IWLSAST

Crazy busy - just time tio say a sober HELLO!

GG, 43 looks good on you.

Welcome, Mark...

Cour, hope you were in the Burg for the parade - it looked amazing. Hey, making fun of The Cathedral of Learning...that's MECCA for we University of Pittsburgh grads. I gave tours for the in my early days on campi.

Worked hard all week at my pending sale of all my worldly's this weekend. Today is golf and rest.

Gotta dash - - - - - - --

No drinking here today

Carlos

Mark1014

Thank you for the welcome Carlos.

The portion of your post about ridding yourself of material stuff struck a chord with me. It seems that new and interesting experiences seem to be my new treasures.

And yes c2, that trip to the Southern Hemi was very meaningful. I'm an introvert by nature. Trying to be otherwise via alcohol has gotten me into trouble. My work requires me to be 'on' all day and I've found that I need time alone......my wife is mostly understanding. I'm also very much an outdoor/fitness enthusiast.....New Zealand fits me like a glove. An ongoing pursuit on this sober journey is trying to be ok with my leaning to introversion yet not isolate. I do see the value in getting out of my comfort zone. For some reason, in places far and away, I find it easier to engage with locals and my hosts (Airbnb) etc.. I try to bring a little of that Mark home with me each time. I actually like him ok.

Gilmer

Huge exam tomorrow encompassing ten different types of verbs and all their idiosyncrasies.

I've been completely bombarded for a solid month.

I'm taking the exam tomorrow afternoon, and I've spent the entirety of the last two days studying. I actually think it's all starting to come together for me now.

At any rate, I'm fried.

Wish me a sound night's sleep!

stargazer016

Good luck tomorrow Gilmer and sweet dreams!

Gilmer

Thanks!

Delizadee

I hope you sleep well too, Gil. And good, positive, intelligent vibes coming your way! I'm sure you'll do great And I hope you get some rest from it all soon enough?

Wow, what a great page and a half or so to catch up on!!
You guys are amazing. Always feel like if you are listening properly you'll hear what you need to hear... this was good and I am grateful to you all.
It's hard to stay active in recovery and taking good care of yourself when your life revolves around 'work'. I haven't been to a meeting in a while.

I hope you are all well otherwise. No drinksies here tonight.

PhoenixJ

support G. Make sure to ration your exam time. Eat, hydrate...blah.

Dee74

best wishes Gilmer

D

Gilmer

Thanks, you guys!

I need to stay grounded by faithfully maintaining my morning SR surf!

FBL

Best of luck, Gil. I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors!

More work on my side project this weekend. Keeps me out of trouble.

Have a great weekend, gang!

Mark1014

Good luck with the exam Gilmer. What a relief it'll be to get that checked off, then maybe you can enjoy a bit of down time for the weekend. Being new to the thread, I don't know what your academic pursuits are. A new degree maybe?

Happy Saturday all.

gleefan

Hi everyone!

Mark - Welcome!

Gilmer -Good luck on your exam!!

It's been a really unusual week and a half or so at work. Last week, I had to address an issue where it was suspected that a person on my team was under the influence the previous night. He was delirious and unable to properly process his work. I decided not to terminate him - yet and he pushed back when he was placed on warning! This week a woman on staff confided in me that she was suicidal. I had to keep her occupied and talking while my colleague called 911. These situations aren't the norm in my role, but they are part of the job. I'm grateful that I can address these situations calmly, without exploiting the individuals affected, by using my recovery tools. Just as my hp would want!

I've always wanted to be a social worker, who people trusted and could count on, who handled emotional crises. When I feel like I could use a drink, I remember that I wouldn't be getting paid to handle these unique situations if I drank!

Stargazer - For me, the spiritual component of my days' events cannot be overlooked. On Tuesday when I handled the suicidal woman, would you know that I heard from the closest people in my recovery network?? I could rationalize that it was a coincidence, but it feels so much more warm and fuzzy to say there are no coincidences.

Courage - I'm glad your colleague turned out to be like minded about the conference.

Del - A positive attitude will get you far. Work is hard, long, and tiring sometimes, but it allows for some stability and predictability.

Carlos - Hey #12, I hope you have good weather for your garage sale.

Have a great sober day all!

courage2

Conjugate pretty, Gilmer!

Deliza, I hope you can make it to a meeting. It's so important not to let sobriety get lost in the details of getting through. Meetings and posting help keep a focus on the big theme of recovery...the big chance... a life story instead of a wasted existence.

Carlos, I just missed the parade in Pittsburgh -- flew out around noon. To be honest, the most I can say about the Stanley Cup is that it has something to do with hockey. Right?

I hope your move is going as smoothly as can be expected. Moving's like giving birth, everyone knows a horror story. Wishing you a safe delivery of the things that matter, and a gentle shedding of the stuff you leave behind.

Glee, how are you?

courage2

Hey glee -- we cross posted. What a week you describe! For the sake of your colleagues, I'm glad you have so much sense and wisdom. No one needs to know that you earned it the hard way

stargazer016

I hope the test went well Gilmer!

It's amazing the personal problems that one has to deal with in management, isn't it Glee? It is great that you handled them so well!

stargazer016

Also wanted to warn ya all that I have been reading this thread back from the beginning. Quite the cast of characters on this thread!

Gilmer

I think the test went well. Thanks for rooting for me. It was even harder than I expected.

Going to relax and vedge tonight--I'm constitutionally incapable of anything else!

By the way, Mark, I'm trying for my Masters. I ended up getting my Bachelors at age 53, and now I'm 57. I'm only taking one class at a time, so Lord willing I will be finished in 2020-2021.

Keeps me out of mischief!

Gilmer

I feel like I haven't been acknowledging anybody's posts here lately.

I've been reading and caring, but my brain wasn't able to process any more input--much less string thoughts together to make an applicable comment.

Hope my brain bounces back soon. Not only was I mentally drained, but also surprisingly emotionally drained.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

stargazer016

So I read Courage throw out a challenge about Traffic, Clapton and Blind Faith a few months back. I totally agree with her opinion on Clapton. Except for Derrick and the Dominos, not a lot of emotion there. I never have listened to the entire Blind Faith album, except for the two radio friendly hits.

I loved Traffic in my earlier years, though the music hasn't aged very well. I did get to see two shows on the 1994 Traffic Reunion Tour, sans Dave Mason, when they opened for the Dead. I was sitting at the top of Giant's Stadium across the water from you Courage when I squinted and saw Jerry come out to play with Traffic. I had no idea that this was filmed at the time.

My vote-Traffic!

courage2

Nice observation that Traffic hasn't aged well. But they don't make me feel vaguely icky like the others.

Gilmer, give yourself a good break. Calgon? No -- a cigar!

I almost completely wasted the day. On the other hand, I'm not wasted.