December 2006

You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2006.

So I need help

Well, yeah, so he called last night. He’s in jail now, you know. His mugshot. Arrested on my birthday. But not till he was hours late.
I didn’t know he’d been arrested till two days later.

He called last night to tell me that his parole officer was recommending that he be returned to prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence. He also asked me to see about his car. I found the car downtown with a stack of parking tickets on it and got inside and found the key he’d left there. Cleaning out the car today I found more things of mine he’d taken, my address book for example, nicely filled in with addresses that are his. I’ll transcribe them and mail them to him along with the photo album he left there. I found his hoodie and put it on. And cried.

A few minutes ago I was rereading some e-mails we had exchanged and one of the AdSense ads above had a link to an open letter to single women frustrated with dating the wrong guys

Yeah, so in this letter it had the following list of personality traits and asked if the men in my life have had them.

1. SUPERFICIAL CHARM – the tendency to be smooth, engaging, charming, and slick. Not in the least shy, self-conscious, or afraid to say anything. He never gets tongue-tied and has freed himself from the social conventions about taking turns in talking, for example.

2. GRANDIOSE SELF-WORTH — a grossly inflated view of one’s abilities and self-worth, self-assured, opinionated, cocky, a braggart. An arrogant guy who believes he is a superior human being.

3. NEED FOR STIMULATION (PRONENESS TO BOREDOM) — an excessive need for novel, thrilling, and exciting stimulation; taking chances and doing things that are risky. Often has low self-discipline in carrying tasks through to completion because he gets bored easily.

4. PATHOLOGICAL LYING – can be moderate or high; in moderate form, and will be shrewd, crafty, cunning, sly, and clever (in extreme form, he will be deceptive, deceitful, underhanded, unscrupulous, manipulative, and dishonest).

5. CONNING AND MANIPULATIVENESS — the use of deceit and deception to cheat, con, or defraud others for personal gain; distinguished from Item #4 in the degree to which exploitation and callous ruthlessness is present, as reflected in a lack of concern for the feelings and suffering of one’s victims.

6. LACK OF REMORSE OR GUILT – a lack of feelings or concern for the losses, pain, and suffering of victims; a tendency to be unconcerned, dispassionate, coldhearted, and unempathic. This item is usually demonstrated by a disdain for one’s victims.

7. SHALLOW AFFECT – emotional poverty or a limited range or depth of feelings; interpersonal coldness in spite of signs of open gregariousness.

8. CALLOUSNESS and LACK OF EMPATHY — a lack of feelings toward people in general; cold, contemptuous, inconsiderate, and tactless.

9. PARASITIC LIFESTYLE — an intentional, manipulative, selfish, and exploitative financial dependence on others as reflected in a lack of motivation, low self-discipline, and inability to begin or complete responsibilities.

10. POOR BEHAVIORAL CONTROLS – expressions of irritability, annoyance, impatience, threats, aggression, and verbal abuse; inadequate control of anger and temper; acting hastily.

11. PROMISCUOUS SEXUAL BEHAVIOR — a variety of brief, superficial relations, numerous affairs, and an indiscriminate selection of sexual partners; the maintenance of several relationships at the same time; a history of attempts to sexually coerce others into sexual activity or taking great pride at discussing sexual exploits or conquests.

12. LACK OF REALISTIC, LONG-TERM GOALS – an inability or persistent failure to develop and execute long-term plans and goals; a nomadic existence, aimless, lacking direction in life.

13. IMPULSIVITY — the occurrence of behaviors that are unpremeditated and lack reflection or planning; inability to resist temptation, frustrations, and urges; a lack of deliberation without considering the consequences; foolhardy, rash, unpredictable, erratic, and reckless.

14. IRRESPONSIBILITY — repeated failure to fulfill or honor obligations and commitments; such as not paying bills, defaulting on loans, performing sloppy work, being absent or late to work, failing to honor contractual agreements.

15. FAILURE TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR OWN ACTIONS — a failure to accept responsibility for one’s actions reflected in low conscientiousness, an absence of dutifulness, antagonistic manipulation, denial of responsibility, and an effort to manipulate others through this denial.

16. MANY SHORT-TERM RELATIONSHIPS — a lack of commitment to a long-term relationship reflected in inconsistent, undependable, and unreliable commitments in life, including marital.

17. JUVENILE DELINQUENCY – behavior problems between the ages of 13-18; mostly behaviors that are crimes or clearly involve aspects of antagonism, exploitation, aggression, manipulation, or a callous, ruthless tough-mindedness.

18. CRIMINAL VERSATILITY – A diversity of types of criminal offenses (regardless if the person has been arrested or convicted for them); taking great pride at getting away with crimes.

Well that’s Dan in a nutshell. That’s Dan exactly. What’s scarier is that all 18 traits are actually “clinical traits” of a sociopath (Source: Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, PCL-R; Hare,1991, 2003).

Sociopaths only care about fulfilling their own needs and desires – selfishness and egocentricity to the extreme. Everything and everybody else is mentally twisted around in their minds as objects to be used in fulfilling their own needs and desires. Not surprisingly, parental failure (usually fatherlessness) is the #1 reason why someone develops a sociopathic personality.

Parental failure is also the usual cause of co dependence, the kind of personality I have. It usually stems from being abandoned (or abused) as a child and which makes one susceptible to guys like Dan.

So I need help.

I thought I’d fixed my relationship with my father but I guess I haven’t. I knew it along the way here. In fact I had told friends of mine that I was aware that Dan was a surrogate for my relationship with my father but that I didn’t know what to do about it. Anyway, I know I’m begging here but I need your prayers.

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul- We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. –Joseph Smith

That’s how I grew up. I behaved that way and for the most part, still do. I take people at face value. When I care about someone I care all the way, not half assed and when I learn that their ethos is different than mine I suffer. I somehow cannot accept people easily if their way of being is very different from mine. In the neighborhood I grew up in only one (non-LDS) family was even divorced. It really was the end of the world to me when my own parents divorced. How would we know what to do? Why did our friends and our church turn their backs on us. We were 14 and under and NOBODY was looking out for us. Perhaps I took on an unhealthy part of the burden being that I was the oldest but you have to expect that, right?

Well right? Well the night before last D. shows up and wants us to get past this and wants us to be friends. And you know I am incapable of telling the guy ‘no.’ Plus he seemed to have money and took me out for lunch and the next day, yesterday, was my birthday. I thought how wonderful to be able to just be with this boy who, you know, at least on a biological level, I just want to completely posess. What a wonderful gift. So we hung out. We checked in to a hotel, We . . . .well he started doing something that seemed very complicated so I decided to cut my hair while I was waiting. (A crew cut is the only way to conquer winter hat hair!). I took a nap with my face burried against his shoulder and he made me a jerk-off movie on his Motorola Razer phone. Yes, I have thought of posting it here.

We both had stuff to do this afternoon and he said he’d be an hour, an hour and a half tops. He promised. Now I know him so I’m thinking three hours. And three hours seems fine. At five hours I start getting anxious. At nine hours I start coming unglued. Now it’s been twelve hours and I just cannot take it anymore. Anyone who can behave that way and be so completely OK with is CANNOT be my friend. This kind of stress kills me. It’s not like I haven’t had enough stress lately. Even if my only other sources of stress in the last year were my three moves I’d be a basket case, but three moves is the least of what I’ve gone through. And you know what? I am a raw nerve. I am reacfting too strongly to things that really shouldn’t bother me. I am also aware that not one single person I know has said “Hey, you’ve been going through alot lately. Are you OK:? Would you like to sit down and talk for awhile?

One friend tried to point out how selfish I am because I frequently will use the phrases “I would like” and ” I want.” I thought being assertive was OK. I never said “I deserve” or “Give me your . . ” There we go. I’m a stressed out assertive person. Types like D. who say one thing and do something else (I like to call that lying.) and B. who, well let’s just call a spade a spade/ Brandt now is not the Brandt I became friends with so many years ago. With D. I only asked for 2 things. I also wanted him to do want he says he’s going to do. So for my birthday, I waited for him for 12 hours, ate a frozen pizza (alone) and tried to figure out why I’m different than every one I know in this town and where do I have to go to meet a decent guy?

I have endured MANY things. One more indignity won’t break the bank. I hope I can endure all of them that life gives me, but you know what? I’d love to be loved after all. I just want somebody, somewhere, to care. Someone to share leftover frozen birthday pizza with.

Milton, I beleive, said the ‘mind is a place of it’s own.’ If that is true the heart is another country. All month long I’ve been stranded in a foreign land without my passport. My head knows full well the limits and faults of the relationship that is the object of my affection, but tell my heart not to love him? The chance for love passed me by long ago and I swear that I was OK with that. I was angry. But I was O.K. That which does not kill us makes us bitter.

I’m not the kind of person that is naturally motivated by anger or greed. I feel most happy when I’m being useful to those who need my help. That makes me feel useful. That is my raison d’etre. Perhaps it was my LDS upbringing or the years I spent in Boy Scouts or perhaps the time I spent in AA actually did some good but I enjoy, no I LOVE, being of service to my fellows.

If for no other reason, though there ARE other reasons, that has made resolving my situation with D. so difficult. Smart is the sexiest thing in the world to me and I have never met another 24 year old that not only is able to but actually does use the word obtuse correctly in the course of a normal conversation. He has caused me more difficulty and more pain than anyone in my life ever has. His economic impact has been disasterous on my life. Yet here I am a month later, blogging about the same bullshit. How many chances does one give somebody to take what one can offer them and use it to improve their lot? When I have decided that someone is worthwhile it practically kills me to let them be less than they can be. I have all but given up on me but because of the path I’ve taken I pretty much know which path not to take.

Dan. whom I have been infatuated with and challenged by and who has an affectionate side that is all I’ve ever hoped for in a guy, has also used my nature against me but not to improve his condition. He has only used what he used to satisfy his short term wants and to harm me. I don’t understand that. That person has the audacity to email me

“I think you are the most pathetic person i know. Did you know that people are actually laughing at you? You call and profess you love for me to people? Get a life dude. You are making an ass out of yourself. I’m not even talking about you to any of my friends. I have money, a place to stay, and a decent hook to catch some fish. Nobody wants to hear about your uncontrollable obsessing with me. Every body knows you are desperate, and psychotic.”

I hold myself in higher esteem and with more respect today than I have in some time, not that it’s any of his business. As to my being pathetic, I really don’t care what he or others think. I value the opinions of very few people and he is no longer among them. The people who are laughing aren’t people I value in any way. Let them laugh. I don’t care if I’m making an ass of myself and if I do it’s really none of their concern.

Desperate? Almost certainly. Psychoitc? Perhaps.

But he is a psychopath. He has no sympathy for anyone and is the single most hateful, selfish, mean spirited and dangerous person I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t put murder past him. Actually i wouldn’t be surprised to hear he killed someone at all and then hear him say that it was “pretty cool.”

Hopefully not me.

Hopefully not today.

get userping