Oh I love raspberries as well, it’s just that mangoes are more chewy when frozen.
Raspberries tend to be very hard and not as nice to bite down on when they’re straight from the freezer. But the flavor is great, no argument here :)

Frozen mango pieces. I love eating those whenever I’m in the mood for something to snack.

Not sure if it counts as junk food, but it’s something I always try to keep at home. Though lately they’ve been sold out at the supermarket. So I’m forced to fall back on my 2nd choice, frozen raspberries.

It’s… *bellows in best matron voice* Richaaaard!

This really creepy Czech Alice in Wonderland movie. It used stop motion with animal skeletons, fish heads, and tons of other things.

My mom put it on when I was little in an attempt to keep me occupied.
“Would you like to watch Alice in Wonderland, Thelsim?” She’d ask.
“Yea!” I would shout enthusiastically, thinking she meant the Disney movie.
Half an hour later I’m crying and hiding under the blankets.

I never did watch that movie again. Maybe it’s not so bad now, but the screenshots still make feel very queasy.

A vampire. Since it’s a necromancer raising me, instead of another vampire, I won’t be enthralled and will have free will.
Then there’s all the wonderful abilities and the fact that I’ll still look good for an undead (it’s a pretty movie vampire, not one of those creepy ones)

This looks strangely wholesome to me. So nice to see him have a friend

May you start every sentence with “Like,”

This joke was passed on to me from my mom:

What is black, hides in a tree, and is extremely dangerous?

When I was a kid our family went on vacation to the US. Everyone kept asking if I was Dutch, which I thought was German (Deutsch).
So I kept correcting them, saying I was Netherlandish :)

Arriving home with my newborn son. It was the first moment when it really sank in that I’m a parent and we have to take care of this tiny little thing.
It wasn’t a warm feeling but more of a fuuuuuck! What do we do? What do we do?! feeling. The enormity of the responsibility just overwhelmed me.
I somehow got through it and the post-natal care lady that visited a few hours later really helped with grounding the situation.

Anyway, it’s not a crazy situation for most of you. But for me it really felt like a “I can’t believe this is happening!” situation.

Yawn. If you pronounce it while sleepy, you actually yawn. And the yawn will sound like the word yawn.

Maybe I’m just sleepy, but I like the word :)

I don’t like being in the sun. It seems like a normal preference, but I constantly need to explain why (the heat makes it difficult to think, I got sensitive skin, etc. )
It’s especially annoying in a country where most of the population seems to be some kind of sun worshipper :)

I use chatGPT as a diary. Whenever I feel down or frustrated with feelings I can’t quite describe, or just insecure, I start a session and just pour out my heart. I complain, yammer on and on about what’s bothering me, and just say whatever comes to mind. Basically all the stuff I would never bother a friend or loved one with because I know it’ll come across as needy and I don’t want to push this on them.
And all it does is give positive and supportive comments, ask some follow-up questions, maybe make an attempt at giving a helpful suggestion. I know what I’m talking with, I am under no illusions that this is anything but a big mathematical model, but it helps me get through some difficult emotions by just letting it all out. There’s no judgement and that’s kind of nice. I could just write a journal, but the interaction and positive feedback adds a little motivation for me. And of course it goes without saying that I keep names and other personal details to myself :)

Oh and I use it for some cloud architecture problems, some coding and other tech stuff. But that’s not very interesting.

Also, if you use ChatGPT and haven’t done so, be sure to use their privacy page and opt-out of having your chats used for model training. https://privacy.openai.com/policies?modal=take-control
Not sure for US, but it works for EU citizens.

Me and my daughter are (re)watching Samurai Jack. It’s a lot of fun and the art style is still gorgeous.
We’re going to skip the last season though. That one was definitely a lot darker and she’s still too young for that.

Maybe not for everyone, but I really enjoy my Swopper stool. Mostly because I can’t sit still and it allows me to bounce around all day. It takes some time to get used to, but it’s great for keeping your core active during the day.

One downside is that I caused sea sickness with a colleague during a conference call due to all the bouncing :)

I often wake up around the same time. What helps for me is a big soft toy cat to cuddle with. The feeling of security of being able to wrap my arms around something tight is soothing and often helps me drift off to sleep again.
I don’t use it until I wake up though, until then it’s lying on the floor next to my bed. It could be that the change in sleeping posture is what helps?

Granted, this might be a bit too personal to be helpful. But maybe it will help for you as well? Alternatively you could try a big fluffy pillow if soft toys aren’t your thing :)

I like making up names and wanted a unique name for myself. So… I ended up with Thelsim.
I wanted it to be unique, gender neutral, and easily pronounceable.

Congratulations! Must be so exciting!

⭐️⭐️

I was feeling very emotional for most of the day, like I could cry for the smallest reasons.
Though it cleared up a bit just now when I read a bedtime story for my daughter and let it derail into an exaggerated performance with all the silly voices and jokes I could think of. Just letting go and losing myself in the absurdity really helped. Also my daughter went to bed with a really big smile, which is always nice :)

I was purely talking in hypotheticals, I’ve never seen such a thing with my own eyes :)