I use pseudonyms for the people I write about (even myself!). I thought it’d be handy to give you at least SOME idea who the heck these people are with the generic names.

The druid, or Druid. This is my boyfriend, my fiancé, my best friend, my mate, however you want to say it, he’s it. We’re the same age, one astrological sign apart, and we’ve been together since October 2008. He’s of Irish and Slovac heritage, has a killer mind for languages and history (both worldwide and personal), and loves pointy things and boomsticks. We grew up about 70 miles apart and probably saw glimpses of each other as children and young adults, but never really clunked heads until we held hands in the back of a friend’s car. We have “handiversaries” because of that.

The Roommate. She was living with her mom when I first moved to the area, and has cohabitated with me since. She is a pre-op transgender M2F, if you must put a label on her, but prefers simply to be referred to as female. She conducts herself as such 100% of the time, whether in her bathrobe or out and about. I have no problems with this, and has made me sympathetic to how society treats her. I was already a proponent for the rights of the GLBTA community–knowing someone personally, clinches it.

The Gamer, or Tank. A friend of the druid, Tank and I started talking via instant messenger online in January 2009, becoming quite a close friend of mine as well. When Tank needed an emerency place to stay back in August 2009, I offered him a bed in our living room. It’s not an ideal arrangement but he’s been a welcome member to our household since. He’s gotten to know me much better and trusts me as much as he does the druid, which seems a rare thing for him. He plays a lot of PS2 and PS3 games, online MMOs and emulated systems.

The Dreamer. The dreamer is someone I’ve known since 2001, back when he was going to college, tripped across my online journal (before blogs were blogs), and liked what he saw enough to start interacting with me. We’ve known each other online since, keeping in nearly daily contact. We have spoken for years about online businesses we’d like to get into, and now he’s embarked on a venture with his uncle to bring one of these ideas to life. He borrows me for webwork and other consulting, emotional support and the voice of reason when his dreams get too big or deflate too much, and, well, it’s strange being such close but platonic friends with a guy like this but we meld well together so I’m not going to question it. ;)