later when I'm wondering why they haven't responded to the message I never frickin sent.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:57 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]
Only every damn day. Or my favorite: get email/text from a friend, write a response, get distracted and forget to hit send, then discover this several days later when I'm wondering why they haven't responded to the message I never frickin sent.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:57 AM on May 23 [1 favorite]
Have I reached out to a mothballed acquaintance? Yes, but not without provocation. I had new shingles installed on my place and that same week received the somewhat expected news that the heat pump is on the verge of failure. So I reached out to my untapped savings acount and we're on a level of interaction that I would not have preferred.
posted by mightshould at 2:53 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
posted by mightshould at 2:53 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
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posted by Scout405 at 7:17 PM on May 16 [5 favorites]