Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

[New Day]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

Hey Starts ---- thanks for the support! You have a great day too! Now I'd better get moving or my day will be over before I know it ..LOL!

[zed]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

Hey Eve11, I fully agree, it took me a while to figure out that this is where the Moderators are... my first instincts were to post under Monthly MOD also... since that's kind of where I was coming in to MWO... needing more "near-term" support.

[zed]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

Lila, that's funny as hell. I can't remember now exactly how I found this site, but I do remember that it was by pure coincidence. I wasn't even looking for info on AF... or anything to do with the subject even. Just came upon it by chance as a link, clicked on it... and ended up here. BUT the funny thing is that on that very day, at that very hour, it's actually JUST WHAT I NEEDED. So when I came upon the site, it was kind of like a blessing...

[zed]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

OK. So I just typed this super-long message about my day, who I am, with advice to Jvo about the whole logging out problem and how to overcome it, then I promptly did not follow my own advice and lost the message! Urgh! Thank god there's no booze in the house right now.

Deep breaths. I'll be back.

[periwinkle]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

I forget now who asked about loosing their message and getting logged out. That happens to me sometimes too. I get "timed out" before I hit the submit button. After the first time it happened, I now ALWAYS do a Ctrl A then Ctrl C which copies all your text just before I hit the Submit button. If I've been timed out, I can log back in, go to reply and paste my reply back in... and I'm back in business! Not too high tech, but you just have to remember to do that. A back up plan (because I've wondered what if I do forget) is that I have tried hitting the back arrow on my browser a number of times. That method seems to work sometimes and to not work other times. So just remember to use the copy and paste method.

:h

[periwinkle]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

Oh no, zed, our posts just crossed!

[periwinkle]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

So, anyway...

Good morning everyone!

Ethics class was better than I thought it would be. The instructor was funny which is always a plus. It is a really hard time to be a Real Estate appraiser. But it does make for some interesting discussion in classes such as this one.

In the past I would have been hitting the booze after class. I would have started with a galss of wine after class with my friend who attended class with me. Then I would had another with dinner, and being that it was Friday, another or maybe 2 after dinner. But instead, I went straight home from class. Hubby and I went out to eat, I had freckled lemonade (has strawberries in it), went home and and watched a movie, and went to bed.

Hubby asked me how I was doing last night and I could honestly tell him I was doing great. I am feeling really good and healthy. I told him that I kind of hate to admit it but that I think this not drinking business is actually agreeing with me.

I do feel good. I feel strong. And God willing, and with the help and support from all my friends here I will stay strong on my remaing leg of the 30 days and beyond.

periwinkle

[BecomingMeAtLast]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

peri,

What a kind and inspiring post. I'm glad you're feeling so well :l

Becoming

[Eve11]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

Lila;462973 wrote:
I remember when I found this site, I was actually searching the internet for hypno cds to stop drinking. How did everyone here find this site? Just curious.

Hello gang and welcome to any newbies looking for a home,

Lila,
GREAT question.
Why don't you post this question as a new post. Would be a fun one. If I answer here we won't all stay on track of the question as this is our weekly mod board and we have so much to talk about.

Welcome Zed. Hello everyone!

The girl party last night went great. Made a punch (champagne/seltzer, raspberries and other ingredients so it wasn't 100% alcohol).
Everyone drank VERY moderately so that made that easy.
I'm re-reading the book and am going to start a new post that should be interesting. The last was very interesting as well - lot's of good input.
Just love all you modders and the great support we have. Plus appreciate the Af'ers who lurk and offer their advice and opinions as well. We can all learn from each other and it's great to support each other as we all struggle with this same problem of problem drinking!
Eve11

[Eve11]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

Thanks for clarifying the boards

Sunbeam;462659 wrote:
Eve, Vlad took a poll, and the consensus was to post our thread here rather than under monthly. My biggest reason was that new posts on monthly are not visible on the main menu because of the popular word association thread. I also could never make sense of the concept of short term moderation. There are other reasons, but the votes for long term won.

Sunbeam,
Thanks for the clarification. Perhaps the monthly was started for people who are in the beginning phases of wanting to moderate and being quitting or moderating is a ODAT concept I guess one month at a time falls into the same arena.

I jump over there from time to time to see if there are any newbies that need help but yes, I too want the mindset of long term moderation. The power of what we think can be very persuasive!

