Sunday, September 14, 2014

"Zumba Magic and Madness..Oh what a Tangled Web We Weave...."


Hello All,

..Oh what a Tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. Welcome to my latest tale of OMG WTF and How stupid can people truly be ?

Before I begin I would like to Thank all the friends, new and old who stayed loyal and as always continue to be supportive of me in all my ventures & adventures. Without your love, support & creative spark I would not be the woman I am today. Thank you for believing that respect, kindness, fairness, loyalty and  consideration for others is not a dying way of life.  Thank you for believing & Loving Me as I do all of you. YOU are the magic in my life. I will always be grateful.


To start this tale off one must travel back 4 years now...when my friends first began telling me about this newest craze Zumba..a fun dance inspired exercise. My friend Erin , my sister Beth..they all loved it. Seems like everyone did. I mentioned it to my Sugar Daddy and he went out and bought me all the dvds he could find on it, the workout clothing , Zumba sticks for exercise.You name it, I own it :)  I told my friends about it and we are researched the groups on Facebook to find local classes and events. We wanted to support those who teach it and show appreciation for a job well done.


4 years ago I also started trying to help/fix the problems at a website a friend of mine owns. I told friends who work/worked there that I LOVEEEE Zumba and all they ended up hearing about was the dance and my new zumba/yoga pants. :) When I find something that makes people feel good, I like to share the magic. I just want to see my friends/loved ones feel good and happy. I would have loved to have gotten Prince Charming into some yoga pants and watch him shake his famous "rear" to Zumba music but he left the site before I could. Sigh.

Yes, My loves...all of this is connected somehow..LOL..Give me time to tell you the tale.

Facebook has many groups on all sorts of things. I find them on my own or get asked to join or drafted by friends who think the group is a perfect fit for me. I found some amazing groups on Facebook for Zumba and joined them hoping I'd find the perfect instructor for us. I was accepted to several really good Zumba groups. I was thrilled. These wonderful men and women let me in to the Magic Zumba Zone as I named it. I noticed a man, let us call him, "Zumba Man" , an instructor who looked on the outside anyway, to be very competent. I sent him a simple message, "Liked" his FB page on Zumba and we became FB friends for a moment or two. I surround myself (and am lucky to do so) with creative, talented friends. I like to share the magic and encourage others to do so too. I figured he was a "safe" bet as I thought he was gay. I thought this isn't going to turn into a guy hitting on me problem or wanting to hit on my sexy friends I'd bring to his classes...he isn't after money..Ok..Safe...He wrote about how he lost a lot of weight through Zumba and I sent him a little msg thanking him for sharing his story so I can tell some friends who battle weight issues that Zumba can work that magic for them too. It takes Great courage/strength of character to write of something so personal. I encouraged him to think about making his own work out dvds. He sent me a long message after deleting me from his FB friend list about how busy he is and how he is running his own fb page (so do I, I manage to run 2 FB pages and keep my fb friend list intact.) and how having friends on both lists is confusing to him so he chose to make the sad decision to delete several of Us "friends." Though he did add, if I would meet would him, then perhaps he'd reconsider putting me back on his FB list. (My Uh Oh moment with him was right then.) I'd seen him follow this other local instructor, a woman we shall call Zumba # 1 all over FB...Everytime she made a move on fb he was right there "Liking" it. If she sneezed he was all over it. You get what I am trying to say. Since I liked his fb page, FB put an ad on my page asking me if I would "like" Zumba # 1's page. I took a look at a rather sad profile photo of her, looked and saw only 4 people "liked" her page and felt sorry for her. I noticed she is local, not far from me in fact and thought, well since Zumba Guy is all over her, recommending her to one and all..(and by this time I guessed that the 2 of them are probably dating.) I would take a chance on her. I sent Zumba guy a msg asking if she still taught locally as her fb page says she does. No reply. Nothing..Utter silence. My friends kept asking me about local Instructors..I posted in the groups I belonged to at fb and asked about local classes..Nothing from anyone. I went back to Zumba #1 fb page and noticed she has a more official Zumba page..Hurrah I thought, I can send her a msg there about classes. I did that before the night was over and bright and early the next day, there was a reply from her asking me to be her Facebook friend and telling me all her big plans and inviting me to events and how she is looking for space locally to teach in.

So far..so good....I do as she asks and accept her as a FB friend. (I have my family, loved ones, Sugar Daddy, celebrities on my page and I guard it very carefully. I only want to add folks who will bring the magic & fun to our lives.) We have a small chat in fb to introduce ourselves to each other and right away, yep you guessed it...she is asking me about Zumba Guy. I reply to her that I had not met him yet..and we both left the conversation soon after. Later that night a friend of mine tells me, "Hey I recognized your new fb friend." I asked her what she meant and she told me she had in fact met her at a Holiday party for the website she used to work for. Zumba # 1 dated or still is or is common law married (no one knows for sure) to a man I know. Wow, Now I am really surprised.I  had no idea. I logged into my fb to see she has deleted herself off my FB friend list and I sent her a simple, Thanks for asking to be on my fb list, have a great life, wish you happiness & success in all your ventures..she reads it and immediately Blocks Me. No reply of course. If I am going to walk away from anything, be it a business event, friendship , or relationship..I always make sure to let the other person/people know why. It is simple courtesy which has escaped these instructors it seems. Rather curious that I'd spent yrs discussing Zumba with a man and he never told me the significant other/whatever she is, is into it too. Weird.

