Just A Guy
Bluelight Crew
Haunting and beautiful.
I posted a very brief summary of my life on the staff forums, because there's a thread for that. But the staff are not the be-all and end-all. In my view, I am here for the the members - old members, current members, members in waiting. Not BL as some grand institution. I'm here because we are a community who can support each other. BL is a very useful, albeit flawed, institution. But it's nothing without the people that post here, and most of all I do give a toss about you, the members. Especially EADD, because amongst you are some of the most compassionate and intelligent people I get to share ideas with. This is not about national boundaries. It's just about the sort of people who gravitate to EADD. I love these people.I don't actually care where you're from. I would never turn away someone from EADD because they don't live in the right part of the world. All I care about is building a community of people who care about each other. And I honestly think EADD is the jewel in the BL crown. Not because of me, or the other mods, great as we are
but because of you, the members.
So. Here is that post. Perhaps others would like to give their own introductions here too.
I was born in 1973 when my mum and dad were 41. My dad was a teacher then Headmaster of the high school I went to. I had two older brothers and a sister. Eldest brother = 15 years older than me - died of cancer in 2008. My other brother - 12 years older - worked as a psych nurse in the NHS for 20 years until diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He has to use wheelchair / scooter to get about and he gets tired easily. My dead brother leaves a 25 year old girl who has a lot of problems in life. My other brother has a couple of fairly well-adjusted kids. His wife is an angel and looks after him and her elderly, decrepit parents.
My parents are in their 80s and need an increasing amount of my time to look after them. I help my immobile brother whenever I can. My relationship with my dead brother's daughter is on and off; she has had a difficult upbringing and a bitter, difficult mother. So I help her where I can.
My sister was a heroin addict for a while before giving it up and sticking to weed. She has travelled a bit - through the UK, Greece for a bit, and settled in the States 20 years ago. She was a lesbian for many years. She had a mixed-race kid who is a wonderful young man. She then found the love of her love, an American artist, they got married and settled in northern Catalonia. After her son reached high school age he wanted to go back to the States as racism is a problem where they were living in Catalonia. So they moved to Portland, Oregan where she has connections. Her husband died of an overdose five years ago, he suffered from depression. I don't think he was a BLer. She works as a journalist now and has won various prizes.
I worked in IT from age 19 to 37. I worked in Edinburgh, London, Peterburgh, Lancashire (lived in a motorhome for 11 months, winter got to me so I quit), Dusseldorf, and Livingston (shithole in Scotland). Mostly financial instiutions but also Sky the TV company in Livingston.
In 2002 my best buddie died. This sent me on a downward spiral for the next few years. I moved to London and made good friends and had a lot of fun and worked hard, played hard. My brother died in that time. But that came to an end and I returned home to Scotland. Shortly after arriving my favourite Aunt died. My long term relationship (with a lass I still love dearly) fell apart; she also suffers from depression and is difficult to get along with but we're still friends. I also suffered complete disillusion with my work. I had a nervous breakdown last years as a cumulate result of these deaths, losses and frustrations over the years and nearly killed myself early 2012 jumping out a window on a cocktail of drugs. I'd been planning the suicide jump for some time, drugs just enabled it. In the end I just broke my foot.
I've spent the last couple of years trying, slowly, to rebuild my life. I saved up some money from working in the city and, oddly enough, the Co-Op in Lancashire. I've been living off that money. It's dwindling. I use drugs to make things bearable and frankly, they work, when used wisely, but it takes experience to find that sweet spot. Think I'm there now. I'm now getting involved in local activism against poverty, the bedroom tax, homelessness and empowering workers to take control of their lives. I do my best to help people here on BL because a) our members are by and large wonderful people and they deserve it and b) they help me back.
I took up climbing recently too. I live on my own in a cold flat in a town I'd rather not be. I plan to move to Edinburgh where I have some roots and interesting things sometimes happen.
My dad was remote when I was young, he threw himself into his work. He was mildly abusive - dragged me round the living room with a walkingstick round my neck; threatened to cut off my cock. My mum was loving but overprotective. I rebelled from the age of 12 and got into drugs ASAP. I had no trouble with drugs until my recent breakdown. I'm getting on top of that now.
I applied to train to be a nurse last year but due to police involvement I wasn't accepted, I'm going to seek advice and see if I can apply again.
My plans for the future outside 9-5 are to work with other people to make our lives better collectively. I am still a computer geek and get fun out of that.
I love techno and house, and I dance like a motherfucker on acid and MDMA. I usually use milder functional drugs at home but sometimes I have a blow out. most of the time that works out fine.
I love BL but most of all EADD. It's a place where people come who need help, and I think our relationships with each other should be based on mutual support through bad times, not just having fun, although fun is a big part too. I try to treat people like adults and I recognise that fundamentally there are limitations to what we can achieve with people who have far more serious issues to deal with than I have. So I just do my best and I don't try to fob people off with easy answers and platitudes.
That's me!
knock
PS stims help when typing this stuff out :D
Everything you say is true, knock was the unnasuming heart and soul of this place, but its worrying that you are still so deeply distressed by this and that its still having such a devastating effect on you.
Knock helped so many people on here that it makes me wonder why didn't he reach out to someone himself either here or elsewhere?
I too am distressed by this. And devastated. Because Michael was a lovely man doing a brilliant job here.
And if he hadn't had that job so cruelly taken away from him he would still be alive.
Until someone proves otherwise to me, that is my position. I think it's one his inquest needs to hear.
I don't know how some people sleep at night.
To me this is serious shit. My heart has gone from this place completely.
Guys, I don't want to say this, but I've been thinking it & need to post it. I know it's hard to hear this but if Knock took his own life because of the demodding, I'm really sorry, but that says alot more about Knock state of mind than it does about BL.
I'm sure some of those people who may have been behind Knocks demodding are having trouble sleeping at night & dealing with this.
I can't imagine how being accused or implicated in his passing must feel to them.
Now, I really think this part of the conversation should be moved out of this thread, where this topic is ill placed. I think this thread should be kept as much as possible for good memories of an old friend.