Sasha4

Eli - if you type something like derelictplaces.com into search, I think that should bring it up.
I will double check it for you though.
There are some amazing pictures on there.
I find it fascinating.
Let me know which ones you like won't you?

Perhaps you could start posting there?
I always remember seeing a derelict hotel about a mile into the sea in Lanzarote. I keep trying to find out more about it. Like why it's there, what happened to it, but no luck yet.

nostalgia

Hi elihoping,

I think what someone said is very accurate... focus on your recovery and then try and find new things to do. I am still trying to moderate my drinking and not quit altogether. I am bored a LOT, but I am thinking that it's worth it, considering that I am changing my life. I have realized recently, that I am not actually living my life, but drinking it away. Life is life and sometimes it can be boring, but you must accept that this is part of being alive. You must find peace even in the boredum.

A book I have recently read about alcoholism stated very insightfully, that as an alcoholic you must seek a life of peaceful relaxation, not a life of cheap quick thrills.

Since cutting down on alcohol, I have noticed an increase in my ability to focus, elevated mood, better sleep, and an increase in overall happiness. I believe it will get easier as time passes. Best of luck, friend!

Sasha4

Derelict Places

Thats the address of the site I go to.

nogard

So what do you do?

terribob

I'm hoping to get my Pilot's license as well. Enrolling in class is what I'm going to reward myself with at 30 days. I need some motivation to stay sober. It's really tough for me.

phoebe64

I like to read, make jewelry(with beads, not metal smithing), play with my kids, exercise, watch a few favorite TV shows, watch movies, Cook, do crafts or play games with my children.

elihoping

Nogard - I'm not sure yet! I would like to do something physical but also fun. Maybe a dance or a yoga class. I already watch way too much tv and spend so much time on the internet. I tend to isolate myself an awful lot, apart from work or meetings, so I'm trying to think of ways to mix with others. I went to a wall climbing class a couple of weeks ago which was fun so I might sign up for that again. Do you do anything fun?

MyCoolFitz - laundry and I are not friends. If I could afford to, I'd pay for it all to sent to a cleaners! Same with housework.

Sasha - thanks for that! Going off to look it up now!

Nostalgia - I do appreciate what you wrote but it's not cheap, quick thrills I'm seeking. At some point, there will be a life after early recovery and I'm interested in building a balanced, sober life. I post on plenty of threads about what I'm doing to deal with my addiction. How my sponsor explained it to me was that I'm building a bridge towards normal living. For me, that includes looking into what may be my future interests.

Terribob - Learning to be a pilot sounds terrifying/awesome!

Kevah, AnotherPaul, BabyJane - thanks for the great ideas!

stairs

I like to read, which drinking really interfered with. So it's great to get into a book because I can focus now. I love used bookstores!

Or going places I haven't been but meant to go...like today this family owned whole foods store out in the middle of nowhere and the founder was there handing out samples. She must be in her eighties. It was pretty cool.
Shopping for "pamper me" products is fun too. Like today I picked up some natural henna and organic clay facial mask, and some supplements...spelt flour to bake cookies with.

I volunteered at the literacy council briefly. Not sure if I'm going to keep that up but it did provide a fun experience with the training, meeting people outside the realm of meetings etc.
I'm not too down with housework either. I go through phases.

pkrma

Well, I only quit two weeks ago and the only thing thats changed so far is I do a lot more exercising because I think in the short term that's the main thing drinking got in the way of.

Friday and Saturday nights have been tough for me because all I've done is sit around and watch TV, which is all I usually do... but somehow it was always alot more satisfying with a beer in my hand. But then again, if you're satisfied sitting in and watching Dateline NBC on Friday night then... well I guess then you should know its time to quit.

I am thinking about going back to school. Last spring I took a grad school class, I realized with about a month left in the semester that I wouldn't be able to finish my project successfully unless I quit drinking, I needed an 'A' to get full tuition reimbursement. I did successfully quit for those 4 weeks, and I waited til I got my grade to start drinking again. When I saw that I got an 'A' I got pretty, pretty drunk. It was kinda worth it though. But the moral of the story is that booze definitely gets in the way of academic pursuits for me, shoot if I didn't start drinking when I was 15 I'd probably have a couple PhDs by now...

As far non-constructive activities, well I am a pretty huge adrenaline junky so it's hard for me to get excited about doing anything that doesn't involve the risk of bodily harm and/or death. I think I should probably get into mountain climbing at some point, seems like something you'd have to be sober to do. I love to snowboard but alas it is 50 degrees right now. I started open water swimming last summer which was actually pretty scary, but it'll be too cold for that for the better part of about 9 months. I really want to learn how to sail too, but I think that'll have to wait a few months also.

I am a musician, but I havent really played much of late. Usually when I play I music I drink alot. I've been in bands and I always thought the best perk to playing shows was all the free alcohol you get at the bar. I think I could probably get used to playing sober though, shoot I hope so. One thing I think I'd be much better at sober is recording, since working with the software/hardware requires some mental focus...

So to answer the question, 'What do you do for fun when sober?' I think I'll have to take an incomplete actually. I don't know yet, but sure I hope to figure it out soon...

MycoolFitz

Actually exercise, reading, SR, Comedy Central and talking to my mom without slurring.

hypochondriac

I don't think it's weird. It's only natural if you've been drinking for a long time.

I lost a lot of myself to drinking, and even though I have managed to keep going with a lot of the things I enjoy, I have certainly not been doing as much as I would have liked because I had to devote so much time to drinking.

Reading was always my obsession, but it's difficult to do if you're seeing double. That has been so nice to just read in the evenings once my mind quietened down enough.

And playing music. It is tough going back to playing in pubs but I have a set up where I play in a church too so that's a strictly no booze zone If you really are at a loss what to do Eli I could recommend learning to play something, that's enough to take up anyone's spare time!

Basically all the stuff I enjoy doing now is the same stuff I loved doing when I was 12, before I started drinking. What did you like doing as a kid Eli? x