The Ones Who Watch
“You’ve always felt like you’re being watched, huh?”
I’m listening to an ancient cassette tape recording of a session I had on my fourteenth birthday with an intuitive | astrologer | psychotherapist.
I can remember the mischievous smile she gave me when she asked me this — stated it, really — one of those classic knowing, penetrating looks that implied we were both “in” on something secretive and thrilling. The astrologer’s voice is louder on the tape, closer to the microphone, but you can hear me faintly shuffle and squirm and mumble a confession — a “Yeah” that’s part nervous chuckle.
You can hear the rustle the piece of paper printed with my natal chart as she shows it to me. “Your Sun is in Leo, but both your Moon and your Ascendant are in Scorpio. You know how the sun looks reflected on the surface of a lake or an ocean? The sun’s light and shape becomes… shattered, and all the pieces move… Or think of what it looks like to go underwater, to the bottom of a pool, and look back up at the sun in the sky. That’s what all this Water in your chart does to your Sun — it’s the reason why that Leo horoscope you read in the newspaper is never going to seem like it’s talking about you. Don’t even bother, okay? A double-water-sign like this indicates significant psychic sensitivity — and that’s why you know you’re not alone.
“Nearly everyone has some intuition, and it takes different forms, but it’s especially hard to avoid for those with a lot of Water. Now, when the Water is Pisces, you just know, the presence of Spirit is a part of your entire experience, as normal to you as breathing, so ordinary that you don’t feel a need to talk about it; when it’s Cancer, you may know but you probably don’t even feel comfortable thinking about it much, let alone talking about it; but when it’s Scorpio — as it is with you — you know that there is Spirit around you — you either think about Spirit constantly — or you are aware of it on some level — but you also feel you’re not supposed to talk about it. Do you understand the difference?
“For you, the spirits around you feel like an Enormous Secret. It feels like something you should keep to yourself. You’re not afraid of the spirits at all — but you’re very afraid of people who would not understand… I’m not saying you should not talk about this ever — there will come a time in your life when you must — just that it feels like you have to be careful about who you trust.
“There are two ways you will likely know when you can trust that someone else needs you to talk about the spirits — they will ask you to tell them, or they will see it within you as if they are looking into a mirror and they will bring it up first, as I am doing right now. And when the circumstances are right for you to speak to one another, the spirits around you will greet one another as well. You can literally feel it when that happens — it feels like this…”
There is a pause on the tape, but just listening to that empty moment is a trigger — my entire body remembers how the shadows and the very air itself seemed to press in around us. The physical space, the desktop with my chart between us, seemed to shrink. My sense of vision, of depth and perspective, shifted. The room felt suddenly full, enclosed, with a presence like people stepping up behind me to breathe on the back of my neck…
“Like that…” Her voice on the tape is soft. “Do you feel how they encircled us?”
I must have only been able to nod.
“Great. That feeling is both an invitation and a confirmation. We are protected. We can talk with Them; we can talk about Them. Okay? Think we should?”
You can hear me say “Yes” — clearly and firmly. My voice sounds different somehow… mature.
She takes a deep breath and sighs before she continues.
“You feel like you’re always being followed. Actually, you feel like there are hidden cameras following everyone, but it doesn’t seem like anyone else is noticing, or is paying attention. It’s not unpleasant for you — some people would find it unnerving, but you kind of like it… It makes you feel safe… powerful… doesn’t it?”
She pauses. There is a break in the mood of her voice. “Uh oh, what’s that look on your face about? Is it freaking you out because this is news to you, or are you just shocked because it’s true and I’m saying it loud?”
“No, I’m… um… You know the scene in The Wizard of Oz — ‘Pay no attention to the Man behind the Curtain’…?”
You hear her laugh and clap her hands together “Ha! Yes! Excellent! I have exposed you as a Great and Terrible wizard, huh? We work behind the curtain, from the shadows, with the Mysteries, within the Mysteries. We are here to part the Veils.”
I mumble something unintelligible — I sound embarrassed, but you can hear that I’m smiling. I remember thinking at the time “Wow! She used the word We.” She implied — acknowledged — that I was somehow like her. I was so impressed by that; I felt so validated.
I looked at her degrees on the wall behind her desk. One of the reasons my mother chose to let me have a session with her was because she was a licensed psychotherapist who happened to incorporate psychic ability and astrology into her practice. Something about that appealed to me very deeply. I believe that, in the back of my mind, all along my path, I have held that model, that combination, that intellect as an example. Something to set aside the “Neon Hands in the Window” that my ego just could not bear to be associated with. I admit, for many years I needed to believe in the concept of a “respectable,” intelligent intuitive. Sure, it’s a base concern — judgmental and small-minded — but I had to hope that I might one day be taken seriously.
“So, tell me — how long have you known They are with you?”
“Since… Kind of as long as I can remember, really. The first time I actually saw One of Them was when I was six years old.” At this point, I tell her a version of the story I told you last week, about The Ones Who Glow. “I don’t see Them very often. I’m not sure that I want to, because They seem to physically show up under extremely stressful or unpleasant circumstances. But you’re right — I do feel Them with me almost all the time. It’s a very comforting sensation.”
Try the Invitation Yourself, Right Now
There’s no great magic involved.
- Simply be still for a moment.
- Close your eyes if you wish — it helps you curl the fingers of your attention inward.
- Invite the guardians who are watching over you to step closer.
- Tell them you want to feel their presence.
- Pay attention to how your body responds.
- Notice any subtle air pressure changes — your skin and hair are like millions of tiny antennae.
You may feel Someone standing at your back; it may feel like Someone has laid a cloak around your shoulders; you may feel faintly held or “spooned”… This feeling may be physical or emotional or both.
What do you feel?
Leave a comment and tell me what you feel when you try this.

image credit greekadman via Creative Commons on Flickr
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32 Responses to “The Ones Who Watch”
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Slade,
When I begin a conversation with my guides, I feel my primary guide standing behind me with her hands resting lightly on my shoulders. Often it does feel like a cloak is being laid over my shoulders as the lavender light that surrounds her encompasses me.
You’re right, there is no great magic involved. I simply ask “Are you there?”
And the answer is always “Yes”.
-Sarah
I’ve always felt a Presence….sometimes the Presence is very general…sometimes, extremely specific.
The most tangible happened a few years ago in my first metalsmithing class. I was sawing a piece of copper. Saw blades are very delicate - as long as you hold it correctly and move it correctly it moves through the metal like a knife in butter…lose your focus for a second and the copper will snap the saw blade. I had reached a point in my sawing where I was losing my focus and the blade and copper were at odds with each other. I didn’t have any more blades and I knew that I was about to snap my saw blade.
Suddenly, it felt as if I had amazing warm hands on each of my shoulders, and a body leaning over me…a loving voice whispered in my ear… “Just relax, the metals will unwind…wait…wait…”
so I waited and yes, the piece of copper did this shiver while it adjusted itself in relation to the saw blade… then the loving voice whispered… “now…begin again…”
I was able to resume my sawing - with no problem….the Presence slowly moved away from my perception.
Side note: my great-uncle was an extremely well known Native American artist who was a master metalsmith. He passed away in 1989.
Nameste Slade…..
I am grateful to have you in my life…. thankful that you make your self available by sharing your experience and insight…. along the path.
This meditation… the experiencing of the “others”…. yes… I have always know that I am protected and guided and can choose this guidance or not…
However, in the last few months…. this always accessible guidance, has stopped.. and now the message is “whatever you do, whatever choice you make will be a wonderful result… there is not a right or wrong anymore”…. this I find frightening and disconcerting… I feel ill prepared to fly on my own and have faith that all will be well… I want to know the “right” way…. maybe you have some resonance with this? kus
I got quite an emotional feeling. I’ve noticed a similar feeling a few times recently. It’s like an ancient deep connection. The word that comes to mind is homesickness. The feeling comes from my solar plexus. It’s like something that I’m missing and I’ve just found again.
I have seen and felt spirit my entire life. But as of recent, I’ve had some experiences that have left me unsettled. When i tried the technique for asking your guides to come closer and to touch, i felt like some one sat down on both sides of me and gently rest a hand on each arm. Comforting….
I felt the pressure of beings on my back, neck, and head with almost a small electrical charge present at my back. There was also the feel of each being having a different height from very, very tall to short and every height in between. I asked to be helped to be more aware of their presence in my daily life.
