Hey Tiburon,
No shame in recovery. Recovery is an accomplishment that I don't get to take all the credit for.
I am ashamed of some of the things I did during my 25 years of drinking and extremely not proud of others. I can't go back and change the past though, and that past is not a good for me to live. The only way I can forgive myself, make amends to myself, is to change my behavior and my attitude so that I don't repeat the past. Obviously, this starts with not drinking but it also goes further than just not drinking.
I have to echo the other comments about the 4th and 5th step. I didn't think they would make a difference before I did them but doing them made a big difference for me.
Remember we can't change everything in one day but every day in recovery is change. If you stay sober, do at least one thing to enhance your recovery, and do nothing to jeopardize it, today will go into the books as a successful day.