[introductions] whoever you are, no matter how lonely

[kaberett]

Quoted from liv, the inventor:

If you would like to, please comment to this post, and I'll introduce you to everybody else by giving a reason why I think you're great. Some people I know better than others, so I can't promise all my introductions will exactly encapsulate why someone might want to get to know you. You're also welcome to comment to someone else's thread and ask for a specific introduction to that person; I know some people are more confident than others about just jumping in and introducing themselves to a stranger. I am also happy to matchmake if you would like that; ask me for a recommendation of a personal journal and / or community from my circles.

And of course, feel free to repost this game in your own journal, if you think it would be a good way to make connections between some of your people. I think this could go quite well if it spreads a few hops away from here, but also worth doing even if no-one picks it up.

Tagged "love meme" because, well, in its way it is, just taken slightly skew; post prompted by the presence of a beloved colleague & collaborator.

Comments

[kaberett]

CAT. Cat is the aforementioned colleague & collaborator. Phe calls me on my shit, lets me work it out in conversation, challenges me, gives me solidarity, takes care of me... I can't even. AND phe writes amazing beautiful prose snippets - and occasionally longer pieces - to share with the wider world. Phe gives of perself apparently endlessly - whether it's (solicited!) health tips or organising vaginapagina stuff or reccing books or offline activism or "just" providing support/commiseration/laughs. Per community (and community-building) work is nothing short of phenomenal. Phe is pretty new to DW & looking to meet folk who are primarily over here -- if you want more specific high praise as to why you particularly might want to get to know per, please do just ask.

[kaberett]

Feesh!

ghoti (not to be confused with ghoti) is someone I know via DW volunteering, and I am so, so glad I do. They appreciate the important things in life (in this instance I am thinking of rainbow toe socks); they are gentle and compassionate and generous with kindness, but they also have an absolutely unerring sense for when to offer to set people on fire for you.

Plus: if you want stories from the coalface of non-research biology? This is the fish for you.

[kaberett]

amianym is SO AWESOME for trading stories about days in the life of queer trans autistic folk, and coping tips. Wicked sense of humour on these people. To my knowledge I've only talked to Ricky, but every single one of my interactions with these folk is fantastic -- rage to puns to work to just chatting about our days. They always have something good to say, and they can very reliably get a smile out of me, which is not always easy. ♥

[kaberett]

Macey is one of the tiny number of people I have coexisted in a hot tub with. (I am pretty sure you were involved with that?) They are a coder & a fan & an ex-pat and I love interacting with them, because of their beautiful sense of humour (especially around maths!) & how very obvious they make it that maths & computing are creative endeavours.

[randomling]

Me, please! ♥

Re: The archetypal geek: fossil studies of late-lifecycle instars

[kaberett]

Nile is an appalling punster. I thwap him gently around the head very frequently for this reason. He gives excellent hugs and writes very-nearly-as-good political-economic commentary; highly recommended if you're in the UK, though worth noting that it has very genuine global importance. This is stuff I mostly can't bear to be well-informed about, but every time I am recoiling in horror at how badly I really should understand this one thing... Nile pops up with a clear and thorough explanation I can stand to grit my teeth through, and emerge the better (though not always the happier) for it.

Also, he knows a slightly terrifying number of ways to kill people with his bare hands. As a result, he spends a lot of time as a grading partner for people working towards new belts in his martial art of choice.

And, of course, he is generous: I've mentioned that with respect to his knowledge, but also with his time and his experience and his awful puns. This is a good one, this is.

[kaberett]

Stella contains multitudes.

She is often quiet, but she is incredibly thoughtful and incisive. I am humbled by her self-exploration and self-awareness. Plus she's an enthusiastic supporter of me-on-stage, so there's one more thing not to complain about ;)

She is unfailingly kind; she is yet another person I am delighted to have met via DW volunteering.

[kaberett]

I was justifying the tag for my own sake rather than because I think you described it incorrectly. ♥

Liv is an awesome queer Jew, heavily involved in community, and constantly makes me think and articulate myself. She isn't (obviously) shy about learning in public; she's a brilliant teacher; she is unfailingly respectful, and often hosts extremely difficult and sensitive discussions with a light touch and great insight; and I really love knowing her, because she challenges me to be better.

The excellent book recs don't hurt, of course, but - she makes me more, and I don't know how to be grateful enough. Strongly recommended.

[kaberett]

Someone else with whom I have significant overlapping conditions - which is fantastic for me, in terms of empathy and solidarity and Just Getting It, but honestly he writes so well about all of it that it would probably be massively educational for people with less familiarity. He's enthusiastic about books and reading, and generous with his enthusiasm - at some point I really do need to get around to pinning them down and TALKING ABOUT LITERATURE because um yes people with whom I can be Very Serious about books. ;)

Want an example of ways in which he's awesome? Have this post. Fiercely analytical, fiercely insightful.

[kaberett]

pretty_panther challenges me to articulate my views and positions, and encourages me (probably all unknowing!) to talk about the things I believe, & believe are important. They care about community - I met them via a love meme they were hosting - and they write Really Good blog posts about wrangling healthcare systems & one's own health. It's incredibly comforting.

[kaberett]

Okay, glass_icarus is definitely one of the people I still think of as way too cool to be hanging out with me ;)

Inspiringly fannish (if I ever achieve that much output/reccing/etc, ♥_♥) & Very Firmly intersectional & anti-oppression. They are amazing at pulling people together; at praising others' awesome; & at celebrating the things they enjoy in ways that introduce me to things I don't know about but am delighted to learn. (Zouk!)

And they are contagiously enthusiastic. I am ever-so-pleased every time they post, because it is pretty much always a dose of happy, even when it is dealing with Hard Stuff -- whether over a turn of phrase or about attitude, it is cheering. Yes.

