Self Growth

I seem to be looking at a lot of that these days.

I wish I could schedule it for not when I've spent $350 flying to DC for an event...

Last weekend I went to DOWF in DC.  The event it self is great.  I totally recommend it.

I, strangely enough, was miserable.

There's nothing anyone else could do about it and I didn't want to make it a big deal... but yea, it's not for me.

So what things did I learn??  It's still coming out but we'll see what the list looks like right now as I lay here in bed with a bit of the sniffles with my ears still plugged from the flight...

- I can't work reg
The first day wasn't bad, but people are stupid and I just can't deal with them anymore.  Much like I know I can't work security if I ever want to have fun as a bottom at a kink event, I'm putting registration on the same list.

- I need to make evening plans
During the day I can go to classes but at night, I need to have plans.  Without plans, I'm not gonna hang out in the dungeon and watch things... I'm going to watch TV in my hotel room and go to bed early.  Surrender was different 'cause I'd have at least one boot blacking shift during a party so I had stuff to do and was able to socialize there.

- I shouldn't go by myself.
My friends are all awesome, but they're so awesome they're busy.  Busy enough that I can hide a near melt down... that's not true.. I didn't melt down... I don't think... I dunno

- These meds are done
I want off.  I'd rather take anxiety and the 2-4 nights a month of no sleep due to anxiety than the crap I deal with now.  No alcohol and not caffeine makes me a pretty lame person.  I have no social lubricant and I can't deal with not a lot of sleep.  That's not the way I imagined 30.  I also have random generalized crowd and driving anxiety which is completely new with the medication.

I started another bullet point... and I have no idea what I was going to write.  It's 9pm and I'm about to go to bed.  I've got therapy at lunch time tomorrow.  That's gonna be a huge ball of fun......

Literary strength

I'm a firm believer that books have totally helped form my personality. My two favorite books are Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre.

I was watching one of the new Jane eyre movies on the plane and I realized I have 2 favorite books of the story. The first is when Mr. Rochester confesses his love ("it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. And if that boisterous channel, and two hundred miles or so of land some broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapt; and then I've a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly.")  I realized my second is when she leaves him.

For dear readers not familiar with the story, on their wedding day it comes to light that Rochester is married and his wife, who is mad, has been locked in the attic the whole time Jane has been living at Thornfield Hall. Jane sees everything she wants torn from her.

 But Rochester offers it back. He wants to take her to Europe where no one will know she's not his wife. Who would know, he asks.

I would, she replies.

Removing the time period issues (why doesn't he just divorce the crazy wife), what strikes me is Jane's sense of self. She's not willing to be with the man she loves (who's also crazy rich) if it means living a lie and compromising her own self worth in her head.

Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice does the same thing. Mr. Darcy offers to marry her mid way through the book and she declins. He's full of pride and has really been a douche. But marrying him would leave her set for life. She sticks to her no (till he changes his ways and she can see him for who he really is underneath the outer shell).

And it all leaves me thinking... Could I do the same thing?  Could I say no to everything I wanted if it came with a poison pill? Could I say no to my own Mr Rochester if being with him required a personal or emotional sacrifice?

I kind of feel like I did it once. I changed courses. I could have kept in the status quo even though it wasn't right for me....  But that was more tony stark than Edward Rochester.

But I was younger and more idealistic.

Now???

Who knows what I'd do...

Saying no

Or why it's not, for me, a consent issue.

By consent issue I mean a fear of consent being violated.  That goes along with the "I'd say no, but I don't think he'd respect it."

I think that can be a lot of why people say no.

My inability to say no is much more rooted in self loathing.

"If I say no now, I might not get to say yes to anyone ever again."

It's quite a fatalistic thought...  Logic brain knows it's not true, but emotional brain keeps running the following script.....

"You're plain if not downright not attractive... and fat... don't for get fat....  If someone is interested grab the fuck on and ride that till they lose interest 'cause there might not be another one."

I know, I'm not very nice to me.

It's a problem I fall into fast with internet dating.. 'cause there's a sunk cost.  I messaged or they messaged, we chatted for however long it took to get coffee logistics worked out.  Given some of my social super powers, they feel comfortable and have poured out bits and pieces of their soul to me....

And I don't feel the spark...

You say thanks, but no thanks at that point, right?

Well I should.. but my emotions get involved.  It would be mean to say no.  Maybe I can force it and it will work.  I'm not trying hard enough to make it work.

I don't have problems saying no to people who I meet in person.  "Do you want to play" "No thanks I'm good."  But someone I've talked to online for a week?  Somehow I feel like I've got to try to see if the investment I already made will pan out...

Well... you see a problem.. what are you going to do about it.

A dear friend held my hand all day long and wouldn't let me hide from my own patterns.  It's a good thing our brains won't sync in their crazy cycles so one of us can be the rock for the other.

I'm gonna stop the online dating.. for not.. for forever?  Who knows.  I didn't take the profiles down... 'cause that's too hard quite yet.  But I put a message on them saying to message if interested and we could set up a munch meeting.  I wanna meet them in person (safely) faster so that I don't feel the investment.

I start seeing my new therapist on Thursday.  I'm really nervous, but I'm hoping to go over more of the bad mental thought processes about self dislike.  The last time I was in therapy, I was so bad off (thank you grad school) we were focused on survival.  Now, I kind of want to be happy, whatever that looks like,

So until the next break down, dear readers, Good night... and Good morning.