When I did this meditation, I immediately felt a strong warmth on my back and my arms. It was also like a release valve opened in my chest and I felt a huge bubbling of emotion come up that made me want to cry but it was like wanting to cry because you’re in the arms of your safest most trusted friend and you can finally let go of some of the things you’ve been holding onto lately, trying to keep under the surface. Thanks Slade, this made me feel more connected to the “other” world around me.
I bowed my head, closed my eyes, clasped my hands together at my forehead and said, “Guardians watching over me, step closer. I want to feel your presence.” Almost immediately, my daughter entered the room to ask me a question. Does this count for anything, given the fact that yesterday she told me she was pregnant?
I wish you would respond to your comments, or at least to this one.
I love the feeling of them when they’re near. I have the fan on in my room, and when I did it, it began to warm up on the left side of my body, around my face and left ear. Then my hands, as though they were holding them. Its a fantastic feeling, I felt them before, but its so nice to take time out and call them close
Great post Slade!
I was only told that i’d have relatives passing away /relatives,and many dissapointments in my early years by a “reader”…
Hi Slace, I knew withing seconds my nana was here cant say how it is just the safe feeling she always gave me, and just then my right hand side was patted wich made me turn to see who was there. Thanks.
I sense them.
The sensation is similar to feeling an aura, but in this case there’s a “thickness” there… I can tell there’s more to it, like… hmmm, so this is a bit hard to explain, but when I sense anything, I can always feel… I guess you could call it a life force. People have a unique identifier, like a signal of consciousness than I can hone into.
That’s sort of what I feel… like there’s a consciousness there (although in this case, there are a “few” “consciousnesses” there), “consciousness” meaning… eh, I need better words to describe this.
(Or maybe less words…)
I can feel them behind me, although localising them feels… well, I can do it, but it’s like they exist everywhere as well, although there seems to be a different realm of perception that seems to not really have space and time–everything feels “close.” I find labeling this stuff sort of… well, it’s like our concepts and words can’t really translate it accurately, so if you hang on the labels and concepts too much instead of experiencing this experientially, at least for me, it’s not so useful (I begin looking for certain things and sort of hone in onto something specific, instead of being open–sort of like soft focus–and letting more things in, in a way where the detail can be expressed naturally, free from my expectations and concepts I might use to describe all of this).
When I’m open, I can also feel the energies they express. I feel safe, not so much because they’re around… it’s more like a feeling of wellbeing–the kind you feel when you look at the world from a state of presence. Maybe it’s their perspective I’m picking up on.
* * *
I must say, it’s always fascinating to me to read and hear about what people use to sort of “tune in.” (E.g. Astrologists seem to use astrology as a “window” into that world, or maybe a mirror to reflect it back at them.)
This probably interests me because I love the nuances of personality. I guess I’ve become sort of fascinated with the different ways people interpret the non-physical. It’s like seeing a magician do his trick twice–the similarities and differences give away how it all works underneath… or at least, give you an idea, since the non-physical seems to be a tad more “vast” than a magic trick.
– Bruce
I have felt them my whole life long and I use a very similar method to the meditation you suggested. I somehow always just knew how to do this since I was a young child. I feel them as a change of temperature and a pressure in the centre of my chest. Sometimes this can leave me feeling very emotional and with a lump in my throat. Quite a lot like when a piece of beautiful music can move you to the point of emotion. I always feel as if I am encircled and vastly protected and loved. When I was a teenager, I tried to shun the aspects of myself that were different and didn’t fit in with all the norms around me. I shut off my intuitive side for many years. The funny thing is that I developed tinnitus and had a constant ringing in my ears for many years. It was only when I embraced my intuition again and started to listen again that my tinnitus went away. Now when I sense their presence or they need me to notice, my ears often ‘pop’ or ring to get my attention. This is when I know that I need to stop and tune in.
Wow Slade…mining the past is such an amazing process. I have been preparing to move, so I’ve had some interesting visits to the past lately myself.
The part of your post that resonated with me was about the need to “be taken seriously”, and therefore not identifying with one’s psychic nature. Sadly, this need has been so strong for me in my life, that it has bascially been the reason why I supressed many of my natural creative talents, and a career in the arts, to this point in my life. It was the reason I choose a “serious” career, so my “credibility couldn’t be doubted”.
It has also been one of the greatest deterrents to me coming out of the psychic closet as well. I never really thought about being “psychic”, as most of it was tied to my creativity. But over the last few years, as my confidence in myself has grown, so has my ability to embrace all the (sometimes) disparate facets of my entire self. I’m now starting to marry all of these facets together, and it is very interesting and exciting….I will be interested to see how the “intellectual” and the “intuitive” parts create a synergy that each alone would not have. I truly believe they will.
Thank you Slade. You are once again blazing the trail for those of us who need it. Hearing about your struggles, and seeing how you have resolved those struggles with your amazing writing and website continues to inspire me, and help me start to do the same for myself.
Thank you so much.
Kara
The sensation I felt (to my surprise as this was a new one) was a gentle encircling of my abdomen, of my whole torso below my belly button. It was like a very reassuring hug from a tiny person.
I’ve experienced Them before, with different sensations but never this.
K
Slade, I loved this piece of yours!
Equally, to everyone else, it’s fascinating to read of your experiences. I never
felt anything like this until I turned fifty and had a concussion…..my angels used to hold my hands. It was wonderful. They probably would again, if I asked them.
I also get a stroking sensation on my right temple.
Great!
I have that subtle sensation of, hm, electricity moving over my body. It starts on top of or on the sides of my head, and moves downward. It makes me feel a bit lighter, almost slightly elevated, like I’m moving upward in energy. There’s some anticipation and excitement there too, along with a little uneasiness and nervousness - mostly in a positive way though. It’s like when that first wave of something hits you or is just about to - the sense of something happening, subtle but real, a bit frightening, but also exciting.
Gee, it’s actually quite hard to describe!
I stopped, closed my eyes and asked Them to come closer. I always feel them coming in at my right shoulder, gently moving into my ear and softly caressing my cheek. I can feel Them blowing gentle breaths at my hair. I got goose bumps all over. I feel held, loved, nurtured, and supported. I so needed to remember Them and receive their support today.
I feel at peace for the first time today…
Thanks for helping me to remember Them, Slade!
Hugs,
Barbara
Slade! All I got to say is OMG! because over the weekend I Did the same thing….I asked to feel My guides, then angels, then ancesters or loved ones….and I got 3 diff sensations….wow
Then I came to wk and saw your latest blog…..I am so on track! Thanks for the comformation….
Hey Slade,
Thank you so much for the exercise. Often times, I’m too( thick, not listening, hearing, seeing, paying attention, what have you), to do it.
My “posse”, as you like to call them, (love that), usually present themselves as a balance happening within my body. I experienced that this time as well as a heaviness upon my hands and warmth within my soul. The balance thing is most prevalent however, like my left and right sides are energetically moving up and down my body, is how I can best describe it. This time, as well as most, I felt as if someone were touching my crown chakra, you know like when someone would pretend to crack an egg over your head?
Thank you for this as well as all of your articles. You always seem to touch on exactly what’s going on in this crazy ‘illusion versus reality’ world, with precise timing. I feel an energetic kinship to you, (it must be because we’re both August Leo’s of ‘69 and now I realize both with a rising sign in Scorpio but I digress), and am grateful for what you put into your work, despite the ego fear thing we all feel.
Thanks again for all of your honesty, hard work and energy,
Raquel Eyer
I tried the experiment and it was wild. I felt my head get extremely warm and I felt a tickling sensation on my lower back and I could feel a really soft caress on my upper arms. It wasn’t actually touching my skin, more like the hairs on my arm (and there aren’t many!). That was pretty cool. I’m going to pay attention to those feelings from now on.
I suddenly felt warm- on four sides surrounding me.My breath became shallow and the large dialogue in my mind became soft and easy , the voice of my true self unveiling through for my core. In my mind I remembered my fear- I’m afraid of finishing a piece of writing and found myself standing in front of a huge rock wall. Behind was a cliff edge I felt I had just climbed . To the left of the wall was chink in the stone. Through it I could see greenery, sunlight ,a lightness of space. There was hammer in my hand, a rock hammer. I begin to chip away at the tiny passage. I know I am not alone chipping away. I feel Others standing with me who take the hammer from me when it is time to rest . We are all working on this-together.
cheers
from over here
Eileen O’Toole
Ireland
Slade so sweet, i closed my eyes ….took a deep breath…looked around
the room was ok…LOL then i asked guardian spirit to let them allow me to sense them …..and then
my back felt like a brick was on it, big square being held their….nothing in the front of me thoug just behind me! And all my hairs( which are alote lol ) were trying to reach the wall on the other side of the room!
