4/28/18

Skittles: not built it for it

This is where I am right now

I am a leader. I am a fighter. I am a fire. I am an engineer. I am a do-er.

Leaders lead. Fighters fight. Fires burn, consume, warm, cook, give life, take life, and die. Engineers solve specific types of problems, invent, and fix things. Do-er do. None of these things Love. They are loved. They can kind of love, but not romantically, and its usually passion or loyalty. They can do many things, but are not made to love.

Fish are made to swim. No matter how bad it wants to climb that is not what it is made to do. If it spends it's whole life in the hopeless pursuit of something it is simply incapable of doing, its going to feel like failure. It could just accept the limitation. It would save the fish a lot of pain.

I am starting to think I'm not made to love. I don't seem to know how to do it right. I tend to like the toxicity. I don't think I know how to do it right. Even when I try to have a healthy relationship, I ruin it or I run from it.

I hurt Vendetta. One of the point of no return type of hurt. I didn't mean to. But this is over. We haven't said it yet but I know. I love her and I can't hurt her like this again. If I stay it will keep happening becuase I'm learning how not to, but it is going to take time. I can't ask her to wait for me to learn. To willingly let me hurt her. I won't.

I think its time to stop trying to do something I'm not meant for. I'll save myself and others a lot of pain.

4/22/18

Daily Struggles

Me: i want someone to know me. The real me. All of me.

Also Me: getting to know me is like attempting Death's Labyrinth.
1) you don't
2) you die trying
3) you make it and are rewarded with a swift painless death.
For once you know all my secrets there is only one outcome. "Keeping a secret between two people is easy when one of them is dead."

4/19/18

Daily Struggles

We've been getting snow in the midwest in April. Which isn't unusual. What is strange the amount of snow that we've been getting in April. There was a blizzard last weekend. So I decided to do it any other Millennial would do and make a Facebook post about it.
Me: Mother Nature who hurt you?
Earth🌎:πŸ˜’πŸ˜‘πŸ€¦‍♀️

Me:Oh...

4/13/18

Daily struggles

I don't trust myself how am I suppose to trust others. I trust my dog, my best friend, and my siblings. I only love my bed and my dog I'm sorry. I am constantly wondering if my feelings are real. Are they based in truth or lies? Am I just comfortable? Am I afraid to be lonely? Am I only here becuase this is familiar? Am I scared to change? I'm always trying to rationalize the chaos. It is never going to make sense. For me, love is insanity. Love is wild, unpredictable, uncontrollable, and irrational. Love is Madness.

4/8/18

P.S. Let's stop fighting even though I hurt you

My therapist says I need to try to see it from other's point if view. That people aren't out to get me. Hurting me is usually just an unforeseen effect. Or hurting me was a necessary evil to protect themselves. Try to understand where the other person is coming from. I thought I was rather good at placing myself in your shoes, we do wear the same size. I was actually extremely broken up about betraying your trust. Trust I spent the last four years cultivating. Four years, gone. I didn't mean to hurt you. Until recently I never meant to hurt you. After January has been a different story but before all of this I never wanted to cause you pain. Knowing I hurt you crushed me. This probably isn't the first time I've hurt you. I think that time I met your boyfriend when I came to D.C. dinner would be one. He and I ganged up on you. That was uncalled for. All the times I disappeared without a word probably hurt too. When I would tease you and went too far. If I was you I would see me as fickle. It would be hard to trust someone who is always leaving for no reason. It would be scary to love someone like that. I wouldn't want to get attached either. I don't think I could deal with someone so moody. Plus you knew I was broken and I came with my own baggage. It would be hard for me to get past all that. There is a lot of tramua that I wasn't working on, that I am still not working on. There are so many wounds still open so many wounds festering, infected, and unable to heal. Could I handle all the complexities that I come with? So many red flags I would have run the other way.  I am hard to love. I am hard to trust. I am hard to get to know. I am hard to understand. It was never easy for you was it? But you tried. You kept trying. You never gave up on me. You are patient.  I never gave you any credit for all that you did. I only criticized. I only saw how hard I was working I never considered you were working just as hard. Being accused of not caring not trying probably hurts more than anything. Me with my impossible standards. They weren't impossible standards in my eyes.  I just didn't communicate what my expectation were with you never had a chance cuz you didn't know. I'm sorry I've hurt you. I didn't mean to. I never wanted to. I would have changed immediately if I would have known. If I would have just stopped to think. If I could have just gotten out of my own head and looked at the system as a whole. Until now I never tried to see it from your point of view. The problem with us being so similar is I forget just because it feels like you have telepathy doesn't mean you're actually in my head. I need to talk. I am willing to talk, listen, and be open minded if you can do the same.
Xoxo

