1) On Wednesday the skies were sunny and my heart was light. I enjoyed a beautiful lunch out with two of my best friends, two hours (including an hour after the check had been paid) of engaging conversation with people rarely seen in person during the pandemic — and all this after the departure the day before of that Fascinating New Personality, who had come to visit for a few days.
1a) Today, Friday, the skies are stormy and my heart — and the sidewalks — are heavy. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has justly alarmed and angered the world, taking us to a place I think few of us are really prepared to go.
2) To add to that growing sense of unease and suspicion, it appears I have been deceived by an IG account that had all the appearances of a professional acquaintance from 20 years ago. This account followed me three weeks ago, an account that had well over 1K legit posts that were not all posted on the same date, and I was looking forward to reconnecting. Yesterday appeared in that accounts Posts and Stories a post related to a, shall we say, uncharacteristic topic: ye Bytcoynne, also known as ye Cripteau, ye Fyryx, etc. etc. etc. I messaged “Dahling, it looks like you’ve been hacked,” and this morning got the reply, “No, I really did it, I made [Insert Whatever Amount of Money It Was] and I’m gonna do it again!”
2a) So then I knew something was rotten in the state of Denmark, and during an Economist Zoom program about Ukraine I scrolled this account’s followers and blocked dozens of fake accounts.
2a.1) It feels like I spend more and more of my time online blocking fake accounts. Is social media worth it?
2b) The only problem: this account now has my email and phone number. 😰
3) Add to all this today’s horoscope from Gold River Astrology on Twitter, which contains this: “Words have a powerful impact on a Rooster day - think before you speak. Keep to your center.” An admonition to be discreet, circumspect, and calm above all else.