It's 9 a.m., partly cloudy, chillier than I'm used to this time of year.1 I thought to go to the office, but slept an extra hour; I'll work from home instead. I've been waking up nauseous with a headache for two weeks now. I think I need more sleep. Or water. I'm sipping a cup of coffee, lovingly brewed by E.2 He informed me that I have four cups of water sitting around the home; there are no cups left for his coffee. I offered him one of my four cups. He's on TeamSpeak with A, who's up later than usual. A was at Gen Con, so he missed our Sunday session and is catching up in Once Human now. E's logged in to join him, rerunning some quests & fighting a boss. It sounds like they're dying. It's true, online friends are real friends.3 I bumped into A in a game 6 years ago, told E that I found someone he'd really like, and we've been playing together since, across distance and a 9-hour time difference. We hang out with him more than we do our IRL friends; he sends us the most thoughtful gifts; we travel to see him on his birthdays; he will be the first to fly out to visit us in our new home. I can feel myself gushing. But he's not the first online friend. J emails me once every 5–10 years and asks how life's going. We met on LiveJournal in our early teens & chatted on AIM until we started college. Apparently I proposed, there aren't many of us around here, so we should stick together. Which sounds like a thing I'd say because I said something similar just the other day: It's a small thing, but I am always so happy to find another Asian woman writing on the indieweb. There aren't very many of us. And I wonder if it's partly our upbringing. I know I was raised to be silent, and it took me many years to grow comfortable with having a voice. These emails with J cover our 30th birthdays, her first pregnancy, our careers, buying homes, my attempts to fight entropy (anti-aging skincare, strength training), and incidentally, we both ended up with Swedish partners. A few months ago, another email came through, "Hi! Are you there? It's my almost decade check up on an old friend." I met my husband online too, in a game. I was burnt out from work and allowed myself 3 months to wallow in an MMO. When I quit, he asked to keep in touch, so we exchanged emails for a few years. But that's a story for another time. — Blaugust 6/31 I don't miss the $300 electricity bills.↩ He says when he makes himself a cup, he pours some coffee, then some milk. But when he makes my cup, he is careful: a small portion of coffee, much more milk, a dash of sugar, reheat to my preferred temperature, stir until blended. Also: Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?↩ Stones In My Pocket↩