SA Meets - Positives?

[Matt101]

Originally Posted by halfemptyglass

http://www.sawest.org/session_schedule.shtml

The next ones are Thursday 11th August and Sunday 4th September (there was one today that you just missed.) But new people come to all the sessions, so you don't have to wait. Topic sessions are also good to come to for your first time. The only one I wouldn't recommend is public speaking, as that's quite obviously one of the hardest for most people (although you can just sit and listen).

Would be good to see you at a session

Cool, I shall try to attend.

[Caribou]

Originally Posted by diplodocus

Ever the optimist eh?

Been here long enough to know the score

[Mr Ploppy]

Originally Posted by CaveGirl

A new worry i've recently developed is that everyone seems to know each other now , i'm left out compared to when I first joined and i'm not a big fan of meeting strangers.
I wonder if as much bickering takes places as on here , too.
I've been very lucky so far in being treated nicely when i've gone out so going to appts is easier for me than a meet. I'd like to change my mind though and give one a go..maybe
Do members bring people with them for protection?

Everyone ? I've never been to a meet, I don't know anyone here.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Positives
-Gives me a reason to get out a lot more often
-Meet new people
-I've made some good 'real life' friends
-Its given me some sort of social life
-Given me the confidence to improve my social life and make friends with other (Non SA people)
-Learnt endless amounts of 80's pop culture trivia
-Done all sorts of crazy things. Dressing up as a pirate, karaoke, going to fancy cocktail bars, Shooting little kids with laser guns, pedal boat racing, insane nights out that don't end 'till the sun rises.

Negatives
-meets are expensive :/

[Zim]

Originally Posted by young_al_capone

Positives
-Learnt endless amounts of 80's pop culture trivia

[black_mamba]

Meets changed my life for the better. No joke.

[яemus]

Originally Posted by black_mamba

Meets changed my life for the better. No joke.

Wow really? For me it made little impact

[black_mamba]

Originally Posted by ***1103;emus

Wow really? For me it made little impact

Fair enough.

I suppose finding SA UK and the meets came at the perfect time in my life, when I most needed it(was having a hard time at home)and also at a time when I had no social experience at all apart from going to university lectures.

They were fantastic for so many reasons. I didn't feel judged at all for being quiet or shy, no one made fun of me for being mute for hours and hours on end at the beginning of most meets (I opened up eventually), and they actually gave me something to look forward to. I saw meets as a challenge, every time I attended one I'd congratulate myself for facing my fears (and yes, I would practically shit a brick before each meet, shaking heavily etc.)

Eventually I made a bunch of friends from the meets and formed a social life away from meets, practiced my conversational skills, and ended up organising a bunch of meetings myself. And quite frankly, the people I met were kick ass.

Seriously if it wasn't for meets I'd not have recovered as well as I have now. Going to meets even, in an indirect way, gave me to strength to approach doctors about SA.

I'll shut up now. I could go on forever about how meets helped me, granted they won't help everyone but they're more than worth a shot.

[diplodocus]

Originally Posted by ***1103;emus

Wow really? For me it made little impact

Meets for me also were one of, if not the most important factor in improving my SA.

[Defiance]

Originally Posted by diplodocus

Meets for me also were one of, if not the most important factor in improving my SA.

I tend to attend them rather sporadically myself. i have found them useful, as before my first meet i had never met anyone off the internet before and have since met more people (non SAUKers)


I think meets helped me with my SA somewhat, not massively, but i was definitely better for going to them.


these days im more likely to come to a meet if i havent socialized for a while. i was actually in the mood to come today ...but im not really a big fan of sitting in parks for hours, or big meets with huge amounts of people as people seem to get more SA and you get more of that "circle of Silence" as it's been coined...

I tend to enjoy the smaller meets (less than 10 people) most. feel more comfortable..

I also do wish people people would say their username more. alot of the time i dont know who the **** i'm talking to as the person has never posted any pics of themselves or anything, and if people said their username more then i would know who people are ..and that might then prompt some decent conversation ..or even arguments lol, anything better than the circle of silence ..lol

[Dan B]

Originally Posted by black_mamba

I didn't feel judged at all for being quiet or shy, no one made fun of me for being mute for hours and hours on end at the beginning of most meets

I think once you get your head round the fact you can sit there quietly or take a little "time out" now and again, it does get a lot easier.

Originally Posted by young_al_capone

-meets are expensive :/

Tell me about it...

[Mr Ploppy]

I would only attend one under a fake username.

[Twoflower]

Originally Posted by CaveGirl

^^^
You have only been here two months!

It took me over a year before I had a list of people i'd avoid but there are lots of good posters who it would be cool to meet at least once.
It's a shame so many take place in pubs as i'd prefer a museum or exhibition but maybe such outings are best done with friends.

Yep I feel the same, pubs aren't my scene at all, I'm much more comfortable at a museum than a pub.

Tell you what I'd be scared that on a SA meet I'd meet someone who I actually knew, in real life... even if I only vaguely knew them, I mean, how awkward?!

[Dan B]

Originally Posted by rainbow.one

Tell you what I'd be scared that on a SA meet I'd meet someone who I actually knew, in real life... even if I only vaguely knew them, I mean, how awkward?!

I have an old friend here in York who's a taxi driver, so he could be anywhere! I used to constantly be looking over my shoulder for him at York meets. I actually ended up having to tell him (although didn't mention SAUK) because he'd clocked me coming home from Leeds meets in the early hours a couple of times. It was a bit awkward, but he was pretty cool about it and, to be honest, it was a weight off my shoulders.

[AxelFendersson]

Originally Posted by CaveGirl

It's a shame so many take place in pubs as i'd prefer a museum or exhibition but maybe such outings are best done with friends.

The two aren't mutually exclusive. Both the meets in Oxford this year we started at a museum and then went to the pub afterwards.

[Alex76]

Originally Posted by Defiance

I also do wish people people would say their username more. alot of the time i dont know who the **** i'm talking to as the person has never posted any pics of themselves or anything, and if people said their username more then i would know who people are ..and that might then prompt some decent conversation ..or even arguments lol, anything better than the circle of silence ..lol

Lol I asked a few people what their usernames were at the meet I went to today (or yesterday now). Not sure if this was correct SAUK meet etiquette or not, but people asked mine and I was happy to be asked.
Agreed it is nice to know who people are from the forum, alot of the time I was just looking around and guessing

[Johnni]

Originally Posted by Defiance

I also do wish people people would say their username more. alot of the time i dont know who the **** i'm talking to as the person has never posted any pics of themselves or anything, and if people said their username more then i would know who people are ..and that might then prompt some decent conversation ..or even arguments lol, anything better than the circle of silence ..lol

Just ask them when you are talking to them. I don't think it's rude to ask as people have asked me and i have done the same with them.

[AnathemA]

Originally Posted by Johnni

Just ask them when you are talking to them. I don't think it's rude to ask as people have asked me and i have done the same with them.

Yours is kind of obvious, though.