Showing posts with label ghosts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ghosts. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Familiar pain

Miss R is very annoyed with her best friend. This friend is stuck in a loop of her own making. She wants a relationship, with a good man, but instead hooks up with losers (who do the “I just want to be friends” dance, usually just after she’s finished blowing them). Now I’m not making any judgments. What a person does with their body is their own business. And we’ve all put ourselves in dangerous situations at some point. However, most of us learn from our mistakes, rather than repeating the behaviour and crying “Why me?” when everything goes to shit. 
 
Miss R started out being very supportive, but she has reached her limit. Now she is channelling her inner Hawm. And it feels good. She is normally the nice one, as anyone who knows her will attest to, so this new attitude is a bit of a shock. But it gets the job done. It won’t last long, the guilt will eventually be too much. For the moment she’s getting on with things and taking no prisoners, so I’m enjoying the show.

What’s this got to do with pain? Good question. Part of her friends problem, and something many people also suffer from, is the inability to leave a wound alone. As human beings we take perverse pleasure in wallowing in our own pain and misery. Rather than let the scab heal we keep picking at it. We read text messages/emails/letters from people who’ve hurt us. We listen to music, watch movies/tv shows, read books they recommended when they were still part of our lives.

Why do we do these things to ourselves? Lots of different reasons. Mostly, I think, it’s because we don’t really want to let then go. Even though they treated us like shit, even though we are better off without them, even though we know it’s wrong. Computers and the internet have made this harder to avoid. Now you can check that persons facebook/twitter/myspace/blog/webpage etc. anytime, from anywhere. Every email/tweet/message you ever sent each other is there. Every click keeping the wound open.

How much simpler thing were, when you could just burn the letters and move away. That is always my policy: destroy everything and move on. But it doesn’t always work. Sometimes the pain still lingers, even months after the wound closes over. Every day, it’s still there. Granted it is not as sharp as it once was, and it no longer fills the entire space, but it is still there. Most of the time I can ignore it, but I’m not having a good few days. Unfortunately another familiar pain has come back to visit, which is making me more cranky than usual.

My body is on the warpath, which means my pain levels are up. I’m due at the blood bank, so I can’t take any painkillers, and I’m stuck doing everything with my left hand. I’ve got an appointment with the torture merchant tomorrow morning, so hopefully things will improve. If not it’ll have to cancel the blood, and hit the hard stuff.

Meeting up with my cousin and her mum in the city tomorrow. Should be interesting. Hopefully I’ll be able to move my arm by then.

Friday, March 18, 2011

electric dreams

There are times that I’m glad I don’t talk in my sleep, and that most days I wake up alone. This morning was one of those times. My memory is not brilliant, but I can’t remember a single night in the last 95 days that I haven’t that dreamt of Ms L. Sometimes she yells at me. Sometimes we talk. The most upsetting are the ones where we have managed to move past everything, where we are just hanging out like the friends we used to be. Those are the dreams that leave me crushed, and make it hard to get out of bed.

Stupid brain.

Friday, February 25, 2011

more learning

School goes back on Monday. After fighting with the stupid RMIT timetabling system I had to take one class online, and the other on campus. Normally going back to study doesn't worry me, but I've been a little off this week so I'm not looking forward to it. 

It's not the study that I'm worried about. It's being in the actual building. Not the asbestos, which should all be gone by now, but the ghosts. One particular ghost. I know Ms L isn't teaching anymore, so I'm not worried about running into her, it's more the reminder of the friendship. Of course there's nothing for it but to go and make new friends (though they can't possibly be as cool as the friends I already have).

Miss R and I are off to see a movie tonight. Still trying to decide between "I am number 4" and "The way back." Really hoping my brain will give me a break for a few hours. The stupid thought are coming less often, but they still kick like a mule.