But I felt very guardered , love and attached to . . if that is right to say?
Valentin in Texas……….LOL!
Sarah,
That makes total sense to me that your primary spirit guide presents with her hands on your shoulders. Sometimes I wonder how much the presentation is subjective — I’m always happy to hear how incredibly similar these experiences are… I look forward to seeing where you go on your new blog!
Lisa,
Oooo, that was a great story — my skin really responded to that one. I could feel the tickle of that voice in my ear… And, again with the shoulders! I can’t help but think of the “cartoon” depiction of those little angels and devils on our shoulders — there must indeed be something to that.
Kus,
Thank you — very sweet message. They aren’t going anywhere. You know that they are with you and that they will come back in more strongly or specifically as needed. Sometimes we reach a point though — a short phase, usually — where we need to actually put all the guidance we’ve been getting into action. I feel your guides have loaded you up with tools, have taught you the “mechanics of flight” and the next step is to nudge you out of the nest already. Whenever anyone tells me they have experienced strong guidance in the past and seem to be experiencing a bit of “silence,” there are some really specific actions you need to take to get to the next “fork in the road.” Once you push yourself a bit down your path, a bit out of your comfort zone, they’ll “come back in” when you reach the next critical juncture.
Nicola,
Gorgeous word choice: ancient, homesickness, solar plexus, found again…
Linda,
It sounds like that little bit of comfort you experienced is the perfect “substitute” healing vibration for the unsettling stuff. Your body, mind, and spirit won’t forget that — you can ask for another dose of it whenever you need to call it up.
Patricia,
The “faint electricity” is a great description of this sensation. Also, I have to tell you, that one of the main ways that I identify between spirit guides (human souls) and angels (higher vibrational presence) is by the sense of Relative Height. The angels present for me as much taller. I hope that confirms that your request for more awareness is being answered.
Katie,
That “release valve” opening in the chest is a powerful description — your heart chakra opening, don’t you feel? That Tearful-slash-Joyful sensation — LOVE that! I wish we could bottle and sell that hybrid emotion — it’s Good Stuff!
Brenda,
Of COURSE it counts! I believe you got something more than the simple sense of Their presence — you received a full-on Sign, Serendipity, and Synchronicity. I have no doubt the timing of that experience is very significant. Had you perhaps just “sent” your Guardians to your daughter (whether you consciously realized it or not — I bet if you think back to her telling you about her pregnancy, you “deployed” your guardians to be with her for some extra protection, huh?)
Keep trying this “little exercise” — maybe once a day — and see what else it triggers. Look for a pattern… Hope that helps you “process” what happened.
Angelic,
The hands are extensions of the heart chakra — when you open the heart up, there is a “loop” or pathway or circuit that runs up the arms and intersects at the heart.
Kristi,
Are you remembering an early experience you had with someone reading for you? Or did you mean your guides responded to this exercise with an impulse about relatives passing?
Jacquie,
That sense of “who” exactly is with you is hard to miss — it’s usually very clear when it’s someone you recognize like that. Are you right-handed or left-handed? Usually, with mediumship, the “side” of the body, depending on which is projective/receptive for you will also indicate “which side of the family” the spirit belongs to…
Bruce,
It IS hard to put this stuff into words, isn’t it? But I must say, you did a great job — I totally get what you’re alluding to about it being similar to sensing an aura or energy body, only there are “more” of them there. I think that sense of well-being you describe is not coming from you or coming from them so much as it’s a sense of the frequencies coming into alignment or harmony… It’s like you’re singing with them.
Yes, this astrologer in particular had a profound effect on the way I “work” in my own practice. The chart is a kind of “window” for me. I think of it as looking at a sidebar or set of navigation links on a web page… A kind of short-hand breakdown of where I can “drill down” for deeper information… (I’m definitely discussing that technique in great detail in my upcoming intuitive certification and mentoring course…)
Juanita,
I totally relate to your “ringing in the ears” experience as a signal for tuning in. I’ve written a bit about that before — have you read that post? It’s called Downloading Heaven — check it out!
http://sladeroberson.com/clairaudience/downloading-heaven.html
Kara,
Thank you — those “requirements” that are ego whispers are SO important — the degrees, the professional licensing, the “approval” of other people — when we finally become exhausted with all that and just get on with it, we usually discover really quickly how little truth there was to all that madness, huh?