Later that morning I send Zumba Guy a msg about her behavior and wondering if he knows why/has any thoughts on her bizarre behavior. He wrote me back apologizing for her and said ,"No sorry, I do not know." Ok dokey. One Zumba door closes and another opens..I have plenty of other friends who are into Zumba or who teach it. I became friendly with Zumba # 2..another woman. (After Zumba guy I am leery of some of the male instructors.) Zumba # 2 seems very tough and confident. (things I admire very much in others.) She begins messaging me daily and I told her I' d be happy to promote her Zumba events. She was thrilled to hear me say that and began sending me her website info, her diet shake business, her Zumba events, her FB page/group for a diet challenge, etc..and yes my darlings, I kept my word and promoted the heck out of her..My Fb page, twitter, FB pages, Pinterest..you name it and I talked her up about it. It reached the point that Zumba # 2 was giving me hugs and messaging me daily. :) I worried about her knees from all the stress and reminded her about using ice nightly when she came home. I really liked this gal. She invited me to come to her gym and work out with her..I was really looking forward to that..then came the day in July that her big Zumba event for charity was being held. She sent me msgs the night before and that day..How she could not wait to meet me..How excited she was :) Lots of hugss..and see ya there...Our bad luck was two fold that day but in hindsight maybe me arriving late saved me the anguish and pain I later ended up dealing with..Zumba #1 and Zumba Guy were at that event too. (insert diabolical music for those two) I was told later by a reliable source that Zumba Guy has been telling folks some lies about me and that his wife (yep married man, who knew..) who I've never met.. dislikes me intensely.

I sent Zumba # 2 a msg that night saying how sorry I was to miss her, explained what happened and told her I'd be ON as I wanted to hear all about it...within moments of me sending that msg that same day as her event..(Yes you guessed it..) she read my msg and deleted me as her friend, Unlinked from me at Linked In (yes, we got that close that I risked adding her to my Professional Connection list) and kept me as member of her FB group she wanted me to promote but blocked me from seeing any posts there. She also kept me as a member of her Zumba FB group. I had her email so I sent her a "Is everything ok ?" message and she wrote back that she'd been "warned" about me at the Zumba event and with "good reason" had to distance herself from me...but she still needed me, really NEEDED Me and my help to promote all her businesses..and if  behaved and promised to be good, she might take me back as a friend one day. I sat there shaking as I read these words from her. If I behaved....warned about me...good reason...still needed me to work for free for her.. I asked her to tell me what was said about me..that since someone is spreading lies about me that I have a right to know..She kept emailing me everyday as if things were normal. One of my friends joined her fb group, I promoted her stuff as I would normally do..WHY did I do that you may very well ask..I did it because Once I give my word, I keep it. I promised Zumba #2 since she was overwhelmed in her life/business that I'd help her out..Zumba # 1 destroyed the friendship there but unlike her, I choose to honor and keep my word and once I promise something, I keep my word something Zumba # 1 knows NOTHING about.

From that Early Sun morn to Wed we kept emailing...she would dangle hints in front of me as to who told her what...and that perhaps the liars (as we now think of them) were just "assuming." I'd ask her "Assuming what ?" No reply..then on WED she took pity on me and told me she'd been warned at the Zumba event that I intended to cause her "great harm." That I would break her heart..I asked her if you are so afraid of me hurting you why didn't you call the Police and report this ? WHO lied to you about me ? (Yes my darlings, we know who did it..) Did you save any evidence ? (I knew my legal team would ask that.) She pleaded/begged me to not kill/harm/hurt her..over and over in the email she begged me for her life..She kept telling me how nice I am and what a great friend I was..I assured her I would never harm her or hurt anyone and no idea why the liars told her that. This poor fragile, gullible woman was living in fear of her life. What if I'd gone to her gym as she asked me too and met her there only to end up with her attacking and killing me because of the liars ? Once I told My Sugar that and Our Legal Team there was nothing else I could do but report it to our Local Police dept.

