Turninganewleaf

So this weekend I may have a new job. I have not worked in quite a while and it pays fairly good. I think it may be a little dangerous but I can handle it. It is a new start up liquor company and I will be sampling at a high end grocery store. It is what I have experience in. I previously worked in restaurants and, at one point, a professional wine taster. The owner of this company knows I don't drink although he says I can bring home a bottle for my friends and family for holiday. Anyone else work around alcohol while abstaining?

Leana

Boy, I don't know if I could do that job, the smell of alcohol is a major trigger for me. I love the smell of champagne, wine, etc and I just want to drink.

Turninganewleaf

Leana, when people ask me that awful question, "What do you do for a living?" this is the type of industry I'm in. I know nothing else. I was once a top notch bartender and wine taster.The ironic part is when I drank to get drunk I bought cheap rot gut vodka and malt liquor. The owner seems to think I can help him get his company off the ground.

KateL

I was a chef who also helped out in the bar. It was hard to abstain around all that booze in the beginning but it got much easier as the years went on.

Carlotta

I am not sure how long you have sober and what you do for your recovery but if you are going to do that job, I would strongly suggest that you buy Jack Trimpey's "Rational Recovery".
He is very anti AA (kind of a fanatic in his own way) but he has some very good techniques and if you are working that close to booze especially in early sobriety, you will need to be able to identify your addictive voice and learn to deal with it. I think practicing AVRT might be your best bet. I have known some sober bartenders in AA but they had a few years sober under their belt, not sure if they worked around booze while they were new.

caboblanco

This is an honest question...How can you try to sell something if you haven't sampled it yourself..and is your boss ok with you not drinking at all?

Leana

Well, then go for it and good luck to you!

youbetcha

I've never understood sober people that do that, but I've seen it done. To each his own.

Turninganewleaf

It basically tastes like a previous liquor that I have sampled. I don't know if it would be wise to perhaps taste the liquor and then spit it out? It will be a much needed paycheck and at this point is the most important thing in my life. Making money so I can eat is priority.

caboblanco

Yeah turning..I wouldn't recommend it but at the same time everyone has a different tolerance for those sort of things and if you are ok with it then go for it!

Dee74

No that doesn't sound wise to me at all.

I changed my career because the career I had - of gigging musician - was just too drink sodden for me.

If a change of career is out of the question for you, you're going to have to put very strict boundaries and guidelines in place to reflect your decision to be a non-drinker.

D

BillinSaratoga

hmmm... I'm pretty sure that being that close and the ability to bring one home for 'friends' would end up me declaring myself my best friend and I'd be at day 1 again (and again, and again). Turning - Good luck... everyone is different. I wish you luck and hope it works out for you.

Turninganewleaf

There is a drug called anabuse that makes one sick if they consume any alcohol. I was thinking about asking my doctor about it. At ten days sober I am still early in my sobriety career. I am currently receiving public aid type welfare which I never in a million years thought I would have to resort to. I have a college degree in Management. This job could be the ticket back to respectability in my community or the end of me.

Sudz No More

Well you need the job and it is great you got one. At only ten days you really do have a long way to go before this becomes somewhat safe. I personally don't think I could do it especially at only ten days.

I hope you can manage to balance the two together.

BillinSaratoga

Turning - You can do it... will take will power. You have a chance to get on your feet, feel good about yourself, and that is all very important. Not familiar with anabuse or what it does, but I think the way you'll make this work is with your inner self. I'm new into this as well, 20 days, and know I have some struggles ahead. Head high, and best of luck in your new career.

CactusJill

I think it depends on the person. The look and smell of alcohol are not triggers for me. Stress and anxiety are the main triggers. I don't even mind having it in the house.

I guess you will just have to see how it goes. No one can tell you what is right for you!

TigerLili

I did exactly the same thing for years as a second job before my problem drinking really took off. It never even occurred to me to taste it while I was on the job, now that I think about it. I just went by the tasting notes the owner or sales rep provided and what I knew about the different types of wine, growing region etc. If you have some experience, you'll be able to get through it without resorting to tasting it yourself. It's grocery store sampling, not a group of professionals trying new wines. Your sales pitch will be more important than your personal tasting opinion.

Dan Dare

Well, Dee, you nailed it for me. I have that career, and change is out of the question. At least at this phase of my life.
However, I know many other people in my circle who don't, or rarely do, drink.
When you say boundaries and guidelines, does that mean a set of personal rules?

D.D.

Dee74

Yeah - I can't put guidelines down for other people, just for me

After a year off, I did go back to music but I made sure the people I was playing with knew of my history and were supportive of my recovery lifestyle choices.

None of them were big drinkers.

We did little gigs - mostly cafes and corporate - very few pubs...I was never tempted, but I found pubs to be sad places.

Whenever I was offered a drink, I just said I don't drink. If they were a little drunk and insistent, I'd maybe share a coke or sparkling water with them

I had to quit in the end cos my health got worse but it was really good couple of years.
The music came first.

But I was solidly committed to recovery.

If you're still having hassles, you need to think about all the likely scenarios and how to handle them...not having the pre gig drink to settle the nerves, the fans who insist you drink with them...dealing with the after gig high, and the after gig post mortem where maybe all the other guys are drinking....there's the whole creative thing too. I was wrong, but I really believed I was more creative 'loosened up'.....

It's not impossible to be a sober muso - it just takes a lot of thought and commitment, I think

D

LifeWorthLiving

I would say to myself that the stuff is a poison and the people that are buying have that right but as for me I will abstain. Just remember all the bad from it. And there is TONS of bad from it.

I'm on day 5 and my stomach is a mess and I dont want any beers in my gut. I am really trying to change my thoughts toward it.

Its hard but I know deep in my heart that there is NOTHING good that comes from drinking.