Eve11

[Delta Moon]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

Hi All! I'm doing great! 5 days AF, and decided to have a glass of champagne with dinner tonight. Bought a split, drank 1 and had had enough. Tossed the rest away. This is a first! I started not liking the buzzzy head thing and elevated heart beat. Just noticing how it is and didn't want to go any further. That is what is so cool about modding. This week I I went 5 days AF. Loved the feeling of being clean and clear-headed. So tonight I just observed myself each step from buying, to pouring to drinking and as I was alone for the evening I really was able to stay in tune with my experience.

To New Day- I am finding that going AF then modding during chosen times does work for me. Yes, I have moments of cravings and the old habits are hard to break but two months in to this I feel that I am getting things under control.

To DeeBee- welcome back!

Welcome zed!

Blessings out to all my other modding buds.............................................. ..St. J.

[zed]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

Dear friends.

I have to admit that last night was painful. Losing that long post I wrote... ahhhhh. So I went to bed and woke up this morning and had a good laugh about it... lol! :P

I just came back in now and saw Peri's post about Cutting & Pasting in reply to Jvo's query on the subject I think... and it's so funny, but Peri, your reply was (I'm not kidding) word-for-word exactly the same as my reply was (the one that got deleted). When I first read it I actually thought it was my reply that got posted somehow... amazing.

Anyway - today is Sunday, I am in Beijing, yes. It is nuts, yes. Everyone here (most everyone) is Chinese! It's like being in India and everyone being Indian... or being in the States and everyone being American... etc etc... shouldn't really be anything surprising or amazing... but every once in a while, I have to stop, look around and think, "Wow, I am in China!" Quite a thing, that.

Lila, I think it was you who asked me where I am from. Well, it's a complex sort of story - I was born in India! (Something else that constantly delights and amazes me). But I have lived more than half my life outside of India now... in England where I spent a bunch of my childhood, in the States for college and work.. in other parts of the world... and I have blood in me from places as diverse as Portugal, Persia and India. My companion is Japanese and she lives in Germany these days... so it's a truly international world that I'm living in. The question "where are you from?" takes on a whole new meaning when people ask me... but I guess at the end of the day, I am from India, as that's where I was born and spent the early years of my life. That's the land that's shaped me the most, of the many places that have shaped me.

So... getting back to week 1 (which officially ends TODAY). Friday night I said I'd have 2 glasses of wine, so I went out and bought a bottle (although more out of impulse & habit... than from craving or need! FOR SURE.) SO that felt good and I had my two glasses... and ended up (you guessed it) finishing the bottle. Hey, that's 4 glasses... and if you want to get technical, I could have finished it in 2 large glasses... having only gone MOD/AF a week ago after binge drinking for the past 9 months straight... you can say that my AL tolerance level is still high... so a bottle of wine is like 2 glasses. Nothing earth-shattering. Anyway, the point is... it was there... and I finished it off (thinking, hey, better get rid of it or I'm gonna have to confront it the next day...).

Yesterday was a very good day. Accompanied a friend of mine who wanted to go shopping in the West of Beijing, a part of town that I rarely get to... (I'm an East-Beijinger). Beijing, for those of you who haven't visited, is a vast, sprawling city... with many districts and 'cities within the city'. So it was nice to get out to the West-side, which is very different from the part of town that I live and work. A completely different vibe and feeling. So nice.

Came home, jumping off the subway a stop early and walking the rest of the way back in the bracing early winter evening, then hit the gym and watched a movie. Very nice indeed.

Today (Sunday) also had a good morning. I tell you Modders, this clear head thing is really getting to me in a good way... I am loving the feeling of waking up with "100% brain-cellage" (to coin a new phrase), and I really feel I can literally feel my skin and my insides heal... day by day. It's feeling good. Will hit the gym for some brisk waking or a bike ride soon. Want to feel younger - the last few months I started to feel (and look, to myself at least) older than I am. And that is NOT GOOD, as you will all agree.

I think I am going to go most of this week AF too. Maybe a drink (max) if it comes to it. I have a job that requires some socializing every so often, and I can't be a total stick in the mud, so if it means taking a glass of wine in the line of duty (the horror, the horror!), I will do so. But I think it was NEW DAY, who was talking about feeling bad about going from AF to Mod... and feeling like that was like going back to Day 1. Naw... New Day... it's okay... so long as we are in control of ourselves and having a drink for the right reasons, feeling good about ourselves, and not having one out of any sort of craving... the beast is tamed and it's probably even a good thing.

