i'm dating this to around the point where i'll start the alter-reality:

i think this was from the first part of 1989. my dad didn't understand my existential ennui about the meaninglessness of winterlude and insisted i play in the snow, to little response from myself besides boredom. this is feigned reaction to a request for a smile. i remember that, and wish it wasn't from outside the bounds of the story. maybe i'll do a flashback.

this is a picture of me on a bicycle from the summer of 1989.

i had a number of stuffed animals and other doll-type toys that i personified for quite a few years. judging from my hair, i believe it's the same period as the other shots.

i'm surprised i don't have more shots like this, actually:

i'm dating this to the later months of 1989, before it got too cold.