J Skittles

This was hard. For the same reasons it is hard for Amoriartii to know that they have hurt me, its hard to know when I've crossed that line. I know them very well but I can only know when they are hurting if they want me to know.  We hide pain, fear, and love for each other from each other. I am going to trust blindly. It is terrifying to give someone the ability to bring me down. Not that I'm not already destroyed but its different with Amoriartii. If I tell them the truth, they know me so well they could make me do anything. I'm giving them control and hoping they don't use it. But I think I have too in order to reach them. I have to show them I trust them. That I still love them. Then maybe they will remember they love me too.

4/7/18

P.S. Let's stop Fighting even though I was wrong

I have a problem with communication. I think we have a problem communicating, but this is about me being wrong, not you, for now. I would be upset with you and just take space/ disappear from your life. I would never tell you why. At the very least I should have said when you did_ it made me feel_ and now I'm going to take some space until I feel better. I think I have only told you once, and that was when you fuck the boy in the same room with me without my consent. I never gave you the opportunity to own up to your shit. I never gave you a chance to have a conversion with me and work to make things better for the future. I think its my hatred for confrontation. Its hard for me to admit to anyone that they hurt me. I don't want them to know that they can do that to me. I don't want anyone to know that I care that much. I survived a lot of shit making people believe I didn't feel pain, that I don't bleed. What's the fun in hurting somebody who doesn't feel the pain? I was avoiding a fight. I don't fight fair extremely competitive paired with a nasty temper. I've gotten better about the temper, I use to get into fist fights. Now I just need to tame my whip of a tounge. Its a work in progress. I didn't want to hurt you unintentionally. I would never admit I didn't mean it becuase then I would "lose" the fight. Being overly competitive about the wrong things is a nasty character flaw developed as a coping mechanism to survive. I'm working on that too. We have never had a fight until now. We kinda decided to just avoid conflict at all cost. I think we were both scared of what that might look like, at least I was scared (We are extremely similar). I think current circumstances prove I was rightfully fearful. Nevertheless, I never asked for an apology. I never gave you a chance to apologize. I never gave you a chance to present your side. I never got your perspective. I was wrong. I am owed my space becuase as you see in the moment I just react I don't think things through. However, you are owed context at the least. You are owed a right to speak too. I didn't want your apology. I didn't want you to admit fault. By just leaving and coming back when I was ready I get to control the narrative. I get to be the the victim and the one who is always right. The story goes you hurt me, you never apologized, and I forgave you anyway because I love you, you hurt me again and again and again, you never once apologized, but I keep forgiving you becuase I love you. Then everyone goes you are better than this. You deserve better. Stop going back they don't care about you. They are awful. I have effectively made you the villain. I took away your ability to be redeemable. I always get to say I've never once lied to you. Up until now I got to say I've never hurt you. Even now its still my narrative. The story is: I broke up with you becuase you broke the only rule I had "don't lie", you had a tantrum, I did all I could to get you to attend and carry your responsibilities, you refused, I was asked a vaild question at time a space you were suppose to be at but weren't, I answer the question even though you weren't there because you were supposed to be and it was one of the only times we're all of us were together in person, the question was owed a response even though parts of this response had personal details it was a professional question, now you're holding this breach of trust over my head despite never owning up to all the shit you've done to me, you're being a hypocrite because you want me to admit fault and apologize when you've never once done the same for me, despite all of that I did admit fault and apologize, you continue to have a tantrum. I am still the one in the right and you're still the villian. But in all honesty by never asking anything from you and not letting you participate in reconciling my pain, I should be the one at fault. My love for always being "right" is unhealthy and unfair to you. You deserve a chance to own it and apologize. You deserve the chance to work shit out. If you want we can go over all of what I said early or we can burn it. I will burn the narrative. I will give up being right because I'm not. We can start fresh. We can agree that we will talk shit out (maybe not in the moment though). That we will make our feelings known. We will give each other the opportunity to own up to our mistakes. We will accept apologies and figure out ways to do better in the future.

I'm a bitch. I know. I'm wrong and a terrible person. You're right. But none of that matters cuz in the end everyone keeps score. At the end of the day its still 20+ mistakes on thier part and 2 on mine. Plus you get points for owning up to your faults so I would be at 0. I keep trying to get out if my head and stop having ulterior motives, but I've been manipulating people since 11 years old at least. I kinda do this in my sleep. I do it without even thinking about it. I know I'm doing it and trust me I'm trying to stop. My evil brain is just trying to protect me. Years of abuse, bullying, having to out smart everyone just to get what you need and stay safe does this to you. Its like leaning to competitively dive when you're older. A lot of it is getting your body and brain to override the safe gaurds you have to stay safe. For example an inward dive, you stand at the end of the spring board or platform. You are faceing the ladder you climbed to get up there. Then you dive in by bring your head in towards the egde of the board or platform. If you do it right you're no more than a foot away from the edge. If you look you can see the egde before you go in, don't look. Your body/brain is rightfully so convinced that you are going to hit the edge and kill yourself. So it tries to stop you. It takes a different level of control to get it to stop trying to protect you. I would know because I became a diver. You think it would have been easy for me being suicidal and all. Strangely that's not how that works. I can harm myself no problem. I cannot force my body to do dangerous things just for fun. Similarly I tried falling in a way where I would break my wrist. My body wouldn't let me. It took a lot of practice. Same thing with not manipulating people. If my brain believes it will lead to me getting hurt it finds a way to protect me, or at least finds a way hurt the person who is trying to hurt me worse than they can hurt me. I have not figure out a way to turn that off. I can warn people about it though. Which is what I have done with Lovely and Vendetta. My brain is trying to control everything to keep me safe. It never learn how to let go. It never learned to trust. It doesn't realize we are safe now.

