Viperidae

Thanks guys.

Canguy, yeah... that Japan thing is tough. I know exactly those clubs that you're talking about. And the 'drink together and we are friends' thing is definitely big there. Imagine if you went to Russia or worse yet Chenya and some guys asked you to do shots of vodka? If you said no you'd end up floating in the river with a bullet in you. Good to know that Thai folks don't care. I've got a buddy teaching English in Vietnam. At home here, he was a drunk. Not just drunk, but a mean and depressed drunk. Like me he hated everything about the place. He got it together and took every penny and went for his CELTA (very good English teaching certificate) in Vietnam, met the Thai girl, married her and has many years sober and makes good money. He moved up quickly because he was sober. Vietnamese don't care it seems. But if you have a nice wife, why would you need to care anyway? I dunno.

That's always been a thought in my head. I get good and sober and the woman of my dreams is like, 'hey, why don't I stop by tonight and bring some wine?' Dudes and dudettes, I have not had a woman in 100 years. I don't know what the heck I'd do. Obviously the answer is 'no.' I probably haven't been with a woman for so long because of drinking anyway. It can't hurt, in any way, to be sober. There is no way it could get worse. And... I'm not bad, I mean, I'm a 'decent' looking guy. In shape, look young, smart. Uggghh. So lonely.

Rascal, I need a shop of my own. I wish I had something I could build or fix. I'd even go back to tech school at this point. Ivy Legue liberal arts degree, like, I need to be a writer. You know how hard that is? Rather fix motorcycles. College was on scholarship, tech school I need to come up with $30k.

V

canguy

Well, it's not really that Thai people don't care. The men are obsessed with whisky and the women are sick to death of it. The men drink themselves to an early end and the women are left to look after the family. It becomes a defacto matriarchy. The whole thing run by the Queen Bee. You have no chance in Thailand if you can't work out which of those older ladies is the QB and get her favour. And to get it you probably have to pay her 'cousin's'debt to the local loan shark, 20% a day compounding. Maybe one....big family, the debts just go on. Don't go there......

There's an expat joke: She'll loves her mother, the family, the King...then you.

Daucuscarota

Vipe-----keep putting one foot in front of the other. You will get where you want to be, one step at a time.

Viperidae

Hahahaha! I'm laughing out loud! Dude, I've read about those situations. I'd end my record of celibacy over there in a day and find myself in a spider's web. Nope!

Belize, I'm thinking Belize for winter. It's going to be July soon. I've got 3 days in a pristine room to research on my laptop.

Time to take my meds. This bed is amazing. The shower was amazing too. I guess I spent too much, but this is nice. The cabin will not be like this. Gotta go to the outhouse unless you're a girly girl. It's worth the pristine natural surroundings.

WATCH OUT FOR MOOSE signs all day. This is a large state. You get out of CT and MA fast, then you hit the vast VT. It's big with a low population. The roadways get coarse for traction in terrible weather. I took a 'Route' for a while which ran parallel to the Interstate. It seemed like motorcycle paradise. No cars. Just forests and curves. If it's not a truck, I think every Vermonter drives a Subaru. You'd never get anywhere past October without 4 wheel drive. And they aren't the CT Subarus (Platinum - Kardashian Edition, with heated seats made from the skin of endangered species), they have the Base Models here. I like that. They call this The Green Mountain State. Vermonters call us Flatlanders. Haha! Flatlanders. Aaahhhh. Hilarious.

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axeman5971

Vipe - the woman in your dreams would be happy to leave the wine and just spend time with you. Look for her.

I decided to consider a night at my parents house if I don't feel like this house is good for sober me tonight. Change of scenery

axeman5971

Also started pondering leaving my stressful job. It's seeming like the last big trigger I have.

Viperidae

Axe, True Dat!

This place, Burlington VT is amazing!! Best decision I've made in 6 months. That CT where I live is crushing me. I am so happy I did this. Sober. More later. Im on lake Champlaign. Vermont people are nice! At least Burlington. I'm finding a way to earn online and going to travel on the cheap. It's all over. It's already done.

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Dee74

I think it's impossible to live an entirely stress free life Axe - maybe you'd be better off looking at other healthier ways to deal with stress?

