MistressMelissa
Posts: 226
Joined: 11/21/2004
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: subtee
If you’ve attended, has it been positive? Do you encourage others to attend as well? In what ways has it been beneficial to you?
If you’ve attended and found munches less than fulfilling or worthwhile, why were they lacking? In what ways was it negative or not valuable for you?
In advance, thank you!
Greetings,
A Munch is a gateway to the real world. It is not suppose to be a destination but a beginning point. Munches come in all sizes and flavors and meet many different needs depending upon the individual needs of that group. I wrote this about "Why Attend a Munch" it might answer your question.
Having just returned from a wonderful weekend with friends I am left to ponder a thread I recently read about Munches. For those who might not know what a Munch is, it’s a group of lifestyle people who get together for dinner and some conversation. It’s a place that allows people new to the lifestyle to meet others like themselves and for others to get reacquainted with friends. You can google “BDSM Munch History” to find the history if you wish. My concern or question is; of what value is a Munch today?
Many people show up at their local Munch to find nothing more that a group of people talking amongst themselves in a backroom of some bar or restaurant. Often times this conversation is about work, life and kids and how they never get a chance to play anymore. Since you probably don’t know each other, after the initial hellos you may feel left out of the conversation. You may feel let down that there was not more education. You might also leave feeling like you just found your place in the world. It’s a very personal experience, but you need to realize and many don’t, that a Munch is nothing more than a gateway to this lifestyle. A Munch is not the end destination, but merely the beginning point.
When on the Internet, your only requirement to enter the world of BDSM is Internet access and being of legal age in your area. Requirements of the real world are different and a Munch is the first gate you must pass through. In the real world or “meat life” as some call it, you must prove yourself. You must earn respect of your peers and you must earn your way into their circles. Yes, since the computer gave us desktop publishing, books on our lifestyle have become abundant, but most of this lifestyle can not be learned through a book. You learn this lifestyle by watching, asking questions and others sharing what they learned from those that went before us. The information is handed down, expanded upon, and passed on to others. It’s a living thing that grows and feeds upon those involved and you won’t find that in a book.
The gateway works something like this. I started to attend my local Munch some 6 years ago. Before that time I had met and played with a number of people I found by chance over the years and in the pre-internet days that’s all you had. In the pre-internet world you had to luck out and find someone who was willing to introduce you to the local community, if there was one. You also had to be sponsored. Today the Munch acts as your sponsor to the local community. While attending Munches I got to know people and they got to know me. I made friends and they introduced me to their friends and I became known. I learned from those I met and I hope they learned something from me. Through the Munch I learned of national events and even made it out to one this year. I had a blast at GLLA this year which is held about two hours from my home town. If you don’t like the first Munch you attend, there are normally others an hour or so away. Within a hundred mile radius of where I live, there are probably eight Munches I can think of off hand. I know of two in my home town. One I created and the one I first attended 6 years ago. If you don’t have a Munch in your hometown, create one.
For me and others today, a Munch is a way for us to find the missing members we seek to complete our houses. It’s a way for us to find that person with a thirst for learning and a desire to learn that we might pass on what we have learned. It’s also a place for us to met people who can still teach us a thing or two. A Munch is about forming friendships and personal relationships with others who will share their knowledge and experience with us.
So what has the Munch to do with my weekend? I and my girl were the guests of my friend in his lovely, but incredibly huge home. Whoever said size does not matter, has not met my friend. A friend who lives about 2 hours away from me and whom I met when he gave a whip demo at my local Munch. He does not like the Internet and wants nothing to do with the on-line community. A man who makes me think and challenges me to be the best I can be at “my game.” Though this man I have been introduced to people of many different experiences in this lifestyle. From nation presenters, to lifestyle virgins, I have met them all at his house. This weekend was a tradition of theirs and included a party of some 30 or so people in his private 2,000 sq ft dungeon which contains more toys and equipment than most public dungeons I have seen and it’s still a work in progress. While his home and dungeon might be impressive, what is truly impressive is the people he has gathered around him and the things that happen when you put that many sick, twisted and sadistic minds together in one place. I won’t whip and tell; you’ll just have to imagine. In that one party I met people from Virginia, New York, Michigan, Ontario, Indiana and Illinois.
My local Munch for all of its cliques, politics and other issues associated with it, was and remains a gateway to so much more. So before you write off your local Munch, just imagine who might walk through that door and what opportunity might then be opened for you.
_____________________________
Melissa
Mistress of Ds Haven
www.dshaven.com
The person who says it can not be done, should not interrupt the person doing it. - Ancient Wisdom
|
RE: To Munch, or Not to Munch? - 
Profile
." 
He just never had any postive experiences. Obviously there are some great gatherings going on and I encourage all those who dig that sort of thing. As for us, it's not the "scene" or the socializing that interests us. We love what we have, we enjoy it intimately and privately, and frankly don't care what others do or how they do it. 
. 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread