You are being very reasonable, Lee. I relate to a lot of what you said about the financial stuff. You are "of sound mind (and body!)" now so I am confident you can make the right decisions. And of course talk through them here with us ;)

One year feels so close, doesn't it?!

Still going to bed crazy early. Hence, up at 4am and now on SR. Everyone is worried about the weather- seriously, bread and milk, y'all? How about rotisserie chx, fruit and ice cream? Debating whether to pick up any shifts this weekend because it could be very deserted....

Great days to all-
A

Your school will probably also make an offer for more money when they find out you're going to leave. Options.

Starting to rain here....temp is dropping.....oh, Atlanta, what's it gonna be this time???

I have roti chicken, veggies, popcorn, fruit, coffee and plenty of ice cream. All set.

Might work tomorrow as I am on the "pick up" list- my car isn't a good one to drive in sleet/snow/ice- so I probably will; if they decide to cut down on number of staff, probably won't. It could be really busy with neighborhood folks who can walk, and come over because they are bored and want to drink!

Be safe wherever you are this Fri-
A

Checking in. Busy but sober. Ghosting like OT. Keep marching.

Don't ghost us too much, Badge and OT.

Lee - Can't you have the best of both worlds? Keep working while studying part-time? Aug - I like the idea of making an effort towards more meaningful communication with parents when we usually feel to busy. Wow?!?! One year approaching. Cant even believe it!!! Ghosting is fine, checking in randomly is, drinking is not worth it. Remember. I threw a party today for work. Bought alcohol, served it. Surprisingly only one person had one glass of wine. Lots of coffee, waters, etc. Nice K later peeps!

Hey everyone,
Have had a great weekend. First one I have felt "well" from since early December. Sleeping much better too. I think my sleep cycles are regulating.

PHRD--Unfortunately the programs I am interested in are all full-time and require that level of commitment. It's frustrating because it appears most of my tuition/etc will be covered by a combo of scholarships and other aid, but with everything else (car, health insurance, etc etc) it would be many thousands of dollars for which I would be responsible. I've worked hard to accrue my retirement funds, and this would (feasibly) wipe out a LOT. So I will have to decide carefully.......so for now, I have to wait for my acceptances and offers......BUT, I have learned a lot. I DO have a great job and am lucky to have it with the security it affords in today's uncertain world. If I have to remain in what I do, I can find other ways to find fulfillment. I'm just proud of myself for staying the course and being willing to accept whatever outcome is to be.

Hope everyone else is OK. The holidays can be both joyous and tough. We are all so close to one year!!!
Keep strong and post,
Lee

Morning all-

Meeting the kids went really well! I got good reviews afterwards - nice, smart and comfortable to be around are great things to hear, reflecting where I am in my life, I think. I took my sponsor's and best friend's advice to focus on them; the older told his dad it was cool how I engaged and connected with his little sister. First building block of connecting everyone laid.

Two days off. The official work holiday party is tomorrow eve- thinking I will skip it. Had an opp to tell the owner about my sober time when he asked last week, so it's great there- no major reason to show up to the party, I don't think.

Just ice here, though I haven't driven yet today so don't know how much refreeze we've had. Very cold, though.

Day 320 here- sounds so close to 365 doesn't it- a month and a half!

Feeling good.

Take care, everyone-
A

Lee. Perhaps an in depth cost benefit analysis is in order. One for money and one for intangibles?

I thought the talk not too long ago about the pink cloud was interesting. I never got anywhere near that cloud. I started way down like the rest of your but my rise was very gradual and pretty much linear in nature. That is awesome that some of you feel you are still in that cloud. But maybe you are not in a pink cloud at all? Maybe you just hit normalcy rather quickly and are enjoying life the way its meant to be? Regardless it heartens me to see you all do so well.

340.4081 days since this journey began

I think so. I do refer to it as a pink cloud sometimes, but I also say it's where I live my life. It's my life - Now. My reality. I struggle with things- y'all see that!- but, really......I have absolutely everything to be grateful for, room for continued improvement, all kinds of good things ahead - I truly believe all of that. And live accordingly. That's why I work such a hard program and it isn't work- it's my life now. Maybe because I was SO sick and went through SO much over the last years, it's so dramatically different now and so precious to keep.

Like I say on the threads occasionally, I would wish my life on anyone.

Beautiful if cold here. Good meeting this morning. Nap coming up - off today and again tomorrow because it is the official company holiday party. Planning to skip it - another big drinking event at a fun place. Got a chance to tell the owner how I am doing the other day when he asked if I "made it through NYE" - all good on the work front as far as the confidence folks have and know about what I'm doing.

Take care, my friends-
A

Checking in quickly, not feeling very well right now. Bought a new camera today and got some extra stats work though so that's made me happy. Summary of my life. OT out.

Casper the friendly ghost here. Hanging in, glad all are doing well. Off to a work meeting this week. We might have the storm coming down from Northern Cali., not sure. The weather people here hype things up because we don't have weather really. Hope all who are in snow are staying toasty and be careful driving.

Insomnia attack! :damnit:

Hope you can rest OT.

Hi to all the night crawlers and ghost-y peeps. Take care of yourselves.

Half-watched the Golden Globes after we had dinner. I probably know who about half of the people are- the ones I know are old school, mostly, at that! The little tribute to Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds that just showed was sweet, and short.

Winding down for the night-
Til the new week, all
A

I watched some of the GG, but I save my energy for the Grammys on Feb 12. I'm probably one of the few people who actually care about the Grammys.

I love how a lot of us checked in with the Fort tonight.
August, big congrats on 320.
OT, hope you get some sleep.
Badge, my SoBro, I love your analytical mind regarding the Pink Cloud. I hope this is just normal living. I don't feel elated or euphoric, but I feel my emotions are much more stable now. I don't flip out over little things like I used to. Alcohol really messed up my thought patterns, emotions, body chemistry, . . pretty much everything about me. Who would have guessed that poison would be so poisonous! Shocking!!!!


The band is just fantastic
That is really what I think
Oh by the way, which one's pink?

Morning all-
Happy to wake up today, feeling good. Off to the early meeting then probably some time enjoying coffee at Panera. Seems to be a new habit I enjoy.

Make it a great day-
A

Grammys are my thing too