Posted by cerrynn1 on Mon 23 Aug 04, 11:27 AM to cerrynn1's blog.
The IC weblog "environment" seems to have been undergoing one of its periodic metamorphoses of mood, tone and character(s?) recently. I've been (sporadically) writing here long enough now to have witnessed these changes before. I've stuck with it, though, mostly because I have come to know some wonderful people through IC. At the last BBB, as she wrote in her own weblog last week, Matou and I had the chance to meet Pussylash and Perverted. Actually, we knew (and liked, and like!) Perverted already, but this was the first time we had the opportunity to meet the delightful and charming Pussylash after many months of interesting correspondence, a correspondence sparked by hers and my weblogs. We had a wonderfully enjoyable conversation with both of them, and with other friends as well, at the BBB. I shall echo her remark that we look forward to developing our friendship with them.
This sort of thing -- the chance to make contact and make friends with an incredible variety of fascinating people who are also "into" BDSM -- is one important reason why I have persisted with my weblogs. Even within the comparatively small world of the UK BDSM community, we probably would not have encountered Pussylash and Perverted (or our other friends from beyond the West Midlands) in our usual local scene haunts. Similarly, there are several other (comparatively "new") bloggers whom I have not yet met that I still very much hope to meet (you know who you are, I hope!).
But many of my favourite bloggers have taken their writing elsewhere, or have chosen to take indefinite or permanent "holidays" from IC -- including my all-time favourite blogger, Matou. I must admit that recently I have been tempted to join them. A few of my old friends, my old favourites, still write here (although with increasing infrequency) ... as do I, although I often wonder why I bother. I rarely receive any feedback, good *or* bad, on what I write. Either would be welcome. Way back in February of 2003 I wrote a weblog in which I quoted from an article on the worldwide weblog phenomenon written by Steve Bowbrick and published in the Guardian. He wrote, "For most bloggers, conversation is the point of the exercise. Shouting into a void is sad and fruitless. Getting conversations going and learning from them is positive and life enhancing." I agreed then, and agree even more so now. Especially since, for the past few months at least, I have felt more and more as if I am shouting into a void.
I miss the *conversations* we used to have via the IC weblogs. I don't mean flame wars or tit-for-tat sniping between ex-partners or extended "in-jokes" that are incomprehensible to anyone but the handful of people involved. I mean considered, well-thought-out, *discussions*. True, sometimes in the course of those discussions we would disagree and the discussion would turn into a debate, or occasionally an out-and-out argument -- and those arguments did tend to alarm the more fragile flowers among our number. Nevertheless, I think even the most heated of those debates were usually productive in that we all were able to learn something. I miss that.
When I first sat down last week to write *this* weblog, I was right on the edge of making it one of those "adios, amigos" type weblogs. However, I'm not going to do that now <you at the back -- stop sniggering!! And no heckling the speaker, either!!!>. A note from a friend -- a longstanding and respected weblogger here -- shifted my mood so that I am now planning on hanging around for a while ... although life here at Matou Mansions is getting busier for me and I no longer have as much time to read *or* write weblogs as I once did. But she encouraged me, as did her own most recent weblog, to remember that there are still fascinating people writing here, and that one can learn and think about and discover things here that one might not encounter so conveniently anywhere else.
So that's the "IC weblogs" part of this blog's title done and dusted. Onward to "Life In General". I rarely if ever write much about our everyday "vanilla" existence. But what the hell ... here goes.
A week ago Saturday I received in the post yet another long-sought-after document from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. Much to my joy and relief, I now possess an officially stamped and sealed "Residence Permit", which gives me leave to remain in the UK for another two years (when I will have to apply for "Indefinite Leave To Remain"). The recently- received document also allows me to work in the UK -- something which I have not been able to do under the terms of the visas I have had up to now.
I am very pleased at this. While it has been something of a luxury for me to be able to devote myself full- time to doing little things for Matou and pursuing various "personal projects" and polishing my culinary skills (in other words, being a full-time housewife!) over the past months, I don't think I could have kept it up much longer. I have *always* worked. Up until a few years ago I always *had* to work, sometimes even two full-time jobs at the same time, as my ex-husband didn't really have much of a knack for keeping jobs himself. That's another reason why my current hiatus from employment has been a refreshing change. But ... it's high time that I get back into the rat-race.
So now the job search begins in earnest. The CV has been renovated, "recruitment packages" I have requested are being jammed unceremoniously through the mail slot, and I have writer's cramp from filling in application forms. Somewhat to my surprise, several of the positions for which I am applying really *do* sound legitimately interesting. Please wish me luck.
Finally (I know you've been waiting breathlessly! Yeah, right ...) we had a "first" over the weekend.
New, bigger-and-better edge play? Some hitherto- unchallenged limit extended? Some pain barrier smashed to smithereens?
Hmmm ... maybe, but not exactly. The "first" was ... we had Matou's three sons (ages 6 through 14) with us for the weekend.
We see the boys every weekend normally, on either Saturday or Sunday, but until recently "overnights" were highly impracticable, if not downright impossible. The former Matou Mansions (especially after the fur people and I moved in) was simply too small. But now, at the new-and-improved Matou Mansions, we have ... a guest bedroom! And a separate room for the (multiple) computers, so that more than one child can play computer games at the same time with a minimum of disturbance. And a garden (although the boys do usually seem to prefer the computers to frolicking in the great out-of-doors).
In light of our new facilities and capacities, they arrived mid-day Saturday. The weather held, so (as we had conditionally promised them) we were able to barbecue for dinner Saturday night, with burgers *and* sausages *and* chicken *and* sweetcorn *and* jacket potatoes *and* Matou's specialite' de la maison, homemade strawberry ice cream. Plus a pretty fair quantity of South African red for the two of us. The food was declared by the boys to be "nice". All in all a successful social event ... and it didn't even rain!
Then Sunday (yesterday) morning, off we all went to Warwick Castle to see the jousting (and everything else there is to see at Warwick Castle). It was fun. It was *very* tiring ... I've been there a couple of times before, but never on a summer Sunday: the crowds and the queues were staggering (as were the prices). By 3:00 the boys were tired, and we were tired, so we decided we had had enough fun ... but not before getting pictures of them all in The Stocks and explaining to them how the rack worked (see, there's a BDSM angle to all of this after all!). Then home ... well before bedtime.
So there you have it ... a fleeting glimpse, through the keyhole as it were, into one weekend in the shocking, secret life of a 24/7 D/s couple (smelling salts available at the door for those who need them).
To Matou ... last night you thanked me for "everything I had done" over the weekend. And I (absolutely truthfully!) replied that it had been my pleasure. Thank *you* for allowing me the privilege of sharing your life ... *our* life. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Ai shiteru, Sensei, itsumo ...
*your* cerrynn{M}
Edited Mon 23 Aug 04, 11:33 AM by cerrynn1
