Please stay on the Sober bus - pt.36
Member
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: UK
Posts: 769
Ha ha Purps, that reminds me of when I used to smoke. I drank coffee then aswell. The thought of coffee and a cigarette were what finally got me up in the morning and the size of the cup coffee would decide whether I'd have one cigarette or two. 
Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: US
Posts: 16,878
Same here Harriet ~ I used to smoke too 
Speaking of koalas....gotta love pics of your favorite rockstars cuddling with them! I think I shared one of Slash a while back....here are Sully and Shannon from Godsmack:
Speaking of koalas....gotta love pics of your favorite rockstars cuddling with them! I think I shared one of Slash a while back....here are Sully and Shannon from Godsmack:
Sober-T- Dragon
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Manitoba
Posts: 8,756
On the bus! Have a Happy and Fabulous Friday!
Congrats on 3.5 years CK. How are you doing? OK? I've been having fleeting drinking thoughts lately. A few too many for comfort. Easy to smack away but annoying none the less.I just keep my self busy and remind myself of everything I've gained and have to loose if I start up again,
Congrats on 3.5 years CK. How are you doing? OK? I've been having fleeting drinking thoughts lately. A few too many for comfort. Easy to smack away but annoying none the less.I just keep my self busy and remind myself of everything I've gained and have to loose if I start up again,
Quit 4/17/15
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Pa
Posts: 15,154
That is a great picture Suze! What an expression.
We had a line of thunderstorms with 70 mph winds rip a thirty foot tree of mine right out of the ground. There were several hundred thousand people in the region without power. My store lost power for 21 hours and we spent most of yesterday sorting food into dumpster product or donate immediately product. We were able to salvage some food,which, while thawing, might find safe, immediate use by someone.
Tillamook is good cheese, which has a small but loyal following on this coast.
Dragon, I am finding that I am having the same thoughts. Like my mother used to always say, "it seems the world is going to hell in a handbasket" which I never really understood as a kid. Honestly, I stay a non drinker for my teenagers, as I don't want them to see me dealing with life by constantly drinking every day like I did. They already have a couple strikes against them genetically with alcoholism on both sides of the family. It would be unfortunate, but perhaps easier for me, to go back out if they weren't around. Playing that tape forward, I know it would not end well. Keep swatting those thoughts away. Times like these make us realize that no matter how much sobriety one has under their belt, it really is a day by day decision to stay on the righteous path.
Be safe all!
We had a line of thunderstorms with 70 mph winds rip a thirty foot tree of mine right out of the ground. There were several hundred thousand people in the region without power. My store lost power for 21 hours and we spent most of yesterday sorting food into dumpster product or donate immediately product. We were able to salvage some food,which, while thawing, might find safe, immediate use by someone.
Tillamook is good cheese, which has a small but loyal following on this coast.
Dragon, I am finding that I am having the same thoughts. Like my mother used to always say, "it seems the world is going to hell in a handbasket" which I never really understood as a kid. Honestly, I stay a non drinker for my teenagers, as I don't want them to see me dealing with life by constantly drinking every day like I did. They already have a couple strikes against them genetically with alcoholism on both sides of the family. It would be unfortunate, but perhaps easier for me, to go back out if they weren't around. Playing that tape forward, I know it would not end well. Keep swatting those thoughts away. Times like these make us realize that no matter how much sobriety one has under their belt, it really is a day by day decision to stay on the righteous path.
Be safe all!
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 120,859
Stargazer, I think that your area experienced what is known as a derecho - a fierce, sideways windstorm. We experienced one of those about 6 years ago - similar scenario as you with power out to our home and area for five days. It occurred about midnight - we were startled awake to look outside to see items from neighbors’ yards flying across the back of ours (planters, flowerpots, lawn chairs), trees and bushes bending like I have never seen. We found roadways blocked the next day due to downed trees. Like your area, it made the national news.
I am really sorry to hear that you lost your tree - what a shame. Sorry that your store lost some food items, too. Glad that you were able to recycle some of it.
I think that we should make today Stargazer Day on the sober bus!
I am really sorry to hear that you lost your tree - what a shame. Sorry that your store lost some food items, too. Glad that you were able to recycle some of it.
I think that we should make today Stargazer Day on the sober bus!
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 120,859
Purps, that dog and I think alike 
- a bigger donut, indeed. And those koala pics are adorable.
And, Bim, so is that bus. It was someone’s pride and joy back in the day - hopefully, still is.
