Wow! It has been a while since I have shared a personal blog entry. It is not that I have not had a personal life. I have. That is one reason I have not written a personal post in some time. I have been busy with living life that I haven't had much time to write about it. What has been keeping me from writing?
recent camera phone pic
Family
I have been spending A LOT of time with family and loving it so much. Being an aunt is awesome. It has opened me up to so much love that I feel like I might burst. It has also made me work hard on being engaged and present in a whole new way. I find that so rewarding. It also involves travel as my niece is not in Montreal. When I am gone it means when I get home I have to play catch up on my different obligation and activities and some stuff has been at the bottom of the to-do list. I have re-arranged some things and I should have a better schedule in 2014 once the holidays are over. Regular postings to come!!! Streamlining things!!! Woo!!!
Burlesque
Speaking of streamlining, a bunch of that has been with regards to burlesque. I have combed through my costume collection a couple of times in the past year and focused my selection for my strongest numbers - ones that I can do at more upscale shows and for private events. This has been a smart move and for the past few months I have been getting more gigs and even making some decent money off of my burlesque activities (decent is subjective of course - in my case it means more money coming in than going out). I have also been hosting more which is something I very much want to pursue in 2014. I like helping to hold a show together and showcase other artists. It is a very good feeling to bring the community together.
Fear & Other Stuff
It also hasn't been that pressing for me to write about the ups and downs in my life as it was before because there have been a lot fewer ups and downs. After a few very tumultuous years things have settled down for me. All my personal work has paid off and I am feeling very grounded and focused. There have been some bumps in the road, but I have dealt with them with a newfound sense of equanimity. Thank you three years of therapy and my Buddhist influenced personal development work (mindfulness practices saved my life— truly).
Though I would be really deceiving myself (and you, my readers) if I said I am not also dealing with some fears. Money has been an issue. Depression and anxiety kept me pretty much flat on the floor for many months (on and off) which made working and earning an income pretty inconsistent. I have had to take a hard look at my expenses and the meager ways I can earn in living with adult content these days and look at other streams of revenue.
Last summer things finally came to a head and I did some major emotional and physical housekeeping and have spent much of the past 18 months cutting things and people out of my life, tying up lose ends (filed for the divorce and ended that chapter of my life officially), and creating a new foundation for my life.
Then there is my love life. I have a better understanding of what I want, but I am lacking some confidence. The risk of dating is very real to me. I cannot go about it as discretely as I would like as I have lived a very publicly documented life since 1998. Online dating holds zero interest for me as having online profiles and dealing with emails and strangers reaching out to me is something I have done on a daily basis for many, many years. Playing it light and sleeping around also doesn't hold much interest for me. Again, it is something I did, albeit in a professional way, for a long time.
You could say I am looking for something new which in this day and age of extensive social networking is not easy to find. I am in the process of figuring out what it is. I expect I will know it or rather him or her - when I see it.
So, I haven't given up hope, but I am feeling cautious, even risk-averse. All in a self-confident and self-respecting way. I want to make smart choices and right now being single and solo (mostly solo - I still have
a little fun with people I have known for a while - ones where we both know where we stand) is all part of this new foundation of mine.