P.S. Let's stop fight even though you hurt me

Honestly I think I've lost count of all the things you've done that hurt me. I like to believe that you didn't know you were hurting me. I think because I've always know I've had feelings for you it made it easier for you to hurt me unknowingly. From my point of view after I told you how I felt at Ostem Atlanta I have always been the one willing to confront my feelings for you. I feel like you spent a lot time pushing me away, being afraid of your feelings for me, and unwilling to admit it. I knew before you kissed me in Chicago that you really cared about me. I knew the first time I came to visit you in Boston. I think that corresponds to the first time I felt hurt. I was a little upset, probably jealous, that you had your house boy, it was Marc at the time, staying with you and snuggling with you. I wanted to snuggle you. Then maybe two weeks later when I met up with Marc in Paris he thanked me for convincing you to be with him. I felt so blindside I ran out of the bar, went to the grocery store and bought five bottles of 99 cent wine, and drank all but one of them before I left for the airport the next morning. I drank the last bottle on the train to the airport. I know that I advised you to be with Marc. I wanted you to date and be happy. You had just gotten out of a long term relationship with your ex. What I really meant was date me! How could you not tell me you took my advice? My queer friends never take my advice. I was shocked that you listened to me. I figured if we were close enough for you to take my advice we would be close enough for me to come visit you on your birthday that September. You wouldn't let me come. I didn't understand then what I know now. My heart was heavy though becuase I just wanted to be with you so you wouldn't be alone. I wanted you to know someone really cares about you. That someone being me. I got over that quickly because you convinced me to be your date to Ostem Atlanta, even though it meant coming out to my family there. But I did it then you left me for the UN. I couldn't really be mad at you becuase you were leaving to fight the good fight. I was just flustered because I had to do all that work just so I could join you. I did get to tell you how I felt and tell you that I wanted to take you to Spain for a belated birthday gift. We kept in touch to plan the trip. We even set up a time for my dad and I to come get dinner with you so we could go. Then I got cock block by Obama, thanks Obama, and you couldn't go to Spain during the dates we originally picked. I asked you if you still wanted me to come for dinner and you said "yea, its a date." I took that to mean an actual romantic date. I was so excited. Right before I got on the plane to D.C. you asked if you could bring some to dinner. I thought nothing of it because of the type of life we live. Shit happens. What you failed to mention was you were bringing your boyfriend of the time. I was so pissed. Not only did I regularly ask you if you were seeing someone, I also was encouraging you to date. How did you not mention him before? You talked about every date you went on, every notable hookup you had, and every crush. How did you forget to mention a relationship when I asked all the time!  I was so angry at you I didn't go to Creating Change Denver. I don't think I talked to you until we had to make plans for MBLGTACC at ISU. I had calmed down even though you "forgot" to get double beds. Its not that I didn't want to sleep with you. I did. I was so thirsty. I didnt want to sleep in sex that you had with other people. It was almost a perfect weekend. Then Saturday night when we had separate beds, I choose to snuggle Jules cuz you ran hotter than a radiator, you asked if you could have a snuggle buddy. Jules and I said you could if you promised not to fuck them. You pinkie promised me you wouldn't. You gave me your word. Then you did it anyway. I was hurt becuase you gave me your word then broke your promise. You didn't care how that would make me feel. You acted like it wasn't a big deal when it obviously was to me. I felt disrespected. I trusted you. I called off our spain trip and didn't talk to you till later that year at Market Days. Things were finally okay for awhile. I had settled into the fact that we would just be friends becuase everytime I tried to love you, you pushed me away. Then at Creating Change Chicago you kissed me. You kissed me like it was the most normal thing, like it's something we have been doing forever. What the actual fuck!? I was sent into a tail spin. God! You can't just keep playing with me emotionally. Two years after I told you I had feelings for you, you finally admitted to, something everyone around us could see, having feelings for me too at, MBLGTACC Indiana (at dairy queen and all I could do was eat my blizzard cuz I was speechless). I was never so happy and hopeful. Even though it hard becuase neither of our partners at the time wanted us to be together I cherished our time togther. I took an intership in DC to be closer to you but that was a really hard summer. I left D.C in July and went to treatment in August. You were one of the only people I told I was doing this. You and my best friend knew before everyone else, even my family. Writing to you while I was there was extremely helpful. Your support was crucial, thank you for being there for me. Sex Down South October was the most fun I've ever had with you at a conference. We got so drunk. You told me you were going to purpose to Kevin in two years. I wasn't surprised if would have asked me who the married I would have said Kevin. It was a change to our orginal plan but it was a nessacry adjustment. I didn't really care as long as I got to be the mother of your kids. We would still be a family. In the moment though it was a bit much to swallow, no matter how logical. Then in November tried to break up with me. What the hell!? What happened in a month? I was relieved I didn't have to see you at Creating Change Philly. When we finally did talk at MBLGTACC Chicago I could see you still loved me, you just couldn't fight about me with Kevin any more. I understood because Jay was giving me hell too. So we'll take a break we said. You also said during our workshop you were going purpose to Kevin that year. Why don't you tell me these things beforehand? I hate being blindsided. Instead of visiting every month you gave me my first birthday present. You wrote me letters. Things were okay. I couldn't bear to watch you purpose to Kevin without my help. If I could have helped I would have been able to cope. Again not mad or jealous that you were marrying Kevin I just wasn't emotionally ready. I needed a way to cope. Since you didn't want my help I ran away to NYC so I could get drunk and cry about it with friends. In June on my way to world pride our conversation and how fucked up it was didn't really hit me until I got back. I planned to talk you about why being mad that Black Lives Matter shutting down Pride and complaning about it to me a black person was super fucked up. Black Lives Matter had every right to shut down Pride in D.C. I marched in it the year before as one of the only people of color in the parade not there for eye candy. I looked at the people watching and it was mostly white people. In 2016 while I was marching I thought that was strange because D.C.'s Queer scene is dominated by Black Queers followed by Brown Queers. Why weren't they represented? Why was everything white washed? In D.C. a lot of the radical queers on the front lines of change, meeting people where they are, doing direct service, and fighting are Queers of Color and they're doing it with little to no resources. How could you not see that? Then of all people to complain about Black Lives Matter extremely effective protest you choose me, a black person! How did that make sense to you? But I didn't get to tell you b any of this because in July before I came for my visit I got your letter basically saying you didn't love me anymore. I believe the letter I sent you before you sent that one asked you to stop lying to me. If you're not going to tell me the truth then say nothing or say you don't want to talk about it, but do not lie to me anymore. You lied. You planned three different dates for us while I was there. You never planned dates before. I didn't even have to ask you if you loved me. I knew you did. Why lie? Why lie about that of all things? I had one rule and you broke it. So I ended things. I was done with you toying with my feelings, with you running away from your own feelings, and not valuing me or my love. Yet when you visited in August you acted like we were still togther. You even caught up on your letters at the beginning of September. I was going to come to your 30th birthday. I did really want to be there but it was probably for the best that I ended up in the hospital.  You sent me another letter at the beginning of October. That made 4 letters I hadn't responded to. I finally found the words to write back to you at the October reminding you that we were over. That's when you told everyone you wouldn't be at Creating Change D.C. To me you were running away from me and taking it out on everyone else. You don't just forget what the dates for Creating Change are. You had known for a year. Aug, Sep, and Oct, we talked about plans to arrive at Creating Change on Wed. instead of Thurs.  to get together for dinner at your place . We litteraly talked about having the play party at your place two weeks before you ran away from me. I tried to get to to come to our workshop. I went to the Ostem conference in Chicago to get you to stop having what I had deemed a tantrum. You were suppose to be with us in D.C. I get not wanting to see me at Creating Change D.C. because I did the same thing in Denver. The difference though was the plans in Denver didn't hinge on my attendance. Resentment grew not because I felt you were avoiding me, but that you were willing to let everyone down to avoid me. I'm probably forgetting something, but I think that's all the major stuff. I also felt like I was always coming back to you after you hurt me. Giving you another chance. You said "life keeps putting us back together..." Its not her Devineness always putting us back together, it was me. I just stopped. I know you've never heard me say I'm angry with you about XYZ. I always just stop talking to you and took space. I never asked for an apology because I didn't want to fight about it after I was over it. I had forgiven you for it. I didn't forget as you can see and sometimes I brought things up to remind you not to fuck up in the same way as you had already. Generally, I think I let my anger/pain die. Never asking for you to own up to any of it. Never telling you how you made me feel. I would just disappear and come back when I felt better.

We are all caught up on Amoriartii drama. From the beginning to now, that's all of it. A lot of stuffed happened. I hadva lot of opportunities to walk away but I never did. I still wanted to be in their life. I still wanted them in mine.

P.S. Let's stop fighting intro

So I'm sending this knowing I'm suppose to be giving you space. This is not meant to violate that. I am just so angry with you personally and professionally. Ideally we would be able to keep the two separate but from my point of view that hasn't been working. So I sent this as an attempt to deal with the personal. I hope by the time you decide to watch this I haven't gone past the point of no return. The first conference we went to together, 2014 in Houston, I told you about a terrible fight I just had the boy I was in love with. I had been head over heels for him for about a year. I didn't want to love him so I pushed him away and that led to us fighting. I said something so mean that I knew would destroy him and I definitely crossed the line. It took me a two years to regret what I said. We just made up last year in August and currently meet online once every two weeks or so to play a video game together. I am just now starting to rebuild that friendship. I don't want to get to the point of no return with you because we've been friends for 4 years now and it will take me a lot longer to swallow my pride and regret hurting you. It has taken so much energy for me not to come for your head. I think this is the first time we have been in direct conflict. If it was up to me I would have gone straight for your jugular to hurt you as much as possible for as long as possible. I want to hurt you. When I think about what I just said it blows my mind. To think in a matter if months you went from the person I trusted the most to to doubting your motives constantly. I use to be able to talk to you about everything and anything. In the past even if I was upset with you I made sure that you knew I still loved you. If anything serious was happening with me while I was upset with you I'd let you know. You use to do the same. The understanding was I may not like you right now but I still love you. I loved that. If anything were to happen to me before I forgave you, you would know that I still love you no matter what. When I broke up with you, I had every intention of still being your person. The one who understands you without you needing to explain. The one you know you can trust and come to for anything. We had such a special understanding of each other it was surreal sometimes. I don't know how we got here but I don't like it. I don't want to be here. I have been seeing this new temporary therapist, a black possibly some type of queer man. I've been putting him through the paces as I do. He's better than I thought he would be. I've never had male doctors I've herd too many horror stories from my friends. He's actually helpful though. He's been helping me resovle conflict with my mother and I think the same things he's having me do with her are applicable here.  I've made some notes on my phone so you'll see me glancing at it every once in awhile to make sure I stay on topic. Also the music is intentional. My therapist keeps telling me to stop being petty but it makes me feel better. Sorry not sorry. This is an Olive Branch, not an apology. I am willing to adimt I have hurt you. I am willing to admit I am at fault for somethings. I'm willing to admit I have never been good at communication. I am willing to admit that it was easier for me to take the high road and paint myself as the victim who was always right then to work shit out. I'm willing to admit that I've been more than a little defensive and in attack mode recently. I am willing to admit that it has given me pleasure to think about how I could be hurting you. I am willing to admit that I have been plotting your downfall. I'm not ready to apologize for any of that. I'll explain later. I'm going to do this in segments. I am going to talk about how you've hurt me first. I hate bringing up old shit but my therapist says it's necessary because I never healed from it even though I forgave you. I am going to talk about how I was wrong. I am going to talk about how I think I've hurt you. Other than the conversation that happened in January you've never vocalize to me how I've hurt you. I can only speculate. I'm going to try to see things from your point of view. I really want to stop fighting. I would normally write you. It is easy for me to hide behind neutral language and always be able to say that you misinterpreted what I wrote. I can't hide this way. You can hear my tone, see my face, and watch my body language change. I am stepping out to be vulnerable unsure if you will use this against me. Unsure if you will use this to try to manipulate me. Unsure if you even care that I am trying. I want to be the person who gets you without words. The person you trust.  The person you dance down the street with. The person who helps you with your wedding. However, if you burn this Olive branch you burn all future opportunities of any type of friendship or more with me. Respond using whatever medium you would like when you're ready there's no rush. I'm honoring your space.

This is the intro to a video letter I'm sending to Amoriartii. We have been fighting since January and its gotten pretty bad. I am attempting to try to end it.

4/4/18

P.S. I won't say it

I've been waiting for a while for this moment with you. I didn't think I would get here. I never thought you would feel the same way. I thought you were preoccupied with someone else. I remember giving up and walking away. Then you came up to me and said "ask me out again." Its been painstakingly slow. I've spent days banging my head against the wall trying to be patient. Nights longing to be with you, lusting after you, dreaming about you. Trying to play it cool take it slow. But it was all worth it. Getting to spend my birthday with you Sunday was way more than I hoped for. That Monday will go down as the best Monday in history. I woke up next you. I got to fall asleep and wake up next to you. I have never been so happy with someone. I left thinking, GOD! This Must be love. I wanted nothing more then to tell you I've head over heals about you. I so serious about this. I want you to be happy, so continue to do you, but this isn't just a fling to me. I want to grow with you. I want to see you succeed. I want to help you and support you in that endeavor. I want to be with you for the foreseeable future. I want you to be happy. I will do whatever I can to facilitate that. I want you to feel safe with me. I want to be worthy of your trust. I want you to know I trust you. I may not always act like it, that's just because I don't always have the words for what I'm trying to say. I want to be here for it all, not just good, but the shit too (especially when its hard). I want to keep trying, learning, and working at this. I know we're poly so I know there are other people in your life. There are only two other people who are important to me like this that aren't family, my best friend husband #7, and my Play Partner Lovely.  Neither of those relationships are romantic or sexual. I'm still poly but I'm not looking for more at the moment. If it happens I'm not going to ignore it, but I'm not actively seeking some else at the moment. When I do it will probably be my away partner (someone who doesn't live here who I see every 4 months at least). I'm kinda focused on this and satisfied at the moment. I am so happy with you. I am completely in love with you Vendetta. You have my heart.

I am not sending/saying this to her becuase she doesn't consider our relationship as serious. I thought we were in a romantic partnership. According to her we are in an open romantic relationship its just not that serious cuz she doesn't trust me. I found this out on Tuesday and I've been kinda heartbroken about it. I didn't really talk to her Tuesday because I was hurt. After all of this still not there. I've been trying so hard. I know her love isn't a prize to win. I'm just disheartened.

Daily struggles

If you want to know how stressed I am, ask my intestinal microflora. I can run my body into the ground with out the slightest push back physically except for my digestive system. He's not having any of it.