Dragon, my drinking thoughts have been a bit stronger these days, too. This surreal way of life is unsettling and makes these thoughts more frequent, I think. I am really glad that this new normal didn’t happen at the beginning of my sobriety and recovery efforts - not sure if I could have seen my way through. Thankfully, we have amassed and used great tools along our journey to see us through this time. My newly (Just a bit over a year) sober sibling have discussed this quite a bit lately.
Harriett, what was more difficult for you - quitting cigarettes or quitting alcohol?
CK
- a bigger donut, indeed. And those koala pics are adorable.And, Bim, so is that bus. It was someone’s pride and joy back in the day - hopefully, still is.
Dragon, my drinking thoughts have been a bit stronger these days, too. This surreal way of life is unsettling and makes these thoughts more frequent, I think. I am really glad that this new normal didn’t happen at the beginning of my sobriety and recovery efforts - not sure if I could have seen my way through. Thankfully, we have amassed and used great tools along our journey to see us through this time. My newly (Just a bit over a year) sober sibling have discussed this quite a bit lately.
Harriett, what was more difficult for you - quitting cigarettes or quitting alcohol?
CK
Member
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 873
Wow.... Congrats CK on 3 1/2 yrs..... that is fantastic...... and love the Koala Cake it is so cute and the real Koala pics are even better.....
I am on the bus late... but I will take a seat in the back of the bus and enjoy the views for today....
I am on the bus late... but I will take a seat in the back of the bus and enjoy the views for today....
Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Canada
Posts: 6,850
Thanks guys! I appreciate your good words a lot.
Same for me Dragon.
This Covid virus is driving me nuts. Same for you I bet?
Dark plans get often in my head lately and I constantly have to kick them out. Very annoying to say the least.
I have to remember that even with 3 years sober, I'm only 5 minutes away from a relapse.
It won't happen today because I'm on the Sober Bus, safe with all of you
Same for me Dragon.
This Covid virus is driving me nuts. Same for you I bet?
Dark plans get often in my head lately and I constantly have to kick them out. Very annoying to say the least.
I have to remember that even with 3 years sober, I'm only 5 minutes away from a relapse.
It won't happen today because I'm on the Sober Bus, safe with all of you
Member
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 28,647
Congrats CK.
Scary stuff, SG.
I sometimes walk in a conservation park about 10k from my living space- sharp gorge with well establishes walkways. There are always koalas to be seen- their limp postures make it seem as if they have hangovers.
Scary stuff, SG.
I sometimes walk in a conservation park about 10k from my living space- sharp gorge with well establishes walkways. There are always koalas to be seen- their limp postures make it seem as if they have hangovers.
Sober-T- Dragon
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Manitoba
Posts: 8,756
It would've been far-out to have known you as a hippie Bim,
Wow, Star, sounds like quite the storm, glad you safe.
It's good to know I'm not alone in the drinking thoughts, it was concerning me a bit considering the sober time I have under my belt. Thanks everyone.
Covid hasn't been driving me too nuts. We are lucky, I suppose, our province has a very low infection rate. I'm still going to work every day, tho nearly all the office staff are working from home. We have been mandated to wear masks when at work. Some of our other divisions around the globe have been affected,
Wow, Star, sounds like quite the storm, glad you safe.
It's good to know I'm not alone in the drinking thoughts, it was concerning me a bit considering the sober time I have under my belt. Thanks everyone.
Covid hasn't been driving me too nuts. We are lucky, I suppose, our province has a very low infection rate. I'm still going to work every day, tho nearly all the office staff are working from home. We have been mandated to wear masks when at work. Some of our other divisions around the globe have been affected,
Member
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: UK
Posts: 769
Some lovely cakes on here SoberLeigh, love the starry one.
Have you kept any of the Hippiness from your younger days Bim?
Quote: "Harriett, what was more difficult for you - quitting cigarettes or quitting alcohol?"
Thats a hard one to answer Soberleigh. I often found it relatively easy to quit alcohol for a few months, it's a totally different kind of addiction for me. Definitely more psychological than physical. Smoking was very much a physical addiction, not something I could give up for a few months here and there although I did give up for about 10 years one time (but went back when I was in the company of smokers and was drinking too)
I started vaping, and that is how I finally gave up. Vaping gave me the satisfaction of the nicotine hit at the back of the throat that no other nicotine substitute could do. I got the highest nicotine content that was available at that time (vaping was very much in it's early days). The funny thing was that even though it just about satisfied the cravings, I started to miss proper tobacco and it's taste and all the satisfying poisons that go with it. Simple nicotine didn't feel enough anymore. So even though the nicotine is supposed to be the addictive bit, I finally got bored with it and gave up all together.
I didn't have any smoking dreams either, though I occasionally miss it when I see old films, but not enough to start again!
