I know I haven't been here in awhile, but I just figured I'd drop by and say hello. :) Haven't looked at the new posts much yet. I'm guessing things haven't changed much, though. *g*
Anyway, something amusing AND on-topic happened recently. As elder from my old congregation ran into me at work... and, of course, the first thing he asked about was my meeting attendance and all that jazz. The conversation went something like this:
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Him: Hey, Stranger! I didn't know you were in town.
Me: Well, after I lost my job in Flint, I just figured I might as well finally move out of my parents' house since nothing was keeping me in town. And I decided to move down here.
Him: (bits of smalltalk, then) Are you attending meetings at another congregation?
Me: (point-blank) No.
Him: (looking concerned) Why? Did the brothers upset you somehow? (For reasons beyond my understanding, the people at this congregation really seemed to like me. I guess he wanted someone to blame.)
Me: No, it's nothing personal. I just don't want to anymore. (Please keep in mind for the rest of this that I haven't attended a single meeting in the last two years.)
Him: Well... (something about last days, Jehovah, Bible and a bunch of other crap. I didn't really care, so forgive me if I don't remember.) If you decide to come back....
Me: I'm not coming back. You probably shouldn't be talking to me.
Him: Well, I'm an elder, so it's all right.
Me: Oh. Okay.
Him: Well, have you sent in a DA letter? This IS what you're basically doing. (Hello, I haven't been to a meeting in TWO YEARS. And the only time I even *mention* my JW background to people is when the topic of conversation comes around to stupid things we've done in our youth.)
Me: No. I don't see why it's anybody's business if I just decide to leave.
Him: (some meaningless mumbo-jumbo about Jehovah's organization, keeping the congregation clean, etc.) You're a person of the world now. I'll have to contact Brother X, and we'll make the announcement at the next service meeting. (Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I think this is the part where I was supposed to beg for another chance. It didn't quite happen that way.)
Me: *shrug* You've gotta do what you've gotta do.
Him: Well, have you found worldly people to be as good as Jehovah's people?
Me: (without hesitation) Yes. (Truth be told, a lot of them are nicer.)
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The rest was pretty much just more of the same: him trying to talk/scare me into returning to the fold before it was "too late" and me feeling vaguely amused at how ridiculous all of it sounded now. Two years ago, those same words would've had me running scared, ashamed and guilty right back to the Kingdom Hall. I've defintely come a long way.
As for the rest of my life, things are good. I've been working odd jobs (some very odd) and working on a novel, the first draft of which is now FINISHED! Right now, I'm working on drawing up the proposal and sending it to an agent. While I was a JW... I never could've done that. I never could've gotten this far because I was too fearful of my own ideas and ambitions. Now, though, the sky's the limit, and life is looking pretty sweet.
I'll keep everybody posted on whatever happens. Oh, and if you'd like to take a look at the first few chapters, go here: http://www.yaoigoddess.com/originals/gbpref.html
It's a pretty weird story, I know, and definitely not to everyone's tastes. But I figured I'd share it here anyway. :)
Peace, love and gothic fuzzies,
*Rochelle.
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"I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death -- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
-- Professor Severus Snape, Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone.