Newbies Nest

[okoren1]

Hi folks - am doing a quick check in...am on the road and just caught up a bit. I had several drinking dreams this week which I was SO glad to awake from, but dang do they ever make my sleeping hours depressing because I spend the night upset with myself. While I sleep. What a waste of REM time. I'm hoping for something pleasant tonight...is a beach too much to ask? I'd even take one of my standard apocalypse dreams over a drunk dream again!

I hope all are doing well - does anyone know what time zone this board's clock is set at? All the recent posts that I'm seeing (7:43 p.m. where I am) say they were written yesterday. Just curious how that works.

Have a great AF weekend all!! :happy2: And Congratulations Eloise!!!! :welldone:

Pepper, regarding this post of a couple of days ago, I couldn't see if anyone had responded to your question regarding Time Zones/ Date.

The solution is easy. On the very top of the page, above and to the right of the My Way Out banner, you should see your screen name (Welcome Peppersnow). Next to it you should see a tab for "Settings"- click this, and it will bring you to a new page. On the left hand side of this page is a list of options. Look for My Account, and below that General Settings, click that. Scroll down and you should see Date & Time Options. Select the one that reflects your Time Zone.

This should fix it. I had the same problem. PM me if you are still having problems. It was very annoying.

[little beagle]

I needed a laugh Byrdie.
Poor doggie Ava.

[narilly]

Goodnight everyone.

Ava, I hope they go easy on your dog....

Another sober weekend under my belt. I tried to go to AA on Sat and there was no one there except three of us who were looking for the meeting. That has never happened before. Anyway, afterwards I took it as a sign and started thinking I could probably drink now... Then I kicked myself in the ass and took it off the table. StupidAL brain.

Glad to be here and thanks for the posts. Matt, I re read your AA post, that was good.

Bye bye

[peppersnow]

Hey there, Nest...what a beautiful weekend it was here! I had a 7 hour drive today, and decided to catch a few Bubble Hour shows and listened to 3. I took away so, so much, but there was one big thought I wanted to share with you all because I think it applies to the conversation here about not being able to do this alone, and the importance of checking in and being a community. One of the guests was talking about research comparing 12 step programs with other kinds of therapies, and he quoted a line from a letter written by Dr. Carl Jung to Bill Wilson, one of the AA founders, in which Jung referred to "the protective wall of human community". Isn't that beautiful? What a profound way of describing what this is, who we are, what we're doing here and what we are being for one another and for ourselves.

Well I hope this is a good week for everyone...Unfortunately, I'm off to party-central tomorrow, which I'm dreading. I travel for work, and this is a house-sharing deal M-Th with other colleagues. I barricaded myself into my room last time while they had a tequila dance party upstairs (they're all much younger than me). I'm hoping to find other arrangements when this happens again in a few weeks.

Take care, all! :love:

[Mr Vervill]

Hello old friends and supporters!
Found my way back here. Sorry, but not sober.
I've been able to strings days and weeks together, only to fail.
Still working on that.
I've been going through a really rough patch at work. Everyone at our company has been terminated, and must reapply for their jobs. A legal, but not morally or ethical way to get rid of older, higher paid personel, and those that do get rehired, must take jobs and a reduced salary. Sucks.
So, after 28 years with the company, I've decided not to reapply.
Walking away from a job that I love that is no longer a "good fit" for me, is painful, but the reasons are too numerous to mention.
As an example, I just finished a 15 hour shift, no overtime paid. I have not had a raise in 6 years.
they won't release me for at least a month or more, holding me hostage with my severance, until I can be replaced.
I am lucky enough to be able to do this financially, thanks to my wife with a good paying job, and having no debt.
My wife supports me in this decision, only because she hopes I will use this time to get myself healthy again, which means no drinking, (my words not hers, but I know this is her desire). She has never nagged me, but has expressed her concern regularly.
Thanks for listening

[Sarah42]

Eloise! 150 days!!! Wow!
:fairy:
alas, there are no Flying Underwear to award you (such a favorite among nesters!) I hope this one will do, you have been such a blessing to us all! Thank you for your help with Prize Patrol and I always love reading your posts!!! MWO is a better place because of YOU! Well done on this great accomplishment! Keep it going, you will never be sorry!

I am so happy to be home!
My shoes disintegrated on the first leg of the trip! I was getting off the plane and walking to the next one and my shoe started getting loose. i noticed the sides were coming apart! I went a little further and it became clear my shoe was failing! I needed to find another pair! I went into a Johnson Murphy store and their least expensive pair was $168! I went to a newsstand, no flip flops or anything. I passed by a security checkpoint and asked if he had some tape! He did and we taped the shoe onto my foot. I was back in business! Until the other shoe blew also! I went into a chocolate store and they had some tape also, so we taped up the other shoe, too. I was grateful, but mortified to walk down the concourse of Charlotte IntL Airport with packing tape holding my shoes on my feet. It was humiliating, but I didnt want to go barefooted! YUCK! My brother and his wife were there to pick me up, a wonder that they would claim me in such a state! Thank goodness I had thrown another pair in my suitcase. I thought i had taken them out.
The training was intense. This was the third session of its kind, and it had been reduced from 4 days down to two. It was brutal, but much-needed. Our big dinner out was a reminder of why I am so happy to be sober. There were about 20 of us in attendance, 3 females. I have been with the company 27 years, most of us have long tenure. There were just 2 of us not drinking. My company, when it was in its hayday, hired ex jocks....big burly Men's Men! Hard hitting young salespeople with passion and energy. As I looked around the room, I would dare to say all of us have AL problems. They now looked old, fat, and out of shape. You should have heard the grumbling when our meeting went past 5 oclock. Ours is a pressure cooker of a job, and AL is an easy way to relieve that, you could sure see it that night at dinner. Being sober among them felt good. Like I had something I KNOW they wish they had. I laughed and carried on and had confidence in doing so. I didnt need AL to fit in with them. I was so glad NOT to be drinking! Most of them felt ROUGH the following morning. Somebody passed around a bottle of Advil. I have to tell you, i was very proud of myself and what I have accomplished.

Glad to be home! I missed checking in here adequately and reading what my friends are doing! Stay safe tonight! Xxoo, Byrdie

Ok Byrdie- this is just getting scary. You know what happened to me on vaca? I was in flip-flops...fishing. Dang strap broke off on one of my shoes while reeling in a fish. To make matters worse I tried to still use it as one side was ok and it kept my feet off the hot deck, but I got too close to the end of the dock and the shoe fell into the water (no duct tape for me) LOL. I had to have hubby take me to the local store to buy another pair. Thankfully, they only cost me about $7 instead of your debacle! LOL

[Lavande]

Good morning Nesters,

Just a quick stop to say hello - am on kid watch today with my incredibly busy 3 1/2 year old grandson.

Mr V, sorry about the work troubles, that sucks.
I tend to look at these things as 'gifts' from the universe. This is the perfect opportunity for you to reinvent yourself, kick AL out of your life & find yourself another job that will appreciate you & treat you better. Kicking AL to the curb has got to be your first step

Hello to everyone & sending wishes for a great AF Monday!

Lav

[Runnergirl9]

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly". 'proverb

I am new, working on day 4 being sober. I have read many of these posts, in the past, but this is my first time of becoming a member and need all the help that I can get. (I am still navigating how to post.) Thanks for your help!

[abcowboy]

:welcome:Mr Vervill and Runnergirl9!

This is a great place to get the support needed to stay on the right track, read, read, and read some more! Ask questions and find what works for you, we are all on this journey together as it's impossible to do on your own...

[Byrdlady]

Morning, Nesters!
Runner, you have landed in a great spot if you are ready to reclaim your life! Be sure to check out the Tool Box, the link is in my signature line (wherever that is today!). There is 7 yrs of history in this thread alone! Welcome aboard! We are so glad you found us!

Sarah, you dont realize how important shoes are until they're gone! What a story! Lesson learned, tho, Ima travel with an extra pair of flip flops AND a roll of duct tape!
Mr. Verv. I am in a similar situation at work, been there 27 years. I'm not sure if getting let go would be the worst thing that ever happened or the best. We are all working 3 people's jobs and the yet the squeeze continues. Now they are implementing this 90 day retention policy on email! We are a technology company for crying out loud! Pretty soon we will be using 2 cans and a string. Big corporations suck the life out of people. I am so sorry this is happening to you. As long as there are big changes taking place, this will be a most excellent time to hop aboard this wagon of ours!! You always have friends here!!!

Hope everyone has an easy day....back on your heads! Xo, Byrdie

[KENSHO]

Good morning! Welcome Runner and welcome back Vervill. It's a beautiful fall morning here - bright yellow and leaves everywhere. I have a very busy day with deadlines; goal will be to not let the stress get to me. Seeing the beauty around me instead!

Have a good one Everyone!

[narilly]

Morning everyone, back to work today. Lights are on!

Hi Runner, nice to hear from you. We all need 'all the help we can get'. Stick with us here, we are all in this together!

Vervil, like Byrdie says, take this time to make yourself better. The crap that happens with big companies eh? I am doing the job of 3 people myself, they pretty well laid off everyone from our project. It is nuts! Keep checking in.


Sarah, and Byrdie, time for a new pair of shoes.
Talk later,

[See the Light]

GMAE everyone- Hope you all had a great weekend. I love this time of year, so much to do, especially outside. I wish there wasn’t so many alcohol drinks associated with them though… Pumpkin beer, Hard apple cider, or Octoberfest specials everywhere I looked this weekend…can’t we just enjoy the great outdoors without them? Anyway, I did and I tried to stay positive through it even though I felt like I was missing part of the experience….I think I need to just keep having more AF experiences to make them feel like the "new normal"

Anyway, so I missed some powerful posts here over the weekend, and just reading back a bit. Probably nothing tops Birdie’s shoe story though…I’m sure there is bigger moral in there somewhere...but I’ll just leave it at that.

Welcome back Mr. V- I wish you the best in your job situation…maybe the change is something that you need and can grow from. Keep us posted on how things are progressing.

Congrats and welcome back MaryLou..8 months is epic in this life

Rahul- Keep inspiring us with your awesome posts and rocking through 8 months!

Ava, sorry to hear about your dog (and his balls I guess)

Welcome Runner. 4 days is a great start, and looks like you made it through some of the hardest parts already and you’re on your way to a new freedom (kinda like the butterflies)

“I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free” ~Charles Dickens

Stay strong and AF out there all…

[Matt M.]

Hello my friends!

Enjoyed a great weekend here in God's country(Texas of course) nice Fall temps in the 60's-70's ( Fahrenheit that is, not smart enough to convert to C°) a little tired this morning, but it feels so great to not wake up in an Al fog feeling like a Dick!

Mr V~ Sucks about the Job, I agree with Lavande, as bad as it sucks maybe this will be a blessing in disguise, looks like you've been around before and not sure how much Al free time you had before getting sucked back into the vortex, but maybe you could share that story? Relapse stories always seem to drive home for me, that if I let my guard down, I'm F#$ked..

Runner~ glad you joined, I too lurked in these rooms for a while before joining. If you have what I have, which is the incredible ability to destroy my mind and body and shit on my loved ones. If you have that or a form of it, strap in and latch on to these people in these rooms. Read, Read, Post your thoughts, even if you think it's not pertinent, or for whatever reason. (Hell, I post stupid shit all the time :newhere:osteroops

STL~ I can't decide whether byrdie or Ava has the best story?
I'm not trying to be insensitive about Ava's poor dog and I'm nut sure how serious this is? I am trying my best not to run with it, because I could come up with some classic one liners...Please forgive me Linda :heartbeat:
Can't help it, on top of being a drunk im also a chronic wise Ass..

One last thing, due to all of the accolades, I have added in my signature, my quote that so many of you enjoyed. ( Please get with my people if you want to use it~ copyright proceedings have started) JK ;-)

[Byrdlady]

Matt, maybe there is another forum we can join for being wise-arses?

STL, I had to pause a moment when you mentioned all the stuff about Autumn and its association with beer and such. For the first long while, that was my perception, too! But NOW what I see are wonderful pumpkins breads, cookies and spice cider (NA) your focus will shift and not so tunneled toward AL! I see apple festivals and punkin patches....it is a blessed relief NOT to concentrate on what you cant have!!
Cookies, anyone? Xo, B