good start, down finish
Oct. 24th, 2006 08:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jayMonday morning started off as usual, helping patgreene get the kids away to school. But since our car had to go in the shop, I borrowed tenacious_snail's... she came by along with cyan_blue (who had stayed over after the previous night's party ;). So I got early hugs from everyone, a lovely start to the day. Then off to work.
Lunchtime I metdawnd in San Mateo, after she and akienm had dropped off grynz at SFO airport. I had sushi with both of them, and enjoyed their narratives. Afterwards, I spent some one-on-one time with Dawn before heading back to work. And then picking up the car from the shop, finishing work, and listening to Pat shout after she poured boiling water over her left hand (she was trying to use a grease screen as a pasta strainer).
Afterward, things began to spiral, a bit... I was stressed from home, and late, and picked up Les to go to a HAI monthly support group. It was not a supportive experience... I didn't know many people there. There were 34 people, nearly record attendance but for the initial exercise I was the last one left standing, unable to find a partner. I was rescued byp3aches, who opened up her dyad. And I was happy to be invited in, if sheepish. Then later I was embarrassed to discover that my buddy from L4 was there, and I hadn't recognized her (she'd bleached and cut her hair, granted). And finally on the last exercise -- ironically, on gratitude -- my exercise partner R literally bolted and left the premises in mid-exercise. That felt... pretty rejecting, even if logically he had his own issues in play. So by the end of the evening, what had been a pretty uplifting day had crashed. HAI workshops take me a couple of hours to open up, and last for two days... in these brief meetings, I'm only just dropping my defenses by the time the event ends.
patgreene get the kids away to school. But since our car had to go in the shop, I borrowed tenacious_snail's... she came by along with cyan_blue (who had stayed over after the previous night's party ;). So I got early hugs from everyone, a lovely start to the day. Then off to work.Lunchtime I met
dawnd in San Mateo, after she and akienm had dropped off grynz at SFO airport. I had sushi with both of them, and enjoyed their narratives. Afterwards, I spent some one-on-one time with Dawn before heading back to work. And then picking up the car from the shop, finishing work, and listening to Pat shout after she poured boiling water over her left hand (she was trying to use a grease screen as a pasta strainer). Afterward, things began to spiral, a bit... I was stressed from home, and late, and picked up Les to go to a HAI monthly support group. It was not a supportive experience... I didn't know many people there. There were 34 people, nearly record attendance but for the initial exercise I was the last one left standing, unable to find a partner. I was rescued by
p3aches, who opened up her dyad. And I was happy to be invited in, if sheepish. Then later I was embarrassed to discover that my buddy from L4 was there, and I hadn't recognized her (she'd bleached and cut her hair, granted). And finally on the last exercise -- ironically, on gratitude -- my exercise partner R literally bolted and left the premises in mid-exercise. That felt... pretty rejecting, even if logically he had his own issues in play. So by the end of the evening, what had been a pretty uplifting day had crashed. HAI workshops take me a couple of hours to open up, and last for two days... in these brief meetings, I'm only just dropping my defenses by the time the event ends.
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Date: 2006-10-24 03:23 pm (UTC)Hope Pat's hand is feeling better, too.
And the early morning hugs were indeed a lovely start to the day :-)
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Date: 2006-10-24 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 04:09 pm (UTC)We couldn't make it this month - of course with 34 people there, the last thing that was needed was 2 more! But sorry we missed you - would have been very nice to see you there.
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Date: 2006-10-24 10:44 pm (UTC)I've not had much luck with non-workshop events... 3 support group meetings and one community night. They've ranged from flat to awful for me.
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Date: 2006-10-24 04:54 pm (UTC)*hugs*
I think you did a really good job speaking up about your challenges, and maybe in a future support group, you could ask if anyone has ideas of how to get into "HAI space" quickly, rather than the usual "drive up to Harbin, unpack, and relax for several hours first". I am guessing that someone has a suggestion that will help you.
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Date: 2006-10-24 10:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 09:30 pm (UTC)BTW: There were a couple of times over the weekend where I was the last one left standing. And I'm still looking for partner/s to do coaching sessions with me before I leave the area. Fortunately, I'm not really seeing this as a comment on my self-worth, but I can see how easy it would be to have that happen. Try to just see this as the luck of the draw, or use it as an incentive to be more pro-active in finding a partner in the future. YOU can always choose THEM, you know. :^)
Best wishes to Pat on the rapid healing of her hand.
(hug) to you both.
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Date: 2006-10-24 10:57 pm (UTC)And it is almost always a pleasure to spend time with you. :) I'm glad to have had a chance to see Akien too, it had been awhile.
Choosing-wise... I'm cautious about boundaries. In a workshop, I would have the benefit of chill space beforehand as well as an opening puja-like exercise that is good as a way to assess who is, and isn't, open to me... given eye contact and body language. Within those with whom I feel open and comfortable, at the last couple of workshops I've started proactively choosing and asking. Hearing "no" has happened more often than not, but that's OK.
But at these short events, I have no chance to "read" the group and figure out likely candidates to approach later to suggest doing an exercise. Long-time participants all know each other and tend to glom together rather than picking/being picked by newcomers... unlike, say, contra dancing I've attended, where veterans often make a point of asking newcomers for a dance.
And while rationally (and today) I know that it isn't about my self-worth, *in that moment* it feels like I'm worthless and unwanted, even though some other part of my brain is telling me that that's silly. One difference from a few years ago. :)
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Date: 2006-10-26 07:40 am (UTC)Go you, for being able to realize that it isn't truly about your self worth. Even if that knowledge isn't accessible right in the difficult moments yet, it seems like you're on the path to that.
*hugs*
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Date: 2006-10-24 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 11:04 pm (UTC)I know that some of the folks we know regularly do dinner after the support group. I wonder if it might work better to create a group of folks to meet *before* the group to settle in to that space, and to deal with discharging with the day's frustrations first. I also *think* that Santa Cruz has a support group that meets on Saturday. Maybe that might present better options for arriving more connected?
There is indeed a sat support group
Date: 2006-10-25 02:21 am (UTC)