Stalker cats!

OH HI!

So, we're gonna talk about two things today. 

1. Internet Stalker

2. The cat tried to kill me. 

Ok. I play World of Warcraft.  I admit it. I've met some pretty epic people on there, and I've also met some pretty awful people.  But. The awesome thing about online gaming is the ease of blocking those people with "ignore" features. There's tons of avenues available to separate yourself from negative and awful and obsessive people.

So let's meet this guy. Of course it's a guy - cause most girls are sane. Let's call this guy Clinton, cause that's his damn name.  He inserted himself into our community in game, and eventually revealed himself as a crazy person. The situation ended with me completely blocking him from my life after threatening text messages.  So, I've put some guidelines together for myself in the future.  They might help you too if you have a pretty big "online" presence.

1. DO NOT give out your real name.  I know this isn't really realistic in the age of Facebook.  But if you an avoid it - do. For WOW specifically there is an option called "RealID" that gives people the option of giving out their real name to contact people cross-server and games. BE CAREFUL who you give this out to.  My new baseline, if I haven't known (and regularly spoken with) someone for six months or more - they're not getting my RealID.
2.  DO NOT put all of your personal information anywhere.  This is also hard to resist in the social media age. There is no rule that you have to put where you work, where you live, your phone number, or your email address.  There are boxes for them, yes. But guess what!!  You can leave them blank.  My stalker was able to get the phone number at my workplace and threaten me with "calling my boss."  Remove that ability. 
3. LOOK for clues that people are not stable.  If they seem to latch on in an obsessive way, it's probably not the healthiest person mentally. Keywords are "special, different" for obsession. If they seem to always want to talk about their problems and seem sad all the time, they're probably not the best companion or friend, and might turn crazy.  Keywords for sad/depressed are "I've had enough, I don't know what to do with my life, I'm so tired of the world, I'm fat, I'm a loser"  anything that they seem to want to tell you but not listen to a solution for. They've decided to be that way, let them do it far away from you. 
4. SEVER any connections if you suspect that they are not stable. If you have seen any of those keywords or someone is acting in an obsessive or unhealthy way, sever all ties. Don't wait - there's no point in keeping them in your online circle. There's millions of people that can take their place. Block/report them on your Facebook and any other social media site you use, use the ignore function in any online game you play,  and if they have contacted you via telephone obsessively - call your phone company and have the number blocked.
5. Report them to the police if you feel in any way unsafe in your house/workplace because of this person. I'm lucky that my stalker lives in Florida and has no mode of transportation or income to "come find me" as he threatened.  BUT, that will not always to be the case.  When in doubt, report the incidents to your local police and provide all proof you can (Facebook page, real name, contact info, screenshots, voice mails, text messages, anything you can think of that shows that this person is a threat to you.)

Ok, hope that helps and makes you think!!

Don't let that face confuse you.  That cat is a monster. She straight up jacked my hand up.  I don't care if she is lovingly sitting beside me and begging for pettings. SHE IS A MONSTER.


PS: Kenneth and I are going to "Hallelujah Broadway!" tonight. I don't recognize any of the vocalists, but hopefully they'll do some stuff I can sing along with. And if it sucks, I can always read Game of Thrones on my kindle. (IT IS SO GOOD.)