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[Kairos]

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Hi Beherenow,
You're doing great-
Keep writing and I'll keep reading!
K

[Hippyman]

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beherenow;1444107 wrote: Yes, RunningCourage. That's about my plan - journal here, exercise, reading and staying away from potential threatening situations like parties, restaurant visits and the like. Your thread is also a wonderful one, and you have a way with words. I am keenly following your journey.

Two sober weeks and they have been generally good. For one reason or the other, I have tended to avoid social situations where there is a lurking danger of alcohol. Have kept myself busy doing better, productive things.

Plan to continue in the same way for the next 10 days.

As I was driving down to work, saw this huge billboard shouting 'Sit back and relax while everyone is losing their head' ( or words to that effect ). An ad for 'Black Dog' whisky. How many such pernicious messages conviced us consciously and unconsciously about the glamour and power of alcohol! It helps when I stay with mwo with like-minded friends in fighting these subconscious messages. As someone so wisely said ' Marketing is lies'.

Have a great day all!

That's a great plan. I'm in the process of gathering new friends that don't spend their lives in bars. Local Artist seem to be a group I will be welcomed in. Part of your plan should maybe thinking about finding new friends without alcohol as their focus! :goodjob:

[paulywogg]

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that is a great idea hippy,to be surrounded by non drinkers who actually enjoy things!

[beherenow]

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Day 16

You make a very pertinent point Hippy. While drinking, we have surrounded ourselves with 'like-minded' friends. Here the shared value for the most part, was the need to get drunk.
In sobriety, I am sure there will be a realignment of a number of friendships. Right now, I am focusing on just staying away from the drink. As I progress, I expect the gaps to be filled with different sorts of relationships.

Day 15 was a nice day. Had a great morning session of run-walk for about 45 minutes followed by elaborate stretching. Slowly but surely, re-discovering my running touch. In the evening, played a couple of badminton matches which were absorbing and provided clean fun.

Did not exercise in the morning today. But daily exercise is definitely a prime tool in staying sober. I have this strong hunch that sobriety, if we keep working at it, is going to lead us towards the best physical shape of our lives.

Let us all have a great day today.

[FlyAway]

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beherenow;1444107 wrote: As I was driving down to work, saw this huge billboard shouting 'Sit back and relax while everyone is losing their head' ( or words to that effect ). An ad for 'Black Dog' whisky. How many such pernicious messages conviced us consciously and unconsciously about the glamour and power of alcohol!

It is amazing when you make a conscious effort to look for those ads how many there are! How many times a day are we told that the cool, popular, beautiful people are drinking? That drinking is what adults do.

Congrats on Day 16.

[kuya]

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FlyAway;1445258 wrote: It is amazing when you make a conscious effort to look for those ads how many there are! How many times a day are we told that the cool, popular, beautiful people are drinking? That drinking is what adults do.

Congrats on Day 16.

It is simply a lie, one constructed for big business and a society so depressed with its own existence that it needs to escape itself.

[paulywogg]

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i hate those billboards! i live in vegas and i swear theyre everywhere,plus every event even ones like a dog show in the park or even kids events,theres always a beer booth ridiculous

[beherenow]

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Day 17

Flyaway, kuya & paulywogg!

The insidious messages that the tobacco & alcohol industries send us are staggering. Come to think of it, the purveyors of these poisons must be the biggest ad-spenders of them all. Having been a marketing major in college, I sure know how manipulative these ads can be.

Yesterday night - day 16 - could not sleep well. Was feeling anxious probably about unresolved issues at work. Also, ate very late and was feeling stuffed. Surely, this has no connection to not drinking, but first sleep disturbance in the last two weeks. i think I should be careful about how I fuel myself. Also should now focus better on my pending work.

Had a great morning run of about 5 K which immediately makes me far calmer and stable.

Although I have no cravings whatsoever for alcohol at this moment, by putting up these daily posts I am building walls of resolve around myself. Brick by brick. Post by post. I know there will come a time, a moment of weakness suddenly, where I will be tempted by the seductive siren call of booze whispering softly to my weaker self. All this journaling is to prepare myself for that vulnerable moment.

At this moment though, I feel ready to slay the beast.

Have a great day everyone.

[beherenow]

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Day 19

Moving forward, one day at a time, without much of a hassle. So far, so good.

Yesterday, was on the road on a business trip and then a wild- goose chase after a non-appearing train, so did not have the time to get any wild ideas.

Even today, had a busy day at work. I am heading into a weekend, the third after starting my AL-free journey. Luckily, I will be playing badminton tonight too, so the Saturday is taken care of.

Sunday, I plan to spend productive time with family. Of course, teach ( and re-learn) a bit of Geometry.

Euclid! Here I come.

Stay safe and sober, all.

[Kairos]

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Great that you,'re moving forward without
much effort sounds like the ideal place to be. Still with you on day 20!
k

[beherenow]

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day 21

The weekend safely negotiated.

By journaling for the past three weeks, a very clear pattern has emerged. I need to protect my evenings. Have a definite plan everyday. Just spending sometime here at mwo, putting my thoughts down is helping in strengthening my resolve. And also to plan for the evening ahead.

And Kairos, great that you are with me on this journey.

Suddenly, I am finding myself in a bit of a depressed, negative mood. Staying away from alcohol is also bringing other smouldering issues of life to the forefront. Pending problems at work, old unresolved emotional issues are rearing their ugly head. I gather from my reading here, that this might be natural while quitting alcohol. I need to take care that such negative emotions do not weaken my determination.

Have a great day all!

[beherenow]

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Day 26

It is day 26 today and I am doing allright.

Have not blogged for about a week, largely because I felt I had not much to say. The very clear understanding that the only time I need to be on guard is the evenings has made this spell of sobriety a bit easier. I never drink during the day as I am busy at work. So having a plan for the evening is really helping me.

The whole week, I have kept up with my morning run on alternate days. In about three weeks, I seem to have come back to my regular level of running, distance and time-wise.
The run keeps my mind fresh and clear.

The past week, I twice had my brush with situations involving alcohol.

The first was after playing a badminton doubles match. It was an intense, evenly-matched dog fight which we managed to win by the skin of our teeth. There was this usual celebratory round of drinks. While the others had their whiskies, I stuck to my cola. A couple of guys looked askance but I let it pass. We sat together for about half-an-hour but I did not feel any urge to drink. So the first success in social situations.

The second was during a musical concert a couple of nights ago. I walked to the snacks counter to pick up some refreshments and right next to the stall, there was this drinks counter. As I waited for the snacks to get packed, I was watching a few others buying their drinks. For a fleeting moment, felt a weak urge to go over to the drinks counter. The moment passed. I quickly picked up my snacks and went back to my seat.

The concert was an excellent one with a couple of very renowned and extremely talented singers performing. Sat through the whole three-and-a-half-hours enjoying almost every minute of the performance. Realised that had I been drinking, I would have been too busy getting myself sozzled, to properly appreciate such performances.

Looking forward to finishing the week sober.

Have a great day all!

[Kairos]

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Well done BHN,
I?m following your thread and it looks like we can charge our glasses of water together and congratulate each other on 26 days! I hope it?s the beginning of a long cyber friendship coz I?m in this for the long haul and I don't care how long it takes. When I saw Mario?s 4 years sobriety a few weeks back and saw that he is still sticking around MWO forums it just goes to show that we can never get above ourselves and forget that we are all really a drink away from reverting to our negative old habits that do not serve us well. We all have off days and it?s great that we can can all count on each other on MWO for support.
Have a great sober day,

Best wishes Kairos

[beherenow]

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day 28

Fours weeks done and dusted.

The week end was a nice, simple affair. Spent time conversing with family and catching up with fiction. Started reading Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Looking forward to the movie too. Magic realism; difficult but nice. Great imagery. Am curious how all the language translates on to the big screen.

Kairos, Great that you are checking out on your next thread neighbour. It really feels good when someone is cheering from the sidelines. This journey can get pretty lonely sometimes as not many people in real life understand the effort involved.

Have a great day, people!

[kuya]

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May I add my congratulations to both of you for a job well done!

The moods will be up and down for a while......don't overanalyse them......it is just healing and it will settle down.