care-tags.org

I'll try a top five

5. The Spanish vets who I got talking to at the pub when I brought my houseguest from italy there. They recommended that I get pet insurance for my cat (I've still not done it but I should)
4. The woman who struck up a conversation with me outside the art gallery whilst we were unlocking our bikes. Extremely rare straight male uninitiated flirt that I will treasure probably for the next five years.
3. Carlos, the owner of Carlos BBQ who recommended I have zataar on my chips instead of peri peri salt, because "They put all sorts in peri peri salt." I disagree with him, but zataar isn't too bad as an alternative.
2. The extremely, powerfully stoned bearded guy at the hostel I stayed at in Shropshire who managed to be extremely diligent about our various dietary requirements whilst communicating to us from a planet many lightyears away.
1. Marsi, the barista at a coffee shop I hate who is really, really good.

Thank you to all the ups drivers. I worked with all great. And the teen that told me to listen to joe Rogan (it changed his life).

1. My neighbor, Kelly, who lives a block up the street. I actually haven't met her but I've always admired all the plants she keeps on her front porch in the summer. I left a stromanthe on her porch with a note saying this and she left me a jackfruit plant with a really nice note.
2. The couple that let my friend and I warm up and smoke a joint in their truck in a trailhead parking lot in the White Mountains while waiting for AAA after I lost my car keys on the trail.
3. Woman at the library book sale who let me take a CD for free because they're normally 4 for a dollar and I only wanted one.
4. Man wearing a cool jacket who sat next to me on a flight home and jumped out of his seat when the plane parked, remembered where I put my bag in the overhead (much further back) and asked people to pass it forward for me so I didn't have to wait for everyone to get off.
5. New salon client who came into the office and said I had really nice hair.
6. Mechanic at my garage who went the extra mile and made sure I got reimbursed for brakes that were still under warranty.
7. Someone on FB marketplace who gave me a great working dyson vacuum for FREE.
8. A family of neighbors who stopped shoveling and helped push my car up the hill and into my driveway.
9. Owner of a local thrift store who pulled out a bunch of cardigans from storage that she thought I would like and I found one that was perfect.
10. Literally every librarian at my library. They're so nice, they give good recommendations and compliment my book choices.

yall have way better memory than me

Remembering strangers feels like this really daunting task until you start it and suddenly more will come to you. Good situations to get the ball rolling: did you flirt with anyone this year? take any solo trips? have dinner alone at the bar and chat with a seatmate? how about any public transport moments (someone was yelling and you and your neighbour shared an oh-geez look)? made any big purchases you were helped with? chat to someone in the smoking area at a club or show?

If you still can't remember any strangers maybe use this to try to make note of strangers you meet in 2020.

grocery store manager who told me he really liked my acg cargo pants and said "haven't seen pants like these since the 80s"

started working in a secondary school so it's made up for the lack of interaction from the first 9 months of the year. don't know if I'm pushing the definition of 'stranger', but similar vibes:
1. the kid who said he really thought my hair was 'great' when his classmates were taking the piss out of it
2. the (separate) group of kids who call me 'cauliflower' bc i'm white and have blond-ish curly hair
3. the old guy who was always sat outside his front door down the road from me when i set off doing food parcel deliveries - got a good 'nod of mutual approval' routine going with him
4. shaun at aldi - sounds like a garage mc
5. the kid who got lost walking in a straight line through the school, showed up 15 mins later with his head of year
6. guy at the bike shop who never remembered me, but commented on how much he liked my bike every time i brought it in as though he'd never seen it before

* The guy who bought my Miu Miu anorak from me. He was called "Miles Davis" and when I checked his address on Google maps I found it was an a detached house on a street of terraces with a 90s Jaguar XJ on the drive. I can only imagine what kind of "character" he must be.
* Totally insane white guy with dreads who lost his shit at the staff at the food cooperative at the start of the pandemic. He was really mad they weren't stocking stuff faster and got into an altercation with the manager who told him to leave. He went out to his convertible saab 9-3 with a large black labrador in the back who looked like they deserved a nicer owner.
* Guy who started talking to me when I went into a pub in Walton-on-the-Naze. I just wanted to use the bathroom but ended up in a conversation with this guy who told me that he lost his virginity "on the Naze." I tried to make a joke and said "which one" meaning "which Naze" but he just looked confused then pointed at his dick and said "this one."
* The lovelorn graffito who wrote the following on the stall door of a public bathroom on the seafront:

* Tiny old lady I see walking a tiny scottish terrier who wears a tiny dog jacket. They both seem very frail but she's always out with the dog, even in shit weather.

i was hiking with a friend in shenandoah (adjacent/intersects with the appalachian trail) and on our descent i was explaining very loudly some taylor swift drama, particularly the situation where her exploitative manager had control of her masters. and two cute hikers on the way up overheard me were like: "damn, i didn't know about all of that, i hope she figures that out."

here's some nice interactions i remember

1. the nice viet auntie in dorchester who was helping me unload my huge-ass costco run into the community fridge in the freezing night. she spoke some canto so i got to chat a little bit with my elementary "sik gong yat dim gwong dong wah"
2. the older punk dude w/ the mohawk at the skate park. super chill and was trying to teach me sweepers, thanks for being patient lol
3. the taiwanese sounding (maybe fujianese? mando accent v similar) girl who works at tao's beauty in allston in getting my skincare level further up
4. the super nice taiwanese auntie at that taiwanese bakery i always go to and says i'm way too skinny and should buy more bread (lol)
5. that one dude at yifang taiwan fruit tea in flushing. u the king, thanks for always supplying the FIRE joeng zi gam lo drink
6. that super chill guy at seven stars book store who always welcomes me in with the most relaxed "hi, hope you're having a lovely day." and thanks for finding that e.f. schumacher book for me

* woman who paid for my tomatoes at the farmers market bc i didn't have cash
* old guy named John who asked to take my picture in a park. after i asked him what the picture was for he kept repeating "Who knows... Who knows... Who knows..." as he walked away
* all the people i'd exchange a nod w on the bus in the morning but never talk to