What you're about to witness is a group of people traveling through the online to IRL pipeline. It all began with a finsta. The same Atlanta-based friend who fatefully introduced me to Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2018 had friends in common with local artist @Nimay Ndolo ; that old friend urged me to follow Nimay's finsta. "I know your sense of humor," my friend said, "and you'll find her hilarious and brilliant." This old friend was right. Nimay's digital space was a vibrant open diary. She wrote about her dating adventures and misadventures, her dreams of becoming a filmmaker, her beloved circle of eclectic and creative friends. Her life seemed filled with art and fun, and right away she felt like a new friend in my own life...even though I was really just reading her finsta and leaving comments on the posts. But comments turned to comment replies, which turned into DMs, and somehow, "gradually but suddenly," as some might say, Nimay and I were Internet friends. Years passed; through a screen, I watched Nimay fall in love, learn how to code, and establish her career in tech. She cheered me on as I fell in and out of love, made my own career milestones, and, finally, developed Between Two Salads with my sister, Marie. Finally, we're all meeting IRL. Were these first-date jitters? It was one thing to turn a parasocial relationship into a mutual one - online. It's another thing to try to transcend the safety afforded by screens and meet in "real life." Especially when the expressed goal is to get fucked up and talk about The Simulation.

Keep watching to find out what happens: 

Follow Nimay's TikTok: @nimay.ndolo and Instagram: @nimayndoleaux

Keep up with Between Two Salads: @kardashian_kolloquium @superlestela