Looks like I got a BINGO! A lot of these things I just plain forgotten about. I think I did pretty well though.
But what a weird year. I’ve somehow been the happiest and close to the saddest I’ve ever been.
I did not expect a lot of the things that happened this year; big things that are pretty personal to talk about, really.
A big friendship, one that I thought was very rare, happened. And then it ended very suddenly. I feel like ghosting someone is the meanest thing to do to someone. I still hate the feeling I get when I think of those who have ghosted me. But the way this ended hurt a lot more than that. I would have had more respect for this person if they had just decided to ghost instead of saying what they said. It deeply, deeply hurt. A pain I’ve like never felt my entire life. Something that when I talk about it people go, “Really? That happened? What are we in grade school again?” And somehow I want closure but I cannot give them the satisfaction of closure because I don’t ever want to see or talk to them again, they have hurt me that much. Me… A person who hates ghosting and who hates games and bullshit and doesn’t ignore people. This person who hurt me is the kind of person that makes other people not trust people and not open up. And they can do it again and that makes me really fucking sad. I hope that that doesn’t happen.
But I healed miraculously fast and I’m over it and it does not effect me any longer. I’ve moved on. Perhaps the fastest I’ve ever moved on, thanks to the things and the great people in my life.
And there’s something on the horizon… and I don’t know how it’s going to end or the beginning of something. It is very exciting yet very scary. It’s like I’m deep into a great book and I want to jump to how the book ends because it could end great but it could end in a complete disaster. I don’t want to make any predictions because I don’t know what the future has in store. I just have to enjoy the ride.
I realized last night as I was sipping a beer, awaiting the fireworks… I have all of life right now. I feel like I have reached the top. I’ve retired young (which a lot of people remind me of how lucky I am, and I know it, every day). I’ve moved away from my birth country and those horrible things that I don’t have to worry about any longer (except fear for my friends and family). I have a great life. I’m worried I’m going to ruin it with something, anything… That anxiety that I always have. The need to cry for no reason. The need to feel pain and stress and drama because I don’t know a point in my life where I wasn’t going through some if not all of those things; at least a little. That expectation that something is going to come along or something’s gonna happen which fucks everything up like it has before.
I feel like I’ve grown up this year but yet I haven’t. I shouldn’t have made so many stupid mistakes in my life. Lots of regrets but I gotta learn to let it go and move on.
No new years resolutions for me this year. I want to live my life and see what happens next.
Not sure if I want to quantify or name this blog post this but I can’t think of a better name for it. I’ve had too much schedule for the past few months. And it’s just wearing me out especially for the past few weeks. I had agreed to cat sit for a friend and sleep over their place; which is lovely. The cats warmed up to me after a few days and we became good friends. But sleeping over there makes me miss out on stuff with Bri. And I’ve been really missing Bri lately.
A lot of people back in the states like to ask me what a “normal day” is like for me; a young, retired person living in Portugal… but it really depends on the day and circumstances. So I thought I’d blog about what a week is like for me at least now. Also this exercise can make me think about what I can cut out of my schedule so I can fit things I would rather be doing in there (like spending more time with Bri).
Sunday
This is actually a free day for me. But week-to-week it varies. The weekends do seem to be my most uneventful, rest times. Sometimes I go out to lunch with my friend, Sam. Sometimes other people want to hang out and do something. I will do things 9/10 times without Bri.
Monday
Usually someone wants to do coffee in the mornings and/or a walk. During football season my buddy, Steve, will come over and we watch one of the games from Sunday.
Noon to around 2:30 PM I have yoga with some friends; without Brian.
Lately I’ve been playing Bridge in the afternoon/evening with friends (no Bri).
Bri and I play Dominion with Heidi starting around 10:30-11 PM and go until 1:30 or 2 AM. However, this may happen on Sundays rather now that Heidi has RTO.
Tuesday
EMS usually around noon but I can schedule it whatever time. I’m really tired afterwards so I try not to do anything but there is always something going on.
Sometimes I will chat with friends from the states in the afternoon or in the evening.
Wednesday
The whole day until around 2 PM I spend with my friend, Larry, walking or swimming and drinking beer and eating bifanas. No Brian.
Since Bri has his coffee group at 2 PM, I actually have a few hours free until 4 PM but usually someone else wants to go swimming or do coffee so I need to do that. Sometimes I talk to my sister.
Bri and I get to spend a few hours together before I leave for Mexican Train.
I have Mexican Train with friends until around 9 PM but then we usually continue to drink afterwards; without Brian.
Thursday
Usually I don’t have anything until my first Happy Hour with friends at the Marina which usually starts around 3 PM. We’ll have a few pints and talk. Bri actually comes to this.
I got the expat Happy Hour starting at 6:30 PM. Bri and I will go together but we usually sit not together.
I can usually find a group to go out to dinner with afterwards so then I’ll continue to drink and be out without Bri.
Friday
Of late I have been going out with my buddy, Mark, in the afternoons. We’ll pick a beach or something to do. It involves food and hopefully some good chat about finances and the markets and navigating how the fuck we’re supposed to live here with prices raising and the dollar weakening and more people fucking wanting to move here. For a little while at least we’ve also had friends join us; but no Brian.
Mark and I will go to the beach and play Bocce with people; Bri doesn’t come.
I’ll join Larry for a beer or two while he gets his food.
Saturday
It always depends on the week but sometimes I have Pinochle and/or Pokémon Go. Someone always wants to do something like a game night or get together. Bri will come sometimes but could also leave early; leaving me.
Looking at this maybe it’s not me. I do have free time it’s just it feels like I don’t cause there are usually other things filling in voids. Also Bri does need to get out and join me for some of these things. I can’t always be at home watching TV or doing whatever he wants to do. I also feel like a drink a fuck ton more than what’s listed here.
I don’t know. Bri also wants me to start a journal or something of things that I do so I can better keep track of the days and my drinking. It won’t be here. I don’t want this blog to be filled with such nonsense.
I did another “Dry January” although it was more like a dry April into May. No real journal on this one but I’ll write some random notes down. Let me say that it was my choosing, again, and I did so without force or temptation. It wasn’t a problem for me to give it up cold turkey and no cravings.
I didn’t repeat the same mistakes I made from the Dry January 2024. I didn’t just switch to soda. I mostly stuck with mocktails, tea, water, or towards the end, non-alcoholic beer. I still feel bad for having non-alcoholic beer as I feel like it’s cheating since it does contain some trace alcohol.
I’ve actually lost weight this time! I think it’s because of EMS and all the yoga I’m doing. I’m also eating better and less. The last time I did it I remember eating more. This time I feel like I’m not substituting alcohol for more food.
I’m not sleeping well. At least the last few weeks. Difficult to get to sleep and I wake up during the night at least once or twice. Every morning I feel like I wake up with a hangover. I don’t understand. I thought that was one of the perks of NOT drinking… no hangover? Seems I had this problem the last time too. What is it?
There definitely were some difficulties but nothing I couldn’t handle and nothing I almost broke down on… maybe a few but I never did…
Sam’s birthday with everyone trying to get me to drink
Mexican Train nights are difficult especially with so many fun drinking buddies around like Jaque, Viv, and Larry
First happy hours on Thursdays are actually easy since Glenn hasn’t been drinking either
The first Saturday with our Pinochle group… Marlene brought Sangria… damn it
When all the power in Portugal went out all I wanted was a beer on my balcony; I did settle for non-alcoholic beer but it didn’t do the trick if you know what I mean
Not cheersing at Tivoli happy hours and not ordering anything from there
Not cheersing period (except with non-alcoholic or mocktails)
Ugh, the festival… All that craft beer that I didn’t get to taste… that was tough
After my eye exam I really wanted a beer
After the Portuguese placement test I REALLY wanted a beer
Denying Brandon at the store… damn me
Looking in my fridge and instead of grabbing a beer I had to settle for water
Not having a beer with Sam and her sister
Not having a beer or wine on our game night even though it was easy since Jay doesn’t drink and Petra can’t drink
Seeing Shawn have a beer and not being able to grab one from the fridge and drink with him
Watching shows and movies where people drink to cope or forget or whatever… like that is my thing
I hate having to explain to people why I’m not drinking.
I feel like I’m going to cut back when I continue. I definitely need to take it slow whenever I start again.
Speaking of “starting again” I may go another week. I want to see if I actually do lose weight this time and it’s not a fluke.
If I do go another week, this was the right time to do it. Michael is away and he’s been one of my drinking buddies so that’s one temptation not there. Plus Rene is MIA at the moment.
It is difficult not having alcohol with Sam. I feel awful when she asks, “are you doing one more?” and I say no… I mean I can because it’s non-alcoholic but still. Shit is expensive.
The Marina Bar upped its happy hour prices. This may effect my drinking when I continue.
I do like the recycling bin being not full of empty beer cans and bottles.
Given all the reasons above, I’m proud that I didn’t give into temptations. I also may do this once or twice a year to give my body a cleanse.
I thought I would blog about all the cool things that happen in Lagos or around Portugal every year so I know not to plan trips around them. Some of these may very depending on the year so I’ll add the year that they happened. Here’s a list:
December 31/January 1 (New Years) – Fireworks and a concert in the praça.
End of February/Early March (Marti Gras time) – Carnival happens in Loulé and other places in Portugal.
Sunday, February 11, 2024 – Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Sunday, March 2, 2025 – Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Late March or Early April – Car derby which goes by all the major towns in the Algarve.
Late March or Early April (Easter) – Feira do Folar e Artesanato in São João.
Friday, April 18, 2025 – Sunday, April 20, 2025
Early May – Festival Dos Descobrimentos in the praça. Apparently this happens every OTHER year.
Saturday, May 6, 2023
Wednesday, April 30, 2025 – Sunday, May 4, 2025
Mid/Late June – Black & White Night Street Party at Carvoeiro, Largo da Praia (Lagoa).
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Early July – Food truck fest in the praça.
Thursday, July 3, 2025 – Sunday July 6, 2025
End of July – Arte Doce which happens by the sports gym.
Friday, July 28, 2023
Thursday, July 25, 2024 – Saturday, July 27, 2024
Early August – Sardine festival in Portimão.
Friday, August 2, 2024
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 – Sunday, August 10, 2025
August 29 – Banho which happens in all the towns but the best place is in Luz.
Bri and I went to the states for Arlene’s wedding. It was a crazy trip getting there. Megan and Matt and Bri went to the amazing wedding. I met up with a former coworker and met other cool people. I only stayed four nights total in the states but I made the most of it. After Tampa, we went to Tampa then to New Orleans to hang out with Megan and Matt. It was a lot of fun.
I had to go back to the states to sell my car so what better time to visit than Thanksgiving (so I thought)! It was a very VERY busy week. It felt like a month… so jam packed and lots of traveling. But I had a great time and it was amazing seeing so many friends and family and meeting new family.
Our good friend, Glenn, decided to take a trip to Rome in June to meet his friend. Since he’s going all the way there, might as well do some stuff for a few days and why not invite some friends? Bri and I tagged along. Glenn mostly planned the travel part and I followed.
We took a bus early in the morning to Seville, Spain and explored Seville all afternoon. It was all our first time being in Seville and Bri and my first time being anywhere in Europe besides Portugal. The next day we caught an early morning plane to Rome.
The rest of the trip went great except for the scorching heat! Bri had issues with the heat and it definitely effected what we did. Glenn had changed his plans from our original itinerary and he left Italy for Portugal on Saturday while we left for Seville on Saturday, then another bus to Lagos on Sunday. The extra day in Rome and Seville weren’t worth it but it was still a great trip.
We saw a lot of stuff like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Fountain of Trevoli, and the Vatican (just the outside).
As I stated in my 2024 Resolutions post, I’m doing a dry January. I’ll be updating this post throughout the month.
2/5/2024
Well it’s done! And I’ve been drinking every night of February. That will probably break tonight.
I think I slept better but I slept longer. I definitely gained weight but it could also be because I’ve been exercising more (that happens to me). It could also be that instead of drinking, I will eat more when we go out for dinner.
It got a lot easier at the end of the month. And I haven’t gone crazy in February. With Brian gone for two weeks I’m responsible for the pets so there’s reason to not go crazy.
The first sip of beer after January felt like diving into a cool pool on a hot day. Simply refreshing. It was tough when others were drinking and I wasn’t. It kind of changed my relationship with alcohol in a way. I don’t feel the need to go crazy and drink everything. I’m more moderation now… however, that could just be because I have responsibilities until Bri gets back. Or maybe I’m just fooling myself and I’m not being responsible… I don’t know.
I may do dry January again… maybe not.