Coming from the East, we have a healthy respect for Moderation. It's a spiritual philosophy entrenched in our way of thought and our beings... The Middle Way... The way of balance. So Moderation is GOOD. Extremes of anything are possibly not so good...

The weather is nice here in Beijing these days. It's getting colder; winter is setting in in North China. Can't deal well with the whole sun setting at 5 in the evening business... will never quite get used to that, even after years of living in the temperate regions of the world...(like a lot of you)... but I guess at the end of the day, I am a man of the sub-tropics and I need my sun and the smell and feeling of warmth on my skin. We all do. It's healthy. Anyway, this is nature, and embracing what is natural is my new mantra, getting aligned again with Nature and ALL the natural ebbs and flows of life, the waxing and wanings... feeling moods change, waking up in the morning and breathing all day and "Feeling Breath" and feeling oneself become tired as the day goes on. Then sleep. Napping. The many endless delights of being ALIVE.

Have a GREAT Sunday everyone. I am sending my positive energy out to each one of you today... hope you feel it when you need it most. You can be sure that I will be seeking out your energies when I need some... just a matter of time, I'm sure.

Peri, Jvo -- I am CTRL A'ing & C'ing this before I click on ANYTHING! We live and learn, YES.

[Sunbeam]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

Hi Zed,
It is nice to get a better feel for who your are. I think many of us will be fascinated by anything you tell us about Beijing. And your hertiage is in India, your companion Japanese living in Germany - I guess you define multi-national.

St. John, that is such a feeling of victory pouring alcohol down the drain instead of into our bodies. That feeling, "I've had enough" instead of "I'll stop now because I've had my quota." This is the experience of normal drinkers.

I had 1.5 glasses with dinner, and that was enough. My husband made dinner for me and my friend before going to a dance performance (which he mostly does not enjoy). We did not finish the bottle, and when I got home I did not go looking for the rest of that bottle. Boy, am I glad to be done with that.

Peri, it is very important to take note of how good you feel when you haven't been drinking. Some people decide during that 30 days that they really don't want to drink any more. I don't want to talk you into any particular road, but just consider all possibilities.

[Lila]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

Hi everyone
good morning! Zed, yes, it is very interesting to hear about Beijing and all. It sounds like you have a handle on things, which is great. Yes, moderation, as an idea, I believe in more than abstinence. I posted a long time ago in What We Believe about that. Are you taking Topa, if you don't mind me asking? I am considering taking it, so I keep asking people about it. I can't take it right now, because I cannot be fuzzy headed. Too much I have to do. It is getting darker earlier and earlier here, too, which I find difficult as well. Oh, well, it also makes for nice cozy times inside.
Hi Sunbeam, hope you are doing well!
Have a great Sunday everyone!

Lila

[Eve11]

Mod Squad Weekly Thread 03/11/2008

Hi Modders,
Well every drinking night is a learning experience for me as I try to work this moderation program. I have figured out one of my downfalls that I want to share as I'm looking for feedback.

It sounds like a goofy alcoholic excuse LOL but here goes. Sometimes when I'm modding I think I have it all planned out...1 glass of wine with dinner, 1 after. But when I'm thrown a curveball I bend.

Bought a nice bottle of red for Brother in law's birthday dinner. Had 1 glass of white before the red meat was served and it honestly tasted so good that I decided to have another and have the 1 glass of red with dinner.
(My goal is no more than 3). Had the wine poured for dinner and b.i.l. declines his glass stating he doesn't want to mix drinks (had been drinking beer). So...you guessed it. Rather than pour it back into the bottle or freezing it to use for cooking I am too tempted by that glass of wine just sitting there going to waste and I eventually end up drinking it.

My body doesn't like 4 glasses and sometime cannot tolerate 3 well. So today I'm sleepy (AL interferes with REM sleep for sure). Thankfully it didn't affect me to where I was slurry or too drunk acting and was at home so wasn't driving. But I HATE it when I don't meet my preset goal. I remember another post I shared where I'd had my two and considered myself done and my niece came up to me (at a comedy club) and had bought a third drink. So, it's those unexpected things that happen where I am backsliding. Suggestions...?
Eve11
p.s. Zed, fascinating to hear about you. Everyone else...a great big good morning to you.
Welcome anyone lurking, reading and looking for a place to come to for support!