Five Questions by Self, Stephanie L (Owensboro)

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-14 01:08:30 UTC

I told it my dog's breed, age, and what the vet said. I did not type her name. I don't know why that felt like a line but it did.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-14 01:08:47 UTC

nothing really. it was about a garden. what would i even hold back

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-14 01:09:09 UTC

Everything. I didn't think about it once until you asked this question, and now I'm sitting here a little uncomfortable.

The Budget Master

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-14 01:09:30 UTC

I gave it our household income to ask about refinancing. Typed it, hit enter, didn't blink. Would not have said that number out loud at a faculty meeting.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-14 01:09:49 UTC

Nope.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-14 01:09:58 UTC

I share nothing that isn't already public. I asked about the history of a building downtown. I don't put personal information into a system I can't audit.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-14 01:10:30 UTC

I left out that it was for my mother. Said “a person in their 80s” instead. Felt safer somehow even though that's obviously her.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-14 01:11:52 UTC

I described the leak, the ceiling stain, the age of the roof. Left off my address. Then I asked about contractors “near me,” so I guess that was pointless.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-14 01:12:44 UTC

Held back nothing. I'm 61 and I assume all of it is gone already.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 17:56:14 UTC

If I gave the itinerary to my wife I'd absolutely say where it came from. If I gave a memo to my dean I would think about it a lot harder. That difference is bothering me.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 17:56:23 UTC

yes. no.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 17:56:34 UTC

I'd mention it. Not out of principle — because I'd want the blame to be shared if it turned out wrong.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 17:56:51 UTC

It doesn't feel like mine. It feels like something I ordered.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 17:57:24 UTC

Mine? I asked the question. That's the part that was mine.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 17:57:56 UTC

My honest answer is that I'd decide based on whether I thought they'd judge me for it. That's a bad way to decide things.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 17:58:23 UTC

I've never once mentioned it. Not once. That's the first time I've noticed that.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 17:59:08 UTC

Nothing. That's the honest answer. Nothing happened. I read it and moved on.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 17:59:54 UTC

Pause? There was no pause. There was a copy and a paste.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:00:09 UTC

About 20 minutes of verifying — which took longer than doing it myself would have.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:00:35 UTC

Reread it twice. Changed two things because they didn't sound like me. Never once asked whether they were true.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:01:01 UTC

Nothing at first. Then an hour later I got a bad feeling and went back and checked. It was fine. But the bad feeling is interesting.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:01:32 UTC

Immediately used it. Immediately. If you'd filmed me there would be no frame where I was thinking.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:01:55 UTC

I don't remember. That might be the answer.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:02:40 UTC

It was the right tool and I'd defend that. I needed to survey a lot of options fast and narrow to three. That's what it's actually good at.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:02:55 UTC

Honestly? Because I didn't want to admit to a human that I didn't know.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:03:50 UTC

I would have called my dad about this five years ago. He's still alive. I didn't call him.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:04:05 UTC

Right tool. Wrong expectations. I expected it to decide for me, and that was never going to happen.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:04:44 UTC

To avoid a phone call. Let's be honest, to avoid a phone call.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:05:20 UTC

I've started reaching for it before I think about whether I should. That's the honest answer and it's a little alarming written down.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:05:46 UTC

I could not explain this to my spouse tonight without opening the laptop back up. That's my answer.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:06:06 UTC

Better. Genuinely. It explained a thing three people had failed to explain to me, and I get it now.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:06:20 UTC

I understand the shape of it. Not the substance.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:06:39 UTC

I don't know. That's not a dodge — I actually can't tell the difference right now, and I don't love that.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:07:33 UTC

Answer. It took 90 seconds, and doing it properly would have taken a weekend, and I'm not sure the weekend was worth it. Ask me in a year.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:08:03 UTC

I have an answer. I had an answer before too, from my neighbor. This one is just typed nicer.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:11:01 UTC

Honestly I understand the topic slightly worse, because now I have a confident summary sitting where my actual uncertainty used to be.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:13:25 UTC

Just an answer.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:14:02 UTC

I understand it better, but only because I argued with it. If I'd taken the first response I'd have nothing.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:14:32 UTC

This one made me start thinking about my syllabus and I know we're not supposed to be doing that yet. Sorry.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:15:07 UTC

I don't have anybody to share this with. It was about my cat.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:15:35 UTC

Googled two of the claims. One held up, one was close but the date was off by a year. Kept using it anyway.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:16:06 UTC

I felt relief. That was the whole process. Relief that I had something.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 18:16:36 UTC

Nearest one — but I want to push back on the premise. Sometimes nearest IS right. Speed is a legitimate value.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 19:06:16 UTC

Depends entirely on who. My sister, no. My department chair, yes. A student, absolutely yes, because I'd want them to see me do it.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 19:06:48 UTC

Weirdly I'd be MORE likely to mention it now than a year ago. It stopped feeling like cheating and started feeling like a tool.

sself0005_1 — 2026-08-24 19:07:14 UTC

Half mine. I threw out most of what it gave me and kept the structure. The structure was the useful part, and the structure wasn't mine.