well, one good thing is that the idiots who try to humiliate me always end up looking far more stupid to other people than i do, as i go about my business, ignoring their attempts to get a rise out of me.
i'm sorry, though... we do need the bad stories, too. and i especially meant the thing i said about the sneak attack routine. one time that was used on me to the effect of being quite deliberately groped in plain public view in broad daylight... with me so startled at the time that i couldn't react, i couldn't so much as move or whimper a response. and nobody around did anything about it. people seemed not to even notice. well, that was the worst i've had so far.
but the end of it is that i still do not dress down for anyone. i am not your bravest, neither am i your most cowardly. i don't like the danger of stuff like that. next time it might happen, i won't be so taken ashock, and i'll defend myself believe you me. just know that there are people out there who do stuff like that and don't give a damn. it's not nice and it's not encouraging but it is true, so i'd feel neglectful to not say it.
on the other side... you will get more genuine compliments than you think, they will make you feel even better than you even think they will, and there are a lot of people that will be friendly and oftentimes, interested. and some people will be adverse, but curious, and once you explain, disillusioned with their first impressions and friendly.
i look at it this way: you could get beaten up, so do you dare go out "dressed"? you could get run over, so do you dare cross the road? you could get hit by a meteor, so do you dare live above the earth's surface? you could get your feelings hurt, so do you dare fall in love? you could ache, so do you dare move? you could choke, so do you dare speak? you could die, so do you dare live?
