Gonnachange

Thanks Dee. So far so good.

I'll be spending the afternoon hiking with my wife and dog. There's no more clarity about our evening plans than what I wrote yesterday; maybe dinner at home, maybe dinner out, and as of now no social plans. Which ever way it goes it will be fine.

Gonnachange

Spent a couple/few hours hiking in wonderful weather. In about 30 minutes I'm going to dinner with my wife and daughter. Cuisine of choice is Indian as in the country not Native American. My plan for the balance of the evening involves watching the Mets-Cubs playoff game. The women have different plans; my wife will likely listen to music and my daughter is going to meet some friends.

Gonnachange

I had a very solid workout at the gym to get the week off to a fine start. It was a little surprising, in a good way, because our puppy has been sick so sleep the past two nights wasn't up to par. Fortunately she's better today.

SoberLeigh

Glad that your workout went well this morning, GC.

Have a great day.

Gonnachange

Enjoy your day also.

It's always nice to be pleasantly surprised and that's what happened at the gym this morning. I'll be taking my puppy for a walk this afternoon in the woods at the end of my block. Now that she's feeling better her energy level is back to normal so the walk has the dual purpose of giving both of us an opportunity to enjoy some decent, albeit it a bit cool, weather, and tiring her out. :-)

Gonnachange

I went for a short run this morning as well as a short walk with my puppy. Another walk will be happening in about 30 minutes.

Lots of family travel plans coming up starting this Friday with a weekend away visiting my son at college. Yesterday I bought his plane ticket to Europe where he will be spending his spring semester studying (hopefully) and traveling. I also bought a ticket for my daughter to visit my mother in Florida in the middle of December. She will also be going with me and my wife for another visit in February and in the beginning of April the three of us are flying over the pond to visit my son. I have not booked airline reservations for the latter two trips, but hope to do so this week. My credit card bill next month is going to be large, but that's okay because I found a dime at the gym yesterday. I really did find a dime, can anything be bought with ten cents anymore, but while I may faint when I get my next credit card statement the flights are all for good reasons and if my son has close to the experience abroad that my daughter did it will be life altering and I'm happy to give him that opportunity.

Making this more of a SR themed post, not spending money on alcohol certainly frees up funds to be spent in more useful ways.

Gonnachange

I ran into a person who lives in town a little while ago; not a neighbor, not a friend, and not even an acquaintance, just someone that has a son my son's age and during the past 15 or so years that he and his family have been here I've had occasion to see. Like today. And he's always been somewhat dismissive of me and a bit aggressive about how incredulous he is that I run a successful business, something that I do not take lightly and have let him know. Today's conversation really ventured into the realm of weird.

He was unusually friendly, which was fine by me and then he asked to borrow money. Not $5 type money, but an amount with a lot of digits. Think six on the left side of the decimal. Well that was an easy decision. I gave thought to ripping him a new one because it's just a ridiculous amount to ask for and also because of all the things he's said to me, but I took a few deep breaths and decided to take the high road, with just a small dig. "Sorry I'm not in a position to help you (which is the truth). I guess you were right about me not being talented about what I do."

After we parted I was fuming and the thought of a martini or three crossed my mind, but I played it through, beat the crap out of my AV, and decided that coming here to write about what I can only describe as lunacy was the better option. So I did. Thanks SR!

SoberLeigh

Great times ahead!!! A semester abroad will be an unforgettable experience for your son. He will enjoy showing you around when you visit.

SoberLeigh

Heavens, what an odd experience, GC.

There must be something going on with your neighbor - more than meets the eye.

Gonnachange

My daughter spent a year in Europe a couple of years ago studying in Ireland. She travelled while in school and spent almost two months travelling around the continent after the spring semester with a varying group of kids she graduated high school with. To your last point, my daughter visited the city my son is going to be studying in so when we're all together since my wife and I have never even been in the country they will be leading us. A bit odd, but it's all good.

Odd indeed!

There's A LOT more than meets the eye and while I've known about the long time false presentation of their financial situation, they're the poster family for living beyond one's means, I was absolutely caught off guard by the money request. Their house if up for sale, which should have happened a long time ago. They absolutely will not get what they're asking and after only two weeks have already dropped the price.

Time for dinner.

Gonnachange

Some friends are going to a local bar to watch tonight's Met's-Cubs game baseball playoff game. I've decided to watch the game sitting in my reclining chair in my den.

Gonnachange

I should have also mentioned in my previous post that I had a good lifting session this morning.

I have a busy day tomorrow, but hope to go out for a run. Ideally that will get done in the morning, but the puppy never fully recovered and if tonight and the ensuing morning are anything like what took place Tuesday night into Wednesday morning it's not going to happen. At least not early and with the specter of a possible vet visit now on my schedule I'm not sure when my I'll get a window.

Okay, I'm calling BS on myself. If I showed my normal amount of dedication I can find the time to run 3.5 miles; it's not like I'll be going on a 3 hour training run.

Time for dinner. Smoked chicken thighs and a garden salad.

Della1968

Hi what is going on with the puppers?? I know it's late in the thread to comment on this but I like that you talk about normal things. I like to feel like I am visiting with a friend. I don't want every thread I post on to feel like an AA meeting.

SoberLeigh

Hi, GC. Hi, Della.

Hope the visit to the vet goes well for the pup if younfind you need to take him; let us know.

Gonnachange

Thank you so much for your kind words. A few days ago (?) there was an exchange here that referenced how we all are so much more than our relationship with alcohol. Obviously some are more successful with the process and have overcome their issues and others are still on their respective journeys, but we're not one dimensional and I am not willing to be defined by just that .

It's not who I am and while I don't want to bore anyone with the minutia of my day to day, I am willing to share thoughts and events that have nothing to do with alcohol. I can't speak about AA meetings because I've never been to one; the closest was an Al Anon meeting because of my ABIL. As I'm sure it's obvious, I don't get much feedback so my style probably doesn't resonate with many on SR, but I've always been about quality and not quantity so I don't have an agenda of having lots of followers. Not that more interaction would be a bad thing and I'm not implying that folks on SR write to achieve that, but I will write that I appreciate the contributions of those who do respond in this journal because lending support on SR is nobody's profession, we all have many tugs in our lives, and there are people who need more support than I do. All is good.

Thanks for asking about the puppy. She's been having stomach issues for a few days. That's a polite way of saying diarrhea. I thought we were past it yesterday, but last night and this morning did not go well. Since about 6 AM today she's been fine so we're keeping our fingers crossed that there's not a repeat of what went on previously. Also, don't think that whatever is happening has diminished her energy with the exception of a very brief time.

In closing, thanks for stopping by and being in my corner.

Gonnachange

Looks like we cross posted. Short version of events is that she's been fine since about 6 AM, but if there's a reoccurrence of last night I'll be dialing in the morning. I'll post here about whatever the outcome is.

Thanks for your concern and FYI, the pup is a girl.

Have a great night SL and Della; I'm off to watch some baseball.

SoberLeigh

Go Cubbies!!!!!!

Gonnachange

From my perspective, fortunately the outcome was otherwise. At the beginning of the playoffs I felt that if neither of the NY teams would win it all I wanted the Cubs. Guess they're going to have to wait until next year, like they have since 1908 to become champs or 1945 to just make it to the World Series. I think they have a good young team and with Theo Epstein as their GM I wouldn't be surprised if they're contenders in the coming years.

Puppy Update

Her stomach has settled and she had a restful night, but is not as full of energy as she normally is. I'll be taking her on another walk in a short while, which may perk her up.

Run Update

As for me, I did go for the run I wrote about yesterday.

SoberLeigh

I wanted the Cubbies to win as it has been so long since a Series win for them. I hope that they do well next year, too. In any event, they had a very good year.

Hope the pup does well on the walk.

Glad to hear that you got the run in!!!!

Gonnachange

Your reasoning was why I decided I was going to pull for the Cubs if it didn't conflict with the NY teams. They're much improved from the past few years, but I'm sure there's disappointment in the clubhouse.

The pup did well on the walk and thanks about my run.