af day Thurs 11 Oct

[momof3]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Good Morning Fabulous Abstainers,

It's been a long time since I've stopped by to say hello. And, it is great to see so many folks hear rocking the AF world

Congrats Mick on 100 days. You will be amazed with how you life will get better and better with each day AF day that goes by.

Wishing you all a great AF day.

M3

[YoungAtHeart]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Morning, Fabbies! (Or afternoon, or evening, as you wish...)

Mick, thanks as usual for the morning coffee/tea. Thanks also for the kind words. I really appreciate the effort that you make to get us all going each day.

Lav, I hope you have a good day, despite everything going on with your ex.

Kuya, I think a little devil would be a great avatar for you, since I do think you have a devilish sense of humor!

PPQ, glad you are putting all your P's to good use! I also love that little tantrum smilie. I frequently feel that way myself! Will have to look it up.

I had a very hard session with a client on Tuesday. He is an alcoholic, and he is so resistant to working on his drinking, that I had to tell him that I felt ethically conflicted continuing to treat him unless he made a serious effort to deal with his drinking, and I didn't think I could help him unless he found a way to stop. Ugh, painful..... I also felt guilty, because it really isn't that long that I've been sober again, so who am I to talk.... It did feel good to really level with him, though. I hope he will be able to make use of it.

Well, that's all so far today, off to catch up on my casenotes. Ugh!

Hugs,
YAH :l

[YoungAtHeart]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Oops, cross-posted Momof3 and Satz. Have a great day!

[kuya]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Yah, I think it is MORE than fine for you to take this position with this man. Much more so than someone with no experience. And so what if you are only a little further ahead, that makes it easier for you to see how he CAN do it.

Stick to your guns, Yah

[Mick]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Yah..two things thanks for the words of support..sometimes it does get hard writing this...especially when once youve done it flies off into the middle of nowhere!!!!secondly for you to help this client he has got to help himself and recognise that there is an issue..as long as doesnt then I feel you are :headbanger:

Caveat....my opinion only!!!

[YoungAtHeart]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Thanks KY and Mick. :l It's always good to have support.

Oh, and Mick, a long time ago in a galaxy far-far away, I used to start the daily abs thread much of the time. It is no joke in terms of time and effort. So thank you, again.

[TheSunFlower]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Hello....

LONG day of work on a vacation day. I need to be home as the kids are on fall break...but, I have a project that I need to wrap up. So tomorrow is probably another day of work....on a vacation day.

Mick....congrats on 100 days!

Mick, I wasn't clear....so no aplologies on not understanding what I meant. I have learned the hard way on what doesn't work for me. Isolating is not in my nature. Everytime I got sober....I did exactly that. And I never stayed sober.

Kuya...thanks for the kind words. I agree, I would never have wished you ill and I never felt like you were doing that to me. I would never do that anyone. I like the avatar idea...as there is a little bit of the devil that lives in all of us.

LC...thanks. I think everyone should count days if it works for them. For me....if I fell....going back to day one was detrimental to me. Once I stopped counting days.....I personally found it easier. I found that counting everyday as day one.....very beneficial. We only get to live life that way anyways. So for me everyday is day one. Day one of making today better than yesterday.

YAH....I think being honest with your client was important. Sometimes you never know who you are going to hear the message from to make the change. For me....the last time was a heart to heart with a friend of a friend. He talked to me like a real person....not all the fear based....jail and death (even though he did get to do number 1 and nearly did number 2). He told me what he had done.....and how great his life is. I wanted that. Through him....I truly saw that long term change is possible.

I guess posting is the good I have to offer. Getting sober is hard....staying sober is hard. But, its all worth it. I personally just know that I like it better I have done some seriously stupid things while drunk.....but, what got me to stay sober....was the good things that I live while sober.

I worked out today.....and felt like an all out rebel.....going to Burger King and getting a whopper with cheese, onion rings and a diet pepsi. And hour later.....was worse than any hangover I ever had

[caysea]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Hi all
Congrats mick on 100!! Really enjoy your kick off for the tread each day. You are certainly an example of getting past just stopping drinking and enjoying a sober life . Way to go.

Stay Healthy and Keep Fighting
AF 5-16-08

[Determinator]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Yay Mick for the big 100! garlic cake for everyone!

today I went to a friends house for a traditional Malay and Filipino lunch, with curries and adobo and all manner of wonderous spicy goodies. I'm warm all the way through

YAH, what a stressful client, very curious how that works out (for both of you).

grateful to be looking forward to a sober Friday

be well everyone

[LillyE]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Garlic cake! Curry! Adobo! Yum! Thanks for making me hungry there Detster. I lurve your comic strip sig btw. Makes me giggle every time I see it. Ah, so true.

Hi all!

I'm feeling better now Mick - thanks for asking! I'm a bit exhausted though and overworked too.

I finally had a bit of time to emerge from my shell and have a bit of a look around the boards today and promptly retreated again! Holy F*ing Hell! What the F has been going on around here lately? Honestly, it made me quite glad I've been a bit absent - so much snarking and downright nastiness I'm glad I didn't even get tempted to be drawn into. I'm so glad this lovely little thread hasn't been infected by it all. But, just, wow. I mean, a healthy debate is all well and good but so much of it seems to have gone WAY beyond that. I am disturbed and a little disgusted. May it all blow over and soon.

