Class of October 2013 - Part 12
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Rambling post ahead and readers are advised to exercise caution. Readers may encounter frequent quotations.
Last night was ESPN's ESPY award show. I did not watch the program as I'm not a fan of industry award shows. I generally find them to be self-indulgent affairs. Driving into work this morning, however, the sports talk station played Stuart Scott's stirring acceptance speech and I was moved (I guess doubly moved since I was driving!). Later I ran across a reference to an acceptance speech by Michael Sam given last night. I believe both have something to say to us.
Michael Sam (first openly gay player drafted into the NFL) quoted Arthur Ashe, whose name is on the award Sam received (Arthur Ashe Courage Award) ...
Time to change directions. We have talked recently about guinea pigs. Even eating guinea pigs. Which is something that I didn't know that people did. At least on purpose. I did a quick Google and ran across this article ... From Pets to Plates. It makes me wonder ... if there are guinea pig ranches are there guinea pig cowboys?
Which brings us to today's Fact of the Day:
Have a great one Tobers.
Last night was ESPN's ESPY award show. I did not watch the program as I'm not a fan of industry award shows. I generally find them to be self-indulgent affairs. Driving into work this morning, however, the sports talk station played Stuart Scott's stirring acceptance speech and I was moved (I guess doubly moved since I was driving!). Later I ran across a reference to an acceptance speech by Michael Sam given last night. I believe both have something to say to us.
Michael Sam (first openly gay player drafted into the NFL) quoted Arthur Ashe, whose name is on the award Sam received (Arthur Ashe Courage Award) ...
"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."
I like that and it relates to my quote of the day:"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." - Zig Ziglar
Stuart Scott was been battling cancer since his diagnosis in 2007. We were talking yesterday about how our obituaries might read. One thing Stu said was: "It's how you live while you live." I think he has the right idea. The speech is moving and worth a listen especially if you have been touched in any way by cancer. Here it is ... SpeechTime to change directions. We have talked recently about guinea pigs. Even eating guinea pigs. Which is something that I didn't know that people did. At least on purpose. I did a quick Google and ran across this article ... From Pets to Plates. It makes me wonder ... if there are guinea pig ranches are there guinea pig cowboys?
Which brings us to today's Fact of the Day:
Each year, 86,000 Americans go to the emergency room because they trip over their pet.
Honestly, I don't know if I could eat a guinea pig, but after learning of all the emergency room visits, I think they have it coming.Have a great one Tobers.
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Kansas City
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WD - doubly moving - I love it!
True story. My grandma's cats tried to kill her! She has COPD and is on oxygen 24/7 as a result (don't smoke my friends!). She had two cats and those little jerks were chewing holes in her oxygen tubing. She was in and out of the hospital for months before they figured it out. Then about a month later she went to get out of bed and one of those little sh%ts tripped her. She shattered her ankle and was in the hospital for two months. Surgeries, blood clots, you name it and she had the resulting complications. At 86 years old (maybe any age) that is a big deal! Needless to say, we found them another place to live after that.
As for Guinea pigs, I just assume since big pigs taste like bacon the little ones would too! Yum, all this bacon talk is making me hungry!
True story. My grandma's cats tried to kill her! She has COPD and is on oxygen 24/7 as a result (don't smoke my friends!). She had two cats and those little jerks were chewing holes in her oxygen tubing. She was in and out of the hospital for months before they figured it out. Then about a month later she went to get out of bed and one of those little sh%ts tripped her. She shattered her ankle and was in the hospital for two months. Surgeries, blood clots, you name it and she had the resulting complications. At 86 years old (maybe any age) that is a big deal! Needless to say, we found them another place to live after that.
As for Guinea pigs, I just assume since big pigs taste like bacon the little ones would too! Yum, all this bacon talk is making me hungry!
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Hey guys and gals! Well don't know where to start.....EXCEPT.....I have NEVER seen guinea pigs on ANY menu in Costa Rica....LOL! Love the quotes WD...congrats to all hitting milestones....I have no idea of mine....got sober on Oct. 15th....that's all I know....this time, no counting for me. Well, made it from the Hilton to my sister's and she has been nothing short of a GODSEND. We are where we are meant to be at this very moment....I continue to believe that. I am trying to regroup, get a bit healthier.....while I am here. She was absolutely HORRIFIED at the way I looked upon arrival. Literally, skin and bones, clothes falling off of my body.....and exhausted. Getting better. Have seen my youngest daughter and that's all good (today)....haven't seen the oldest yet.....maybe soon. Flight is on the 26th and I CANNOT WAIT. DD, I do yachts, too 
Had a 2 hour WONDERFUL massage yesterday....compliments of my sis. Have often started writing my own obituary. I had to write both of my parents.....so I know that I want to write my own. No one knows me like I do! Have a great day all! Any word from Billr? Hey JL...good for you!
Had a 2 hour WONDERFUL massage yesterday....compliments of my sis. Have often started writing my own obituary. I had to write both of my parents.....so I know that I want to write my own. No one knows me like I do! Have a great day all! Any word from Billr? Hey JL...good for you!
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Join Date: Sep 2013
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Hey, Tobers. Incredibly exhausted. I am at my son's college and just finished up Day 1 of two days of freshman preview. It is so surreal to be on the parent side of things. I feel like I was just there at college. Anyway, I am so happy to be sober and aware for the whole experience. I no longer want my life to be fuzzy.
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WD, I loooove that Arthur Ashe quote. Gonna put it in my sobriety journal. Thanks for sharing!
Cindy, now you know why I'm a dog person instead of a cat person! Haha, kidding. I like cats, too, but I've always lived with someone highly allergic to them. I bet there was a lot of head-shaking in your family when they figured out it was the cats the whole time.
Trudging, glad to hear you've "righted" your situation. You have to help yourself before you can help others, and you can only help those who want it. (Turns out, the lesson doesn't just apply to alcoholics/addicts!)
DD, enjoy your time "at college"! I can only imagine how weird that must be.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Cindy, now you know why I'm a dog person instead of a cat person! Haha, kidding. I like cats, too, but I've always lived with someone highly allergic to them. I bet there was a lot of head-shaking in your family when they figured out it was the cats the whole time.
Trudging, glad to hear you've "righted" your situation. You have to help yourself before you can help others, and you can only help those who want it. (Turns out, the lesson doesn't just apply to alcoholics/addicts!)
DD, enjoy your time "at college"! I can only imagine how weird that must be.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Ohio
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Good morning, Tobers. I trust everyone is doing well today.
DD ... enjoy the college visit! Whenever I'm on a campus I can't help but notice how much younger the students seem compared to when I was in school. Is it that they're much younger or could it be that I'm that much older? Hmmmm.
I'm a dog person. I don't want no cat chewing through my oxygen line! I should report, however, that my golden retriever last night was playing with ... and subsequently put a hole in ... a swiss ball I use for core exercises. Oh well. At least he had fun.
I continue to be disciplined in my weight lifting routine and I have been very pleased with the results. The body is an amazing machine. I've only been doing this about a month and I feel so much stronger. I've always been slim and more of an endurance athlete, so I'm not looking to put on a lot of muscle mass. I'm stronger, "tighter" (if that makes sense), and have lost a bit of fat. All good!
Driving to work this morning it struck me how healthy I feel compared to just nine months ago. The only morning fog I worry about is the weather kind. Getting sober doesn't mean the rest of life's problems disappear, but don't lose sight of what you have accomplished in recovery. Life can be tough enough sober. How'd we ever cope when drinking?!
Two inspirational quotes today:
Carry on, Tobers.
DD ... enjoy the college visit! Whenever I'm on a campus I can't help but notice how much younger the students seem compared to when I was in school. Is it that they're much younger or could it be that I'm that much older? Hmmmm.
I'm a dog person. I don't want no cat chewing through my oxygen line! I should report, however, that my golden retriever last night was playing with ... and subsequently put a hole in ... a swiss ball I use for core exercises. Oh well. At least he had fun.
I continue to be disciplined in my weight lifting routine and I have been very pleased with the results. The body is an amazing machine. I've only been doing this about a month and I feel so much stronger. I've always been slim and more of an endurance athlete, so I'm not looking to put on a lot of muscle mass. I'm stronger, "tighter" (if that makes sense), and have lost a bit of fat. All good!