Jody,
Thanks for letting me know you like “this kind of post” — I’ll definitely be sharing others like it!
Barbara,
You summed up my own experience to a “T.”
xxxooo
Sufi,
How cool is it when that happens? You’re definitely onto a good technique — ask to feel how the different entities present themselves and notice the variation. That’s exactly what I do.
Raquel,
69 Leo with Scorpio Rising? Alright, sister, rock on! High five to that combo — no wonder we’re tuned in to the same channel, huh? Hey, try focusing on your crown chakra, imagine that egg broken there, and see if you can set the intention/ feel it FLOAT up off your head… Great little technique for getting up into that Thousand Petaled Lotus in the crown.
Marianne,
Isn’t it wild how similar everyone’s experiences actually are? It’s one of the reasons I like having these conversations — it’s so easy to think it’s “just happening to me” in some vacuum. I think it’s fascinating that there are more similarities than differences. Absolutely, do it often! I do it a few times a day at least!
Eileen,
Wow, you get an A+ and a gold star! You got a fantastic vision out of that little prompt — thank you for sharing. Very beautifully put.
(I hope I didn’t forget anybody! Thanks for all these great comments — I haven’t seen a response like this in a while. I’m very grateful. Love it! Keep ‘em coming, everybody!)
Hello Slade,
Thank you for sharing.
The first thing I notice is a change in my vision. Everything apears closer and larger. I believe my periferal vision is enhanced. Then I feel my “center”. This is the first time I have ever requested to feel their presence, and my reaction is almost violent in its strength! My “center”, that place just below where my lowest ribs come together, 4 inches above my bellybotton, is rolling with energy. A circular area maybe 2 inches around (though it feels huge as it expands away from my body) is rolling energy in and out. It is exchanging energy I think. Maybe sharing energy. My heartbeat is slow but solid and strong and centered in that place. And also I can feel that wrap around my shoulders. I seem to be somewhat emotionally detached from the experience. Too bad. I wonder why?
Karen
Hi there,
I felt elevated as though my resonance just stepped up a little higher; I felt enclosed in warmth and love and a blanket of peace enveloped my body and energy field. Very pleasant.
Slade, what does this mean:
And when the circumstances are right for you to speak to one another, ((((the spirits around you will greet one another as well.)))) You can literally feel it when that happens — it feels like this…”
One another’s guides will greet each other?
Slade said:
Wow, *good* description, Slade.
Lately I’ve been exploring the subjective interpretation we assign to non-physical experiences, doing my best to harmonise my understanding with some other ideas (such as how the law of attraction works), and wow, you hit the nail on the head. Difficult as this stuff is to explain, you’re good at it!
For years I’ve had a hunger–a relentless craving–to understand things like this (this is the part of me that wants reality to come with an instruction manual :D). I like that you seem to share the hunger to understand–to map the patterns and relationships. To me, understanding is like naming–there’s a power in it (plus it’s just plain satisfying, heh).
Thanks for the response.
– Bruce
I’m with Katie. Except that I actually did cry and then I had to smile as I immediately felt so much better. This happened the first couple of times I did it. Now, I get the sensation that lightning is about to strike…every single hair standing at attention! Thanks so much for this. kat
-o- Increasing pressure at the nape of the neck.
-o- Sensation of intense, throbbing energy in the entire body. Most in the head, jaw, nape of the neck and hands.
-o- Feeling hot and cold.
I closed my eyes and asked my guardians to let me feel their presence, just at that moment somebody put a letter through the door downstairs and i jumped and felt electrified. I closed my eyes again and told my self it was just a coincidence and at that moment my computer made a double clicking sound, the kind you hear when you click to open a folder, but for no reason. I opened my eyes again and my body suddenly felt really hot! Coincidence again?
I just wanted to say “I love you” Slade and I like to stop by on your site
By the way I tell my guides not to chat with me when I drift off to sleep b/c I am tired.
When I go to sleep I do not want any chat
It might sound funny but it is the truth
rooms chatting away(omg, now they are going to tease me- ugh!)