Alcohol is altogether more complicated ! No wonder they call it cunning, baffling and powerful - I wouldn't say the same about nicotine.
Anyway, I'm glad to be sober, (and nicotine free) on this cloudy, sunny, cloudy, sunny cloudy day and on the wonderful Soberbus with all of you
Have you kept any of the Hippiness from your younger days Bim?
Quote: "Harriett, what was more difficult for you - quitting cigarettes or quitting alcohol?"
Thats a hard one to answer Soberleigh. I often found it relatively easy to quit alcohol for a few months, it's a totally different kind of addiction for me. Definitely more psychological than physical. Smoking was very much a physical addiction, not something I could give up for a few months here and there although I did give up for about 10 years one time (but went back when I was in the company of smokers and was drinking too)
I started vaping, and that is how I finally gave up. Vaping gave me the satisfaction of the nicotine hit at the back of the throat that no other nicotine substitute could do. I got the highest nicotine content that was available at that time (vaping was very much in it's early days). The funny thing was that even though it just about satisfied the cravings, I started to miss proper tobacco and it's taste and all the satisfying poisons that go with it. Simple nicotine didn't feel enough anymore. So even though the nicotine is supposed to be the addictive bit, I finally got bored with it and gave up all together.
I didn't have any smoking dreams either, though I occasionally miss it when I see old films, but not enough to start again!
Alcohol is altogether more complicated ! No wonder they call it cunning, baffling and powerful - I wouldn't say the same about nicotine.
Anyway, I'm glad to be sober, (and nicotine free) on this cloudy, sunny, cloudy, sunny cloudy day and on the wonderful Soberbus with all of you
Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: US
Posts: 16,878
Good day for a trip on the Soberbus.....Since today is National Black Bear Day, we can head to North Carolina to celebrate the Black Bear Festival: https://www.ncbearfest.com/
Quit 4/17/15
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Pa
Posts: 15,154
Leigh, you are absolutely correct, we had a derecho. I had never heard of such a thing. Thanks for the lovely cake too!
Bim, I bet you were a cute hippie. I had horrible shoulder length at one point in the late 70's and early 80's, but that was after the hippie era. I was a kindred spirit at the time however.
It seems the entire planet needs a giant Prozac. It is easy to feel overwhelmed with everything that is going on currently. It's no wonder many of us are having alcohol thoughts. I googled a few stories of folks whom went back out after a long period of sobriety, and it wasn't pretty. No one suddenly became a normal, moderate drinker. Most were worse than ever after a short while. Alcohol is a fantasy. We need to live in reality.
On the bus, coffee in hand. Bear tour it is!
Have a good day all!
Bim, I bet you were a cute hippie. I had horrible shoulder length at one point in the late 70's and early 80's, but that was after the hippie era. I was a kindred spirit at the time however.
It seems the entire planet needs a giant Prozac. It is easy to feel overwhelmed with everything that is going on currently. It's no wonder many of us are having alcohol thoughts. I googled a few stories of folks whom went back out after a long period of sobriety, and it wasn't pretty. No one suddenly became a normal, moderate drinker. Most were worse than ever after a short while. Alcohol is a fantasy. We need to live in reality.
On the bus, coffee in hand. Bear tour it is!
Have a good day all!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
I did keep my some of my hippiness. My hair is still down the middle of my back but I've taken to curling it up into a bun now that I'm in my sixties...the hair is just for me. I'm the one buying all the bell bottom jeans from the Goodwill (they call them "boot cut" now.)
I don't drive a VW anymore, traded it for a Forester though. That's pretty PNW hippie. Oh, yeah. I live in the PNW, not much hippier than that. I hug trees on the regular.
When people get to know me, they invariably call me a free spirit.
I left the magic mushrooms and the tie-dye behind.
Love to all. On the bus.
2020 Version of a 70s VW - matted out!
Black bears? Black van.
The drinking thoughts came and went for me at about the point when we went into serious lockdown in early March and I haven't struggled with it since. I already did one very long period of sobriety and went back to drinking. That didn't end well and here I am. Not trying that little experiment again.
I don't drive a VW anymore, traded it for a Forester though. That's pretty PNW hippie. Oh, yeah. I live in the PNW, not much hippier than that. I hug trees on the regular.
When people get to know me, they invariably call me a free spirit.
I left the magic mushrooms and the tie-dye behind.
Love to all. On the bus.
2020 Version of a 70s VW - matted out!
Black bears? Black van.
The drinking thoughts came and went for me at about the point when we went into serious lockdown in early March and I haven't struggled with it since. I already did one very long period of sobriety and went back to drinking. That didn't end well and here I am. Not trying that little experiment again.
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