Driving to work this morning it struck me how healthy I feel compared to just nine months ago. The only morning fog I worry about is the weather kind. Getting sober doesn't mean the rest of life's problems disappear, but don't lose sight of what you have accomplished in recovery. Life can be tough enough sober. How'd we ever cope when drinking?!
Two inspirational quotes today:
"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying." - Michael Jordan
"I'm going to do the best I can. I'm not concerned with tomorrow, but with what goes on today." - Mark Spitz
And the Fact of the Day:"I'm going to do the best I can. I'm not concerned with tomorrow, but with what goes on today." - Mark Spitz
There is a SPAM museum in Austin, Minnesota.
Now, there's something to chew on.Carry on, Tobers.
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Join Date: Oct 2013
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Love the quotes and uplifting trivia WD....gotta share with hubby! A "spam" guy from childhood. Personally, I hate the stuff. Well....just when ya think things are turning around....lots to do yesterday, cuz I was returning the rental car (I don't really need it here, since I have SO much to catch up on). Older daughter and boyfriend were to meet me afterwards at my sister's. Well, I was running ALL day, late getting to rental car place, a HUGE disagreement ensued about the charges, and meanwhile, I guess my daughter was waiting here for me. I swear, first words out of her mouth, "Have you been drinking?" WHAT???!!!! THEN, she started telling me how she is "trying" to trust, yada yada....and started throwing my drunken past in my face. Gotta tell ya, I have been sober longer than I have NOT been sober.....but, apparently SHE only remembers the NOT sober times in between years of sobriety.....ENOUGH! I have just had it. THEN, following THAT emotional meltdown (on my part), hubby calls to find out why I haven't called HIM....saying that it is late and he is going to bed. Jeez.....I DIDN'T REALIZE it was 8:00 IN CA; 9:00 in CR. Here, the sun was still out. Dark there by 6:00....SO MORE SH** AND YET ANOTHER MELTDOWN. If I survive this trip.....I swear....I will be grateful! Can't believe it is Friday, already....but that means only 8 more days until I am in the land of Pura Vida again! YAY!
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WD,
Yup, thanks for the quotes. But I'd have thought the SPAM museum would have been in Hawaii!
As far as college kids go, I've been on college campuses for the last 26 years. In graduate school, we'd all talk about how young the incoming freshmen/freshwomen looked. Now I muse about how young the PARENTS of the freshmen/freshwomen look. All a matter of perspective.
Enjoy the weekend, Tobers!
Fishy
Yup, thanks for the quotes. But I'd have thought the SPAM museum would have been in Hawaii!
As far as college kids go, I've been on college campuses for the last 26 years. In graduate school, we'd all talk about how young the incoming freshmen/freshwomen looked. Now I muse about how young the PARENTS of the freshmen/freshwomen look. All a matter of perspective.
Enjoy the weekend, Tobers!
Fishy
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Trudging, the more you tell about what's going, the more we all are sending you hugs ! Also I'm reminded of why I keep a good safe distance from ppl and family that aren't any good for me. I so look up to you for doing what you do.
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Join Date: Sep 2013
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I am ashamed to admit that I let my children stay with my parents while my husband, my eldest child, and I were at freshman preview at my son's college. I honestly thought that they would watch their drinking while with the kids, because they watch themselves when they are around us. I came to find out that my dad had a martini and two glasses of wine every night at the restaurants they went to and would drive the kids home. I am very fortunate nothing serious happened. I can never allow this again.
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Join Date: Nov 2011
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DD ... I'm sorry. Tough when you can't have peace of mind when your kids are with your parents.
JL ... Good to hear from you. I hope you're doing well.
Today's quote:
After several months of sobriety, I hit a period where I was past the exciting days of early recovery and felt like I was in a slump of sorts. Sobriety became mundane. Is this how it would be the rest of my life? Boring.
I found this on Dr. Lynch's web page and it describes well what I experienced:
Carry on Tobers.
JL ... Good to hear from you. I hope you're doing well.
Today's quote:
"When you believe and think 'I Can,' you activate your motivation, commitment, confidence, concentration, and excitement -- all of which relate directly to achievement." - Dr. Jerry Lynch
I didn't know of Dr. Jerry Lynch, so I did a bit of checking. Turns out he is a sports psychologist. He advocates something called "the Way of Champions."After several months of sobriety, I hit a period where I was past the exciting days of early recovery and felt like I was in a slump of sorts. Sobriety became mundane. Is this how it would be the rest of my life? Boring.