Fast Forward to me taking a meeting with a Detective over this mess. I had to explain who was involved, give him all the details and names of those involved in the lying..The Detective was very patient and understanding with me and we went through the whole mess. He tracked one of those involved to their job in SF..He told me I needed to get my legal team/lawyer to call that persons boss in SF and tell them what their employee is doing in their hours away from the city. Spreading rumors that someone is going to attack/harm/kill someone is slander/libel and anyone with a legal degree would already know that. This is after all my reputation at stake. I work very hard for many charity groups all over the world. I have worked most of my life to get to this point and folks know they can depend/trust/ Have faith in me. We talked for quite sometime over these liars and Poor Zumba # 2. Yes, I let Zumba  # 2 know what I was doing so if the Police contacted her it wouldn't frighten her. I told her I would not settle for less then a full apology and for the Liars to admit what they did and accept the guilt for it.I thought we should quietly let our friends in the Zumba community know what these liars did so they could not harm or slander anyone else we know.. Her reply to me ? Deleted me from her FB Zumba group..(My friend quit her diet group because once I was explained why I was promoting a site I could not see, she said "NO way" and quit.) Deleted me from her group she had me promoting.. I am invisible to Zumba # 1 and Zumba # 2 though I am aware as folks took a screen shot..that on one of my friends pages , when she  thanked me for being so nice/supportive and of course, they had to come on there and comment in the negative.

No my Darlings...the Liars never apologized to Me or anyone for what they did. They will go on their way hurting other innocent people and not care. I have quietly explained to everyone I know in our Zumba community that these people are the kind of folks who like to look you in the face when they are stabbing you in the back. Thank God, I am a firm believer in Karma. All of this is going into a book I am currently working on about the site, our friends, and now toss in this Zumba madness. One of my dearest friends told me I am a "wounded bird" collector. That these folks flock to me, to lean on me and ask for my help then the drama starts and they vanish as quickly as they came into my life/world. I keep on saying I won't let new people in..yet I still do so. WE can not let the Bad Guys/Liars win. Someone has to stand up and say "#NOMORE...No More lies, No More Victims..NO more of them in our lives.


Zumba is a joy, it is magic, fun..Great for your health and Great way to spend time with friends/loved ones..Great place to make new friends, find your way and put the magic back into your life. I am not letting these instructors take away my Joy in life and my friends. I know that even a bad day in and of our lives is better then any day in theirs. Just be careful and do what I did not do, VET any instructor you let into your life over anything. I foolishly trusted some of these people and have lived to regret it.

Btw if the liars had come to me and lied about Zumba # 2 ..what would I have done ? I would have politely listened and nodded my head, asked them where the evidence was, thanked them for the warning and found a quiet place/time to sit down with #Zumba 2 and ask her if she knew what was going on...was she angry at me ? did she ever make a joke about hurting me ?? and tell her that I am giving her the benefit of the doubt and that just because I listened to the liars it did NOT mean I believed them. I was lucky and explained some of this to an instructor I really admire and when I told her I was afraid of losing folks with Zumba # 2 repeating the lies of Zumba #1 and Zumba Guy..she told me, "I choose my own friends and will not listen to anyone else." I thanked my friend for that. It was the strength I needed to write all this down.


Now to the sketch..A dear friend of mine who is my partner in the official site webpage at FB and in helping me revitalize the web site, He and I were talking about this Zum Mess that Zumba # 1 created...we managed to find some humor in her stupidity and lies..(tho how I am not sure ) He drew this of me as the "Zumba Ninja Assassin" since that is how Zumba # 1 labeled me. When I told a beautiful friend of mine in Japan that I am supposed to be this Hitwoman and how terrified Zumba # 2 is of me..she was shocked and said, "you ?" It made no sense to anyone I spoke to about this mess. To picture me..think of a red headed girl the size of a Tinker Belle figure..and Zumba #2 who is still afraid of me, she is so much taller, bigger and stronger then I'll ever be. I shudder to think of what have happened if I'd been foolish enough to go to her gym. I think my family/friends would have been planning my funeral and perhaps that is what Zumba # 1 wanted all along. Thankfully the Police and Our Legal Team stepped in to make sure all the evidence is safe  and that I would not be a victim of some sad pathetic woman hell bent on spreading lies to make herself feel better.


Thanks for reading My Darlings,

xo,

Maureen


"Maureen as Zumba Ninja Assassin Woman"

Sketch done by Luis A.


2 comments:

  1. Hello all, I was speaking with my friend/HubbyPartner Luis and he gave me this link to share where his brilliant artwork can be seen. He is a great man, stunning visual artist and dear friend. xo

    http://sweetchorizo.deviantart.com/art/Zumba-Assasin-Colored-481624791

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  2. Hello All,

    In Oct/Nov I found out that some information provided to me by someone I trusted/believed in for 9 + years might not be 100 % accurate. I have since apologized to the man and his wife if the statements attributed to them are incorrect. #NoMoreLies and Thank God no other Zumba instructors/students got caught up in the lies fed to #Zumba 2. BTW, Hell Yeah..there is a new blog burning inside me to describe the mess I found myself in by trusting #TheWrongMan.

    #NeverMessWithA RealRedhead..

    Hugs & Thanks,

    Maureen

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