[kaberett]

rysmiel is someone I know via liv, though I'd been admiring them for years before that from afar, online, because they were one of the first people I met who insisted on gender-neutral pronouns being used for them - way before I had realised that what I was actually feeling was wistfulness.

They're a writer -- seriously, how do I know so many amazing wordsmiths, this is kind of ridiculous -- and a software type, but the thing I am most grateful to them for is their ability to make space -- to think, to talk, to listen. They have a knack for asking exactly the right questions; they're very careful about boundaries and respect, and extremely thoughtful in all ways, really; and, like liv, they challenge me to think and to be more.

And when I am scared of e-mail and of reaching out to people, they write to me anyway, and every single time they reassure me that I don't have to respond. The people who make me feel unquestionably safe are few and far between, but this one manages it.

[kaberett]

These people. Their sheer levels of arse-kicking and name-taking in the face of a whole bunch of Really Difficult Stuff; the way they collectively support each other, and help each other with theory of mind, and how fiercely they protect and look out for one another. And their art -- tiny hedgehog! For sheer determined We Are Kickass And We'll Fucking Prove It If We Have To, you can't do much better than this.

So -- grit, determination, self-awareness, insight, and generosity of spirit and of community. It's not just each other they look out for - they're the reason I created signalboost, because I am awed & humbled by the amount of time & energy they put into doing their damndest to make sure other people are okay.

Thank you, y'all. You enrich me, and you make me a better person. ♥

[exor674]

17:55 * exor674 ponders adding to kaberett's workload >_>
17:55 < kaberett> exor674: do it <3

♥

[batrachian]

Mostly-relevant icon is mostly-relevant.

[kaberett]

SO MANY BOOKS.

Most of what I know about shanaqui is books, in really good ways -- they are awesome for recs and for commiseration on the to-read pile. We bonded in awesomeers about self-care and their amazing adorkable face and, oh yeah, books.

Plus some awesome conversations about how learning things works for us, even if only in glancing -- I am hoping we will get to have more of them :-)

But. Yesss. Awesome spec fic person; if you want to know whether something was good, this is proooooobably the person to ask. Plus superlative taste in music. Someone else who pretty much always manages to make me grin, and who is exemplary in the art of daily journalling so's not to forget the things that matter.

[kaberett]

I met ludy in a pub. They were knitting, and we bonded over yucky insides and the fact that we were both there for the same reason, i.e. they know a lot of fantastic people and so, mysteriously, do I.

They talk a lot of Really Good Sense about family, and interacting with family; they make lovely art (I am currently seriously enjoying their photo-a-day series); and basically, hurrah for awesome queers who make me feel more okay about Being Me and Just Getting On With It and respecting my limits. ♥

[forestofglory]

Umm... I think you are partly mixing me up with another person. At least I wasn't responsible for the midnight tour -- that was Elena, who was also an American in Pooh Soc. I'm also not sure about the scientist bit -- what I'm doing now isn't really science, and I can't think of anywhere I have explained my work where you might have seen it.

(I am responsible for the postcards though -- they are great fun to find and send.)

[kaberett]

I have Very Firm memories of that particular walking tour being where I met you & became impressed & adoring, so I will cop to misremembering organisation but hope I didn't totally make up your presence ;)

-- you occasionally explain bits and bobs of what you're doing: they are tantalising and they are encouraging and they make me want to know more. So that counts as far as I am concerned.

(The postcards make me SO HAPPY.)

[kaberett]

randomling is one of My Folk. They are stellar at setting boundaries, and are teaching me a lot about how to approach offering people advice -- as well as an awful lot about how to tell people that they are awesome.

They are pretty amazing when it comes to community-building: from an idea and not very much else, they've created awesomeers, a community for challenging our own impostor syndrome and getting support from it for others. I have met so many awesome people via that comm! And: they mentor me and encourage me, even and especially on things I am terrified to ask for help on; they let me run drafts past them and they give me feedback; they gently nudge me towards articulating my own sense-of-self and towards unearthing bits of my psyche that are badly in need of some sunlight.

I can't praise them highly enough, basically.

[kaberett]

Dreeeee ♥♥♥

Dre, okay, Dre wrote a backend Dreamwidth feature. Just. For. Me. (Well, that's not quite true, but it is close enough to the truth to illustrate how amazing she is.)

She makes time for me. She makes time for all my ridiculous babydev questions and all my insecurities. She makes me learn: she isn't into giving me the answers so I can run off, apply them, and then HIDE FROM EVER UNDERSTANDING THEM BECAUSE SCARY -- but she is kind and gentle about it. She inspires me to get over my fear of hardware (in all its various forms!). She is unstintingly generous and encouraging.

And she runs on strawberries.

[kaberett]

WOGGY HAS A FROG ICON FOR EVERY OCCASION.

He puts a huge amount of work into expanding his horizons & personal growth, which I respect beyond words. He faces up to things that scare him and Does Them Anyway. He is generous in every respect, and when he writes he writes gloriously -- but is truly excellent for fannish squee & analysis under pretty much any circumstance. He reminds me to be compassionate and he reminds me to do my best. And I can't really say fairer than that. ♥

[forestofglory]

Oh dear, I don't think I was there at all. I'm generally not up for much late at night. I'm afraid I don't have memory of 1st meeting you -- other than that it was through Pooh Soc.

Thank you, in that case I'm extremely flattered. I should try to write more about it.

(You have inspired me to write you another one :)

[barrelofrain]

Gosh, I don't know what to say to all of this. <3 <3 <3

Thank you, though, for all of it. I struggle a lot with feeling like I am doing "enough" in various ways, and I am way glad that you see what I do manage as valuable.

[such_heights]

Oh, go on then. <3