Newbies Nest

[roxane]

Newbies Nest

fantastic lavb!

i was looking for a 30 day image to post and this came up. rather apposite.

[daisy45]

Newbies Nest

Roxanne, that is perfect for everyone here.
Immediately the decision is made to be sober, then live as if you always have been. Grasp opportunities without fear. Don't hope to be a non-drinker.....just be....

[Pie]

Newbies Nest

LavB, So happy for you on your 30 days! Very nicely done!

Pie :kudos:

[available]

Newbies Nest

Congrats LavB on your 30 days, you have done amazingly well by being on here daily and making yourself accountable, dont ever leave and keep it up. From when you first started to now you have grown in so many ways by getting rid of al out of your life. Have a wonderful day today.

Rox what a great pic and so very true.

Daisy you are sounding great girl, so proud of you. Keep walking.............

[Rahulthesweet]

Newbies Nest

Hello nesters,

Just thinking and sharing there are several me(s) inside me ...

geek

Geek , computer programmer, hacker, scientist. Walking around with a floppy box in school when computers used to be found only in computers rooms in school and Nowhere. Thing so cool about myself of knowing concepts of RAM or the 1 MB HDD which I wanted too see but could not as All PC only had floppy so to boot.

Sight of color monitor and brilliant colors and hey CDROM and sound card ? And what the heck is internet ? This was early 90's . Getting hooked on to BBS I was one of the few one who went "online" and made forums on BBS ..

A lover

To love but not to be loved by ... This too was me with crushes so many of them moving on to love which lasted with real crush ... That too was me ...

a depressed me

Depression is a state of mind, a bad state of mind, seeing the beautiful world with darkness or not seeing at all. Staying by myself .. That too was me once ...

A sports man

Was for so long envolved in sports too is me .. It gave me the fitness and the strong heart I seem to have right now ...

A Marketing man

A smart confident corporate sales person is also me ...

an alcoholic

"It's long since you visited us ... Come in and use coupon # 2343 and the next drink is on us !" This was an SMS I received from one of an old all time favourite pubs.

I went to this place during my childhood when it was a fast food restaurant kinda like a diner but with a Pizza Hut touch. Used to live the ice cream Sundays. As I grew up the place too and because a bar.

It was a place we used to go after drinking in car as we should not afford to buy too many drinks there during high school.

Then when I could it became a pretty regular place for us to drink, mingle, sit for hours listening to rock music. Not everyday but once in a while for binge.

It was a places where I spent so much time with the first love, then the second and even the third ... And they all left except the alcohol and this bar ... Proposals, emotional talks, sharing even heart breaks all there ...

It was place which helped me cope with heart break ... To drink away ... So relearn to live life ...

The place evolved became more "corporate" , "classy " sports bar. ... Place where working people like me who have grown successful would visit during day , have meetings with clients etc.

This was the place which became my regular stop one my way back whenever I was close to that place ..

Place where I took big investment decisions, took important clients ...

The place I first took my wife ... And she didn't complained about my heavy drinking .. That was 10 years ago ...

The place is me ... A part of me ... I thanks you for inviting me but I have moved on ... FINALLY I MOVED ON !

I can't hate you just like I can't hate all the people I loved ... Who left me ...

-----------------------------

So this is me ... Some of the things which does thru my mind ... Thought of sharing ... Sorry if bores you ...

[Fin]

Newbies Nest

roxane;1704560 wrote: fantastic lavb!

i was looking for a 30 day image to post and this came up. rather apposite.

Love this! And, CONGRATS LavBlue on 30-days. That's so great. And Rahul, good read. Like you, I live very close to where I grew up and have my regular spots that have changed since high school except for the AL consumption / ritual. Good for you for breaking free.

[Eloise]

Newbies Nest

So many insights and good reminders here! Always gets my mimd thinking in an interesting direction.
Thanks Byrdie. Sometimes I think 'folks are sick of hearing from you missy!' But I carry on.
I actually would have thought that by now I would be tired of this thread, but it is definitely not the case.

[Guitarista]

Newbies Nest

daisy45;1704566 wrote: Roxanne, that is perfect for everyone here.
Immediately the decision is made to be sober, then live as if you always have been. Grasp opportunities without fear. Don't hope to be a non-drinker.....just be....

Right on Daisy! Keep up the great work.

Congratulations on 30 days LavB! Huge stuff friend.

Great post Rahul!

Great posts from everyone allround as usual.

Take care everyone. G

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

LavB, sorry to copy from the Roll Call, but it bears repeating:
LavenderBlue, please step to the front of the room!
It's with GREAT PRIDE that we are able to present this small token of a HUGE JOB! My dear, your hat!


Yes, this hat may look cheesy, but what it represents is anything but.
30+ days ago, you came to this site with your hat in hand....you did something VERY IMPORTANT that helped you succeed and I bet you don't even know what it is! Nope, not that, altho you are quite pretty. No....not that either, we only do that on Sundays. What you did when you came here was open your mind and LISTEN to those who had gone before you! You checked your ego at the door and took notes as to what worked for others! You were able to take advice! Not everyone is capable of this (unfortunately, the Prize Patrol is BAD about this). You did in 30 days what it takes others YEARS to do (and some NEVER DO) and that's achieve these 30 AF days!!! We also discovered that you had great empathy and a flair for expressing yourself that always seems to capture just the right words. It was OUR gift when you showed up at MWO. Congratulations on this great beginning of what is sure to be a wonderful, sober life!! Well done!

Edit to add: I forgot to ask for the 30 Day Speech!

PP

Rahul, I sure wish we lived closer together, I could have really used a Geek yesterday!

It really is amazing how much growth that happens when we push our crutch aside. We really HAVE outgrown those people back at the bar! There is too much LIFE to be lived! Spending 5 hours at a bar really doesn't seem very productive anymore. We have, indeed, moved on! And it's a GREAT feeling. My friend, Kuya, also said that wherever our emotional maturity was at the time we became addicted is where we got stuck. When we leave AL behind, we have a lot of growing up to do. It is worth it. I am finally comfortable in my own skin!!! I cant believe AL robbed me of that. Amazing. Byrdie

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good evening all nesters!

CONGRATS on your 30 AF days LavB :wd:
Somehow I just knew you were going to do well

In another 5 days I will reach 2000 AF days - crazy, huh??
Who ever thought I would be capable of pulling off that stunt? :H
Everyone here can do it - just don't give in, not for anything!!!

Wishing everyone a peaceful & safe night in the nest!

Lav

[daisy45]

Newbies Nest

Lav, you deserve every sober day that you have brought into your life!
Just wondering, how long did it take you from knowing you had a problem to actually getting a hold on sobriety?

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Thanks Daisy!
That's a hard question to answer really. I was mostly dealing with depression & denial of the way things turned out in my life. The drinking was kind of a self-prescribed band aid of sorts. It developed slowly over a number of years & I knew for a few years that I needed to get a grip. Many attempts to quit & stay quit on my own failed. I found success once I found MWO & all the support here.
That's why I feel so strongly that if I can do it so can everyone else who is really committed to beating the beast

[KENSHO]

Newbies Nest

Very stressful day here. Sick 5 yr. old and still had to meet with clients, etc. To top it off, husband is "tired", and can't help walk the dog, cook dinner, sit with kids, or help with homework (coincidentally it is also football night). On one hand I am irked and the thought of AL has crossed my mind more than once. On the other hand, if I weren't sober and "with it", it would be chaos around here.

[LavenderBlue]

Newbies Nest

Thanks for the kind words, all! I'm a little meh at the moment for absolutely no reason whatsoever - think I'm going to grab an audiobook and clean or get on the exercise bike in a bit. It could be the sudden temperature drop - autumn is my favorite season but it does bring out the melacholy feelings. And Roxane, I love the picture you found, that really is perfect!

Byrd - No apology needed for cut and paste. xD I'll be honest that I was looking forward to seeing what you'd say, your humor and kindness never disappoint.

Let's see if I can speech without taking up 6 pages, lol!

I think what helped me the most to get to 30 days was staying close here and forcing myself into the idea that AL is not allowed. That second part is the harder one, but it's been so important. I have to keep it at a simple (yet difficult!) "NO," to stop myself from arguing or trying to find an excuse.

"But I really want to!" "NO."
"But I can't sleep!" "NO!"
"But I'm sure I can handle just one!" "NO!"
"But it's just been so stressful today!" "NO!"

I haven't regretted a single day sober, so I also hold on to that when it's been hard.

Staying close here also meant I had to drop a lot of the unhealthy pride that was holding me back. I'm an intelligent person and I can rationalize anything. I had to force myself to accept that I was *not* being rational about my use of AL and...even worse (small joke)...admit that other people might know more than I do about it!

I don't mean I'm following advice without thinking; but especially in my first couple weeks I made myself approach advice with "They're probably right; and if I try it and it doesn't work I've lost nothing." It's kind of you guys to compliment me on that...honestly I'm horrendously stubborn about most things so it really was something I had to work on doing, definitely not just something easy for me! But the other side of that was that it meant I was opening up to you lovely people and allowing myself to feel your good thoughts and support for me. I suppose shutting my mouth and listening for once in my life is worth that.

The days I was tapering and the first few days I was AF I think I lived on here. I made sure to post to get my feelings out and also to stay accountable. I also was reading threads that were 4 years old or older, just to keep up the AF focus. I knew I wouldn't drink if I was on here reading so this was my safe place. The first two weeks I was downloading books onto my Kindle too; anything to keep my focus.

Distraction has also helped; when I think I absolutely need a drink I've been finding something else to do. Even if it's staying up until 3am playing a video game. And that's been helping me keep in mind that cravings are temporary.

And one final thought about something that helped me; hopefully she doesn't mind being called out here. When I started, I realized Kensho was only a week ahead of me. I know it's important to be responsible for your own quit, but seeing someone just one week ahead of me posting and pushing and encouraging me through has helped so much on the days when "30 days" or "90 days" or "always" seems impossible.

Oh, also sparkling water. That's been a great saving thing for me as well, I think I'm drinking gallons, lol!

[See the Light]

Newbies Nest

Great posts Lav and LavB- from 30 days to 2000 days, you are both very inspirational to those around you...keep up the good work! And great job also Kensho for resisting that voice in the face of pressure once again