1/19/2024
More than half way through! It is getting easier. The real challenge has been not cheersing people when we go for a happy hour. I’m ordering orange juice. I’m glad I have friends doing this with me. I’m really proud of my friend, Mark, for hanging in there with me. We met up last night and everyone was not drinking.
I haven’t lost any weight and this morning I woke up and it felt like I had a hangover. It’s also harder to get to sleep. Yesterday wasn’t a good day for my brain. My Portuguese was poor and I’m having a very difficult time in class understanding how to give directions. It’s different than in English.
It’s strange but everything feels fine. I feel normal for the most part… just lower energy and not sleeping. But when I am sleeping, I’m sleeping well. I don’t wake up during the night. I dream more, I think. This has been easy for me but I still want to continue drinking after this month.
1/11/2024
It’s been a tough, slow month so far. I’ve had some challenging days where alcohol would have helped. It’s been 11 days since I last drank alcohol. I know I’ve done longer sprints like this in the past (like when we didn’t have plans for a weekend) so I know I can get through it. In Portugal I drink a lot more than in the states (besides during covid when the only thing to do after work was to drink).
So far I feel okay during the day. However, I feel like they lie when they say you are going to have more energy, sleep less, lose weight, etc by stopping drinking. I’ve had the opposite effects. I’m sleeping 8-9 hours a night (vs when I drank I would get 7-8 hours of sleep). I feel like I’ve gained weight and feel bloated. I also eat a lot more which sucks. I feel like when I drank I wouldn’t eat as much. I feel like I have a lot less energy now. Often I feel like I need to take a nap or feel tired during the day. It sucks.
Alcohol also helps with my portuguese and my overall anxiety. Yesterday I played poker with some people and I felt so nervous and I was shaking. Alcohol helps calm down my nerves and relaxes me but I couldn’t have that.
I’m glad I’m doing this with a friend. Brian is also doing it too. The support from him and my friend helps. I know I’m not the only one going through this hell.
It’s coming up on a year… a whole YEAR… since I’ve moved to Portugal. It has been a crazy year.
Since I just went back to the states for a visit I thought I’d reflect on what I thought, what changed, how I felt, etc. In no particular order:
Traffic has gotten really bad. It wasn’t just me. Bri felt it too and everyone whom I’ve asked there said it had gotten bad. We ran into traffic three different times coming back from Uncle George’s on a Wednesday.
Beer is expensive. I kept paying like $8 or $9 for a beer. WTF? Portugal a caneca (a mug; close to a liter) is 2.5€ during happy hours. At most 4€. In the states at Silver Branch it was $8.50 for a token and two tokens was a liter (so $17!!!). Unbelievable.
On that note, we spent more than $1,000 when there! My Portuguese friend, Glenn, gave me $92 in “dirty money” and it was gone really fast. Bri also found some USD and we spent it.
We had an awesome time at the wedding. It was soooo good to see people and dance and have a good time. I really hope to see them again.
Not a lot of people have anything new or different in their lives since I left. Sure people have a few things going on here and there but nothing like life changing had happened. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or what but I got a lot of “same ol’, same ol'” when I was asking how people were.
A lot of people showed up to the happy hours that I wasn’t expecting to see. People I haven’t seen in years. My friend, Arlene, came up from Florida. My friend, Angela, and her baby came up all the way from Anne Arundel County (like two counties away from where we had the happy hour). Mel and Jim came out. We saw Helen every happy hour (#superfriend)! One of my friends boyfriend came who we’ve never met before came. My sister, her boyfriend, and Matt all came down from New York!
The final happy hour at Brookeville felt like one of our parties we used to have in Rockville. A lot of people came out. There was different groups of people but I saw and was able to spend a little time with everyone. Everyone had someone to talk to. Everyone was so cool and was sharing pizza and drinking and just good vibes. It went by so fast.
It feel like when you’re in the states and you’re working, you live for the weekends. (We tried not to live that way when we lived there as we were always up for doing stuff during the work week.)
We were bored Thursday and Friday during the day. I guess I didn’t plan anything for those days for some “down time” but we found ourselves just playing pinochle with Bri’s parents.
I was scared every day not having health insurance there. If something happened we would be fucked. I was also scared of shootings. Probably illogical but still… that shit doesn’t happen here.
I kept speaking Portuguese. I couldn’t turn it off. Some of my family even got mad at me for doing it. Waiters and waitresses looked at me funny but I think they knew what I was trying to say.
I really do miss my American friends. I got some good friends in the states. Great people. I really miss them.
Sometimes it felt like nothing changed; like we were back from a long vacation. It just clicked to be back.
I already knew this but just to reiterate: JETLAG SUCKS. I was up by 6:30 AM every day (that’s 11:30 Portugal time). I only got like 4 or 5 hours of sleep most nights. Now back in Portugal I’m having trouble getting to sleep by 1 or 2 AM Portugal time.
My stomach doesn’t like the US food anymore. My stomach hurt nearly every day. I had to keep taking Pepto. Around Tuesday is when I didn’t need to take it any more but I still took it pre-emptively on some occasions. Portuguese food is just better.
I drank every day but I never got drunk. Maybe slightly buzzed on a few occasions but I watched myself and never drank in excess.
We didn’t want to drive by our old house.
I had taken my Portuguese friend, Sam’s advice going to the states. She’s from the U.K. and she said make people come to you instead of you running around trying to please/see everyone. That was good advice. It allowed for more time. Many people wanted me to come to them but I just couldn’t. It was either too far or not enough time. I feel bad but I don’t see that changing the next time I visit.
For some things I’d do different next time:
Bri wanted to see his family who live in different states. Maybe we would do that… I don’t know but then I think…
I don’t think I could go all the way to North Carolina to see Uncle George again. It was too much driving and time. However, it was during the week when most people were working anyway but it just sucked spending 11+ hours of the trip being in a car. I don’t know what I would do about that though. We did have a lot of fun down there. We got crabs which I hadn’t had in years. We saw the family that was there. They just live really far away from anyone we could possibly make two mini-trips out of.
Maybe for more time Bri and I would go separately so I could stay there for like a few weeks. But I have no where to stay and no vehicle. Bri at least would have his parents. I don’t think I would like that though. The more time spent in the states is the more time without healthcare. Also, what do I do on the weekdays when people worked? Heidi took a day off to be with us but I’m not sure if some of my other friends can/would do the same.
I’m not sure how to tackle this but a few of my other friends moved to different states. There is like no way we could spend time to travel to see them when there. They might have to be a special trip but I don’t know how that would work since I don’t want nor plan to visit the states that frequently. (Thinking the next time we visit will be in 2025!)
Not plan so far in advance. I knew about the wedding months in advance but actually planning the week didn’t happen until about a month before travel. It was very stressful to me knowing our flight but not our schedule. It was difficult to wait that long to finally plan since I’m not the kind of person to give someone 3 or 4 months advance of when I’ll want to hang out. If there’s another wedding like this, I’m going to have to repeat this process which just caused me so much stress.
Buy a sim card when I get off the plane (or try to). Fuck Lycamobile. They said my phone would work in the US but it didn’t and I was stranded. I put 40€ on that thing for overages for nothing. I had to buy a T-mobile sim card for $31 the next day.
A wedding was to happen! A wedding of two of my good friends! I had to go back for that! No way I was going to miss it. So I decided to plan an entire trip seeing friends and family in the states.
We have been living in Portugal for about a year so it was about time.
Below are all the things we did during the trip. Thanks to all of the people who made time to see me and thanks to the friends and family I saw along the way!
I haven’t had any friends prego in a while but every time I do I learn something new. Pregnant people get like weird changes in their bodies. Besides dietary restrictions (no sandwich meat, no sushi), constant peeing, and anything medical, there are just certain changes that are really scary or unpleasant. I’m glad I was never pregnant.
Anyway, I thought I would list all the strange things that I’ve heard from my pregnant friends on what goes on with their bodies.
Your fingers swell up so you can’t wear a wedding ring.
The baby sucks all the calcium out of you so your teeth and bones become weaker. A friend of mine said she got a lot of cavities while pregnant.
As I’m sitting here in BWI having a few to drink… what a perfect time to blog!
Recently (just in the past six months) my friend from work has been to (and officiated some) NINE weddings. NINE. I guess they all got delayed from years past?
Anyway it got me thinking… one, my coworker must be really popular and two, I don’t think I’ve gone to nine weddings in my entire life.
Counting them, yeah. Thought I would blog with a count.
Young – I went to a wedding when I was like 5. My parents were still together. All I remember was staying in a hotel and dancing a lot.
My own – I believe I was there at my own wedding to Bri. No one else was. Justice of the peace, baby.
Tricia & Travis – Good friends from college got married. I was a bridesmaid! Very good wedding. Also was the same day as Shawn and Jen but we didn’t know them yet.
Joe & Kate – My in-laws. Fun wedding up in New York. We had to stay at a different hotel from the rest since we had Candi. A few good stories from it.
Seth & Meredith – Friend from college. Good time. He had karaoke and Taylor Swift songs.
Leslie & Jason – Friend from college. Nice wedding up near Baltimore. Good food. I photocopied.
Pablo – Uncle George’s friend had a nice little wedding at his home. I think Bri and I kind of crashed it but it was fun. Very low budget. Coors Light in Coolers.
Mel & Jim – Right before covid. Friends I knew from Bernie’s campaign. Fun Jewish wedding.
We went to a few wedding receptions (Megan and Matt, Bri’s childhood friend), but we weren’t at the actual “I do” part.
Looking ahead, next year I will go to at least one, Bri’s cousin. I’m not sure who else is on the horizon…
My mom’s boyfriend, Kenny, was kind enough to give me his timeshare in Myrtle beach in June 2021. I originally wanted it to be a big girls trip with just Arlene, Becky, and I but I realized that wouldn’t be fair to our guys. When Arlene decided to get her own place, I made the move to have the guys there too all week.
We had an awesome time! We did breweries, wine tasting, lots of mini golf, pool, dinners and drinks, games, and (of course) the beach! I always wanted to do a trip like this with good friends. It was awesome.
I DO NOT have covid. I doubt that I’ve ever had it.
I REALLY want AOC to force a vote on Medicare For All so then we will know who supports giving people healthcare during a pandemic.
I say fuck too much.
My friends are awesome. I miss my friends.
My dogs are awesome. I don’t miss my dogs since they’re always here with me.
I’ve been downloading (actually buying) a lot of music.
I’m really into Chernobyl, Mount Everest, abandoned places, ship wrecks, etc. I would like more recommendations for YouTube but since all I subscribe to and most of what I play is political in nature, I don’t see much.
I have a weird crush on Jared Harris right now. I just finished binging Fringe and just watched Chernobyl on HBO for the third time. I just love his voice. It’s sexy to me.
It does not feel like Christmas to me.
I’m kind of a little addicted to work right now which is not a good thing. I think about it a lot. I’m having fun and (dare I say it) look forward to the work days.
I’m learning Spanish and actually getting good at it. Speaking and hearing, not so much but I can read it.
I REALLY wish the Democrats didn’t suck. I REALLY wish we had Bernie in there. I REALLY wish more people realized that the Democrats suck and demand more from them. All I do on Twitter is bash the Democrats because they deserve it. They are beyond pathetic and the next four years are going to be a cluster fuck. Sorry (not sorry) but Joe Biden sucks ass. He’s going to make things worse (and NO that doesn’t mean he’s worse than Trump).
I wish I had more time for this blog. I wish I could write debunking posts like I used to. I would research the shit out of something and write about it with sources and stuff. It was fun and awesome.
I decided my blogs needed some love. I’m looking at this blog and Syntax Notes. I’m installing new, crisp, clean WP themes on both this blog and Syntax Notes.
We’re also getting out a bit more (a bit). Every week or every other week we seem to do something with someone. We still maintain distance with them and wear masks. It’s nice to actually go places and see people. You need that.
We’ve been social distancing now for about three weeks. I really miss my friends. I was able to do facetime with a friend the other day and I really enjoyed seeing them. These times are hard.
Anyway, I thought I’d share some cool websites we found to better connect us with our friends. These are primarily game websites since Bri and I are both big into board games. Here’s the list:
dominion.games – This is Dominion online. We played this last night until like 3 AM. The free version just has the base set. It’s only like $5 a month. Totally worth it. One membership gets you all the Dominion sets as well as the ability to play with six people. You only need one membership for anyone to join you. It’s free to join.
http://playingcards.io/ – This is a free, virtual card playing website. They have Cards Against Humanity! They also have a bunch of other games you’d usually play in gradeschool like Go Fish.
https://jackboxgames.com – JackBox games are always fun! We started playing them years ago with friends. You play them with your phone. You can do them distance now as well. I recently played Drawful with coworkers. We shared his screen via Slack and all talked through Slack and drew on our phones. JackBox games do cost a bit of money though.