^{issue no. 10}

hi hey hello

I’ve returned. Sure hope you missed me! The vacation time spent on Nap and Sleepover Islands was brief, but I think the antipsychotic and antidepressants are working again. (bless, modern medicine!) Which also reminds me—I need to take 23 hours off work before winter break starts on December 18^th . Very open to suggestions and ideas.

Unfortunately, my screen time is up. I can feel my brain being air-fried in real time. I’ve been saying for years that the internet is no longer fun, and I stand by that. Twitter X’s algorithm torments me daily with the same retweets, just slightly reworded, filling me in on discourse loops that started somewhere else entirely. Meanwhile, TikTok continues its eternal rotation of the same five topics. This week’s question: Would you end a friendship if your friend cheated on their boyfriend?

It’s like everyone’s living out imaginary scenarios just to have something to say. Nothing is real. It’s “conversation” for the sake of conversation. Everyone screaming into the void, hoping to find community in a comment section. It’s not going to work.

You need to meet people. Experience people. See what choices you actually make when you live life with others. And I promise it’s never that serious.

My friend cheating on her boyfriend? Not really my business. I’ve cut people off for far less morally questionable but significantly more irritating, reasons.

I would love to leave the godforsaken place known as x.com, but it is the only place to find translations for most of the Korean and Japanese content I consume. This is really just an excuse, but at least next month I'll try and put a limit on how much time I spend there. TikTok will see considerably less of me. It feels too much like QVC, and they only want to sell me things. Every time I click "not interested" on another fake scenario, two more TikTok shop videos replace it.

Anyway, enough about the internet. I’ve obviously spent too much time scrolling through everyone else’s noise. It’s nice to come back to my own.

I hope you’ve been resting, eating something nice, and finding small things to look forward to. Here’s a tiny peek at my re-entry into the world.

- with love and out of hiding, slig 🐌

life lately, according to snapchat

I’ve hugged people. Touched grass. Skipped stretching. The goal is to try again this weekend.

No movie check-ins. I haven’t watched one in over a week?! Instead, it’s been:

• some professional wrestling

• a few episodes of Bob’s Burgers

• a little MasterChef

• the first season of Chainsaw Man

• two episodes of Slow Horses.

At this point, I’m not allowed to start a new movie until I catch up on Slow Horses. Letterboxd, please don’t forget me while I’m gone.

according to the people:

💬🐌
What’s the easiest and hardest thing about being friends with Raeesah?

easiest
She’s super supportive and is always willing to give me solid and thoughtful advice. Or just lets me talk it out because she knows I just need to talk sometimes and I’m not looking for anything. She always knows something relevant or helpful. She’s like a little encyclopedia because she always knows something

hardest
She bullies me and acts like she doesn’t know me public sometimes.

💬🧍🏾‍♀️
Who is your favorite cousin?

[redacted]¹

💬🐌
What is a sure fire way to cheer Rae up or put a smile on her face?

dark humor
I like to say evil things to make her giggle.

cute or stupid things
She loves babies and dogs. So show her picture and she will melt.
Send her something stupid, or a picture of a baby or cats.

oddly specific joy
She also lowkey collects tiny spoons so if you find one grab it for her.

💬👶🏾
I want to know what you were like as a baby. I feel like you bit and I need to know

from my mom: You did not. You were curious but quite laid back.

more notes from the music desk

The no-skip albums are still carrying me through my work week. No reviews here, just the song that stood out on first listen or re-listen.

i want to LOG OUT…

“We are drowning in a river of short-form video. Where the allure isn’t even the content but the abundance, the infinitude of the flow… The faster things go, the more immersed we are in the flow, addicted to the speed, unwilling to grapple with the slowness of the real world around us, the more we forget to feed the part of ourselves that likes quiet, that can live in quiet. That deprivation makes itself felt in the body as a kind of dread.”

— Tommy Dixon, How to end your extremely online era (Substack) Read more

fine, i’ll answer some too

💬🏠
What’s your favorite memory from your SL/Mo city days?

💬🧠
What is a belief you hold now that you didn't a few years ago?

next month, we try..

October’s almost done, and I’m still figuring out how my little newsletter will survive the holiday season. I’m not sending you off into the world just yet. Let’s keep doing something together. My idea? A few tiny, doable tasks to help us stay grounded as the holiday madness rolls in:

• Letting kind words land — even the tiny ones count.

• Noticing one small joy every day and writing it down for a jar or note so you can see them later 🫙

• Doing one thing you’ve been avoiding (conversation, project, hobby) and actually crossing it off your list

• Swapping one scroll session for something like going outside, talking to someone, or petting a dog

• Slowing down one thing you normally rush, coffee, shower, staring out the window, whatever

Small steps. Less doom scrolling. Slightly more happiness. I’ll be checking in over the next few weeks so we don’t totally forget this exists.

🐌 I’m still very busy at work. It’s budget season. My goal is to be back next week!

^{k, thanks.
love you! bye!
Sent from my sad little desktop™}

1  From Amir: Probably Vev (🐌: I personally don’t pick favorites! It’s whichever cousin I’m talking to at the moment. But on the lowest of keys it might be Veronique)