I found this on Dr. Lynch's web page and it describes well what I experienced:
Know that this journey, this "way", is filled with obstacles. You will lose and you will fail. Yet this process is able to teach you how to go to the next level. The obstacles become challenges that you courageously embrace as opportunities to be tested, to learn and ultimately forge ahead. Plateaus will appear, and rather than get impatient or frustrated, you use these times to adapt to that level, master it and go on to discover levels beyond what you thought were limits. To force or try to make yourself push past the plateau will prove to be futile, counterproductive and discouraging. Plateaus are simply one more natural stop on the journey, time to refuel your emotional, spiritual, mental tanks, enjoy the moment, accrue the confidence from mastering that level and then advance not when you think you should, but when the time is right. Trust that when you go slower, you often arrive sooner.
Good stuff.Carry on Tobers.
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JL, you are two days away from a new liver!!
Whodey, I love the plateau quote. This whole sobriety thing does seem to come in waves. I was feeling complacent and bored just a few weeks ago but lately I have been feeling more comfortable and confident in my sober skin.
Whodey, I love the plateau quote. This whole sobriety thing does seem to come in waves. I was feeling complacent and bored just a few weeks ago but lately I have been feeling more comfortable and confident in my sober skin.
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Kansas City
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I love that bit about the plateaus. I am such an impatient person and always thinking what's next. This is a great approach to those times when I feel as though nothing exciting is happening. Really great stuff! Thanks, WD!
Rock on, JL!!
Rock on, JL!!
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Join Date: Feb 2014
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Feel better. Mind is clearer. Lots of new thoughts and leveling out going on. Got depression medication cut back to a fraction. Still only taking it every other day (don't tell my doctor). Got to get off of it. It works, but I've gained 30-35lbs over 3 months. That's horrible. I started getting on the treadmill last week again. My workdays start about 0330, so mornings are out.
One problem at a time, one day at a time.
One problem at a time, one day at a time.
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Ohio
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40 days is great, JL. Congrats!
No doctor here ... but be careful with changing your antidepressant dosage without consulting your doctor. If weight gain is your primary reason for cutting back, perhaps a different medication would work.
No doctor here ... but be careful with changing your antidepressant dosage without consulting your doctor. If weight gain is your primary reason for cutting back, perhaps a different medication would work.
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 2,049
Only problem to report is waking up in middle of the night with racing thoughts. Eventually go back to sleep so far. Lost almost 10 lbs in 2 days !! Hands aren't swelled and hurting til I can't stand it. Hope it continues to get better. Will watch for bad stuff and have a tablet with me as not to get caught without it and need it. Not under such terrible pressure at the moment like in the past
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JL ... The hand swelling and quick weight loss sounds like you gained a lot of water weight. I don't know about the antidepressant you're taking, but some medications need to build up in the body to be effective and reduction in dosage should be done over time. Do talk to your doctor about what you're experiencing.
It's a hot one today in Ohio. Happy to be working indoors with A/C!
I had a weird experience last night when preparing dinner. I always kept alcohol in the pantry and when looking through the pantry last night for ingredients, I had a wave come over me where I felt like I could smell and taste a drink. The feeling was brief, but it seemed so real and it made me long for a drink ... for a few seconds. Odd. Stay on your toes, Tobers!
Tuesday's Fact of the Day:
Here's a quote that may speak to some:
Have a great day.
It's a hot one today in Ohio. Happy to be working indoors with A/C!
I had a weird experience last night when preparing dinner. I always kept alcohol in the pantry and when looking through the pantry last night for ingredients, I had a wave come over me where I felt like I could smell and taste a drink. The feeling was brief, but it seemed so real and it made me long for a drink ... for a few seconds. Odd. Stay on your toes, Tobers!
Tuesday's Fact of the Day:
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
Now that doesn't have anything to do with sobriety, but it's fun! Here's a quote that may speak to some:
"Many of life's failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." - Thomas Edison
Don't give up, Tobers!Have a great day.
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