So why are you NOT going to NEST

[TklDuo-Ann]

I'm just taking a quick break from trying to catch up on yard work. So, I'll preface this by stating that I didn't take the time to read through everything everyone has said. But, one comment I did catch stuck out. That is the one about going to hang with those we're "only friends with because of a fetish". For someone who has never been to a gathering or become friends with folks around here, that may seem to be the case. But, it is not an accurate assessment.

I'm only going to speak for myself personally...because I'm the only one I have a right to speak for. I got involved in this community because of my interest in tickling. For me, it is not a fetish as much as a playful way to interact with friends. But, even if it were, I wouldn't even consider going to a gathering if that were the only connection I had with other folks. In fact, I wouldn't be involved here on the forum or in other areas of the community either if that were the case.

I hang out primarily in general discussion where one has the opportunity to get to know the whole person. When I PM or e-mail with folks from the community, it always has more to do with everyday life and interests than about tickling. I hook up with others from the community on a regular basis...very rarely with tickling included. Many times, tickling and the community barely even comes up in conversation. We hang out together because, while we happen to have met through the common interest of tickling, we are not friends based upon that. We're friends because we've found other things we share in common. So, when I go to NEST (or any other gahtering) while there is play that takes place for those who want it, that isn't what it's about for me. It's about getting to see friends who are too far away and/or too busy to see more often. NEST gives us an excuse/opportunity to hook up and catch up with one anothers lives.

Now, having said all of that, gatherings are still not everyones cup of tea. That's fine. They don't have to be. But, for many of us, they are one of the times we actually get to hang out together and enjoy one anothers company.

 

[PhillyBondage]

i live with my parents...i would need a real good excuse to disappear for a few days. Plus my parents are nosy...next year i wanna go.

 

[Adam]

My sole reason was due to a very tight financial situation, which will hopefully now be a thing of the past with this new job I have just started. Had said job started sooner, I would have been there without hesitation. I don't worry about others judging me, and in my opinion, that should never be a reason why you wouldn't go. Everybody here is equal, in my mind. It's just that some of them have experienced these gatherings before and know what to expect. After you get the hang of it, I'm sure it's no big deal.

 

[Kleptomaniac]

Two words... College Finals.

 

[Goodieluver]

Money, time

Also ATM still, I do not have any developed relationships with members to just show up fresh plus i am also in the mindset that my tickle fetish is something of a private matter and not something just thrown out there in a room of similar.

 

[CarolinaTickler]

There are a couple reasons why I really couldn't go.

The first is that one of my good friends is heading off to join the armed forces and that weekend will be his last in town. I probably won't see him all summer and even then I doubt he will be around all that often once he graduates basic.

The second reason is that finals are coming up. That means I have finals and papers I have to turn in for my graduate classes but at the same time as a GA I also have to grade undergrad finals and papers and put the grades up (putting the grades on blackboard is the most tedious part really). So the time I don't spend with my friend who is leaving is probably going to be spent studying and catching up on grading that I have procastinated on.

Finally it is just the financial aspect. I don't have a lot of money at the moment and I really couldn't justify buying a plane ticket and spending money to register.

Now that I have kind of started to "delurk", I am interested in trying to go to NEST next year and will probably plan out my schedule accordingly so that I can have that weekend in May free.

 

[Laffy Daffy]

I'm one of the folks not going due to lack of money and an abundance of distance between me and NEST. That being said, those two factors made it easy to not have to wrestle with the many nervous factors that may have held me back if I was closer or in a better financial situation.

On one hand, I've made some good friends and fun acquaintances on here, and there are a number of them that I'd love to meet in person. And, from what I've read about how NEST goes, I think it would be a "turn the corner" sort of moment for me within the community. I think it kind of goes hand in hand with what FF is saying, except we're taking different things from it.

Although I've been part of the board for a while, and posted on a number of different issues, I'd still say just about all the people I've chatted with on here barely qualify as friends in my life, just people with a shared interest. (and sometimes more than one... obviously the love of tickling is what has connected us, but the other boards are what shows us what we have in common in our vanilla lives) I feel like NEST, where you get to meet and spend the weekend with people, is a much better way to make the kinds of friends and family-esque connections with people. That's the biggest reason I regret not saving and making sure I could be there.

As a side note, I want to address something that was said earlier about NEST vets being friends just because the share the kink. I don't know about everyone else, but this is how I make friends: it usually starts with one shared interest and blooms from there. The best group of friends I have is like family to me, and all of us got together simply because we all enjoyed playing ultimate frisbee together. Does this mean our interactions are confined to frisbee related get togethers? No. We play as a group, but we also go to dinner and movies and parties as a crowd. I feel the same way about the crew I would go drinking with in college. Sometimes one shared interest is enough to start a lifelong friendship, and just because tickling happens to have sexual undertones doesn't mean the friendships you make through the tickling community are any cheaper than the ones you make anywhere else.


Just my thoughts...

 

[DJ Tickler]

I made this post last night before I went to bed not expecting anyone to post or people just saying one/two word answers “no money/time/to far/ etc”

Great to see its already three pages in LOL 😉

Keep up the posts guys

DJ Tickler

 

[fantastic8]

Little something called finals........college students have them and its always great that NEST always falls during the weekend before them so I can't go due to being up all night studying. To make matters worse, Philly is only 3 hours away so I would be there in no time at all.

 

[JS805]

I don't have the balls to go

 

[chrisheaven]

The 6,000 mile round trip is a little too long for me this year-- maybe someday, though