D

axeman5971

Dee - I definitely have to work on stress. I do think it's exercise but also reducing the source.

canguy

Mista Axe.

Don't quit your job.
Get off drinking and it won't be so stressful.

Ok?

canguy

I just need to sleep and sleep. I have to sit on this plane for 10 hours . Then its hours in the car all through northern Tokyo out to Saitama. The endless beeping GPS. We'll probably just sit on the highway handing the bottle of duty free Gordons best back and forward and talking.

Cangirl escaped the chinese cultural revolution....it took her whole family. She was sent to a factory as a 'hooligan' . Spared only because her father was a doctor and they needed them. Now she's a millionaire with apartments in Tokyo and Shanghai. I've been there....they are tiny.

Not an American life guys......

Viperidae

Vermont is a breath of fresh air. I'm about to take a long nap. I think I drank Thursday which would make this day 4, but it could be 5. In any case I should feel like garbage on day 4 and I do. Hotel bar and even a free hotel shuttle to the main drag and lots of bars, and I have zero desire when I leave that crushing State. A 'girl' up here just described CT as toxic. She's from there. She's right.

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Viperidae

Ok so it's day 5. And I definitely feel like a pile of dog poop. Must have been really hooked again. This is going to take 10-14 days. Luckily nothing is expected of me for a while. I don't have to do anything at the cabin. If people aren't waking me up with their stupid walking around and stuff (note: get earplugs). At least I'm getting it done. Usually going through this makes me not want any booze. None of my triggers are here either. And it fortifies a long effort. I suppose even if I can't sleep too much up there I'll be getting through the days it takes.

I'm hiding out sleeping in the hotel room after I went out for some coffee. Tomorrow is a 2 hour drive to the cabin. Vermont is a much larger state than I am used to. Don't know how I'd handle Texas, Montana, etc, humongous.

Brutal. No sweats or shaking, but serious exhaustion and joint pain and headaches, very tight tendons. My assumption is it's booze related. Go with the simplest explanation. Wait it out.

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axeman5971

Canguy - you're right, but you're also wrong. I know I can do a lot better and be a lot less stressed when I am taking care of myself.

There's still a lot of stress in my industry - good old fashioned advertising. I can't/won't name names, but we have one client that is certifiable. One day we will be planning a huge campaign that will change their category forever - so we have to stay late and develop a campaign down to the smallest detail, the next day we have major budget cuts and everything goes away.

Oh, and I work on about 2 dozen clients. Eek!

Viperidae

Axe if you are willing to take a chance or accept less money, why the heck not quit that job? I'm not advising it, just asking. I'd rather be buildinging clocks with Rascal. You only live once and if 1/3 of your entire life is work, and I mean work as something you dont love, what's the use? We are human beings not robots.

Viperidae

I went ahead and jumped in with June too. I'll need the support from all of you in both groups. I want to reinvigorate this!!

axeman5971

Vipe - it's worth thinking about. I do like what I do and the people I work with, it's just too much stuff at times, bandwidth wise. I also wish I could fire a few clients!!!

Viperidae

QUESTION: I've lost grip with sobering up. On day 5 sober after drinking 3 times a week, total exhaustion that had me sleep ALL day long and starting to break out with acne pretty bad. That's sheer detox right???

Axe yeah, food for thought. It seems like you have a good job, and people need a job in this society. It's not Sweden. Your job could be a lot worse and provide very little money.

Part of my entire breakdown as a young man was knowing (somehow inside) that I could not live the 9-5 life. I'm old now and trying to figure out how to make make my own money and do it from anywhere. Online possibly. It's been done... a lot.

PurpleCat

Hi guys. Been a good week for me so far. Did have a couple of arguments with the AV, but it lost.

I've read a lot of calls for change. Seems to me that one can only work on one serious change at a time, and change for change's sake may not always be a good thing. Just food for thought.

Dee74

Yeah PC.

Remembering how volatile and changeable I was at the beginning I'd also urge an abundance of caution.

Stopping drinking is the obvious change everyone can make, right now, without moving homes, or changing jobs.

None wants to make decisions based on how they feel now and find they feel a different way in 3 months time.

D