/rant

I've also been reflecting on how much stronger and happier I'd feel had I reached 100 days with MIGHTY MAGIC MUSHROOM MICK!. (Again, HOORAY for that Mick - it's terrific. You are doing so well. Now you just keep it up or I'd have to head out to those fields and force feed you fungi.)

Those few days of drinking of mine were so not worth it. I'm still AF - two weeks today - but I'm STILL feeling a bit stirred AND shaken. (Ho ho) Not especially tempted to drink, just, I dunno, less happy, clearheaded and strong. I had a vague thought flash through my head quickly about drinking at something or other next week the other day, but then slapped myself around. I looked at my diary and thought 'well, if I drank that night I'd drink that night, and that night, and that', which screwed my head back on because it reminded me that once I get started there's always a million reasons to drink and it's a messy fast slipperly slide so it's best, for me, just not to go there - if hard sometimes at the moment.

I can't remember who it was now who said to remember those 80 days of mine still count - but thanks to you as I needed to hear that and it's true. I've decided that while it's important and lovely to acknowledge the milestones it's more important to look at overall progress because feeling right back at square one is just too damn defeating. I have made a LOT of progress since this time last year and for that I am happy and grateful.

Life, you talked about still wanting to get to 30 days. It took me so long to do that too but can I say once I got there, while I felt a bit anticlimactic on the actual day, I understood why it's significant. The next 30 days, then the next 20, were soooo much easier than those first 30. And these past two weeks have flown by in a flash compared to some of my earlier attempts. It's all practice and building and flexing those AF muscles.

On which note, I didn't get to say a big WELL DONE Yah Yah on 60! You just keep right on going!

Right, back to work with me. I'm still flat out. It's almost the weekend here but once again I'll be working on Saturday. Boo. Ah well, it'll all be worth it when I can relax a bit over summer.

Love and hugs and all the good stuff to everyone. We seem to be missing a few old faces now (like Kas, Turn)? Hope all is well? Please swing by if you can.

Lilly xo

[shueaddict]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Mick, BIG COBGRATULATIONS !!! You rock !!!
:wave: :wave: wave:

OMG, I have so many posts to catch up with !

I was sick at home for the past 2 days (no internet). I caught the newest cocktail of bugs from my son's school. I read like crazy and lounged in the sun ... cooked good food. It actually felt like a break.

Now back at work I see the backlog.

I am so happy to see this thread so active. Sorry I haven't contributed much, just going through a busy phase - but also one where somehow where just staying AF takes second stage to being healthy and organizing my life. I am sorry for being selfish, but I was actually enjoying my life and for a change it was nice not to have all the AL talk and thoughts.

Be well, everyone!!!

[hulagirl]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

Thanks for the warm welcome Mick. And a "howzit" for you too Det! I was spending sometime trying to figure out this loneliness thing. There are so many people out there with the same experience. How do you make friends in your 50's? There is the possibilitiy that my friend making "skills" were drowned in the alcoholic blurr of youth. Then there was the kid raisin' time and I thought parents of my kids friends were somehow my friends. I mean we spent time together in Scouts, Sunday School, Sports, Band, etc. But now that kids are gone so are the social events. (yes, empty nest has not been easy for me but I am getting used to the space and can't imagine our two adult children living in the house now). But back to my quest. How are friendships cultivated in the "later" years. I totally exited the church and settled peacefully with my sensible athiest self. (I am after all a science teacher. But that is a whole nother discussion...probably somewhere else) But the point I was trying to make is where do one go to be around other adults? I've taken classes, gone to presentations, workshops, and I just walk out and feel even more lonely. What the heck? I have a loving husband, we do a ton of stuff together but I'm thinking I need some girly friends. Oh, I'm just rambling and yes, there are lots of blogs, forums on this too. I've been there. Of course this is partially my alcohol lproblem. But Not going there today, or tomorrow. Peace.

[kuya]

af day Thurs 11 Oct

hulagirl;1391110 wrote: Thanks for the warm welcome Mick. And a "howzit" for you too Det! I was spending sometime trying to figure out this loneliness thing. There are so many people out there with the same experience. How do you make friends in your 50's? There is the possibilitiy that my friend making "skills" were drowned in the alcoholic blurr of youth. Then there was the kid raisin' time and I thought parents of my kids friends were somehow my friends. I mean we spent time together in Scouts, Sunday School, Sports, Band, etc. But now that kids are gone so are the social events. (yes, empty nest has not been easy for me but I am getting used to the space and can't imagine our two adult children living in the house now). But back to my quest. How are friendships cultivated in the "later" years. I totally exited the church and settled peacefully with my sensible athiest self. (I am after all a science teacher. But that is a whole nother discussion...probably somewhere else) But the point I was trying to make is where do one go to be around other adults? I've taken classes, gone to presentations, workshops, and I just walk out and feel even more lonely. What the heck? I have a loving husband, we do a ton of stuff together but I'm thinking I need some girly friends. Oh, I'm just rambling and yes, there are lots of blogs, forums on this too. I've been there. Of course this is partially my alcohol lproblem. But Not going there today, or tomorrow. Peace.

OMG I could have written this! It does get harder to make friends as you get older, but I think it is because you become more discerning. Although I still have a 13 year old at home I am single and can relate to the needing girly friends. BUT, and this is a big BUT, the older I get the less I can be bothered modifying myself to others expectations.
There is a saying that if you can end your life with 5 REAL friends you have done well.
There are five other atheists ( that i know of for certain)that would call this thread home, so welcome, pull up a seat, settle in and get sober :welcome: