Someone from a meeting works in my office
 

Last night i tried a different meeting, a little further from my home, about 8miles maybe from my work.
there were a cpl of faces i recognised from other local meetings.

This morning ive come to work and one of the guys from the meeting works at my place, ive just seen him come up to one of my colleagues, i almost spat my cup of tea all over the monitor.


i panicked a bit and it made me feel really uncomfortable, i dont know why as i know its anonymous and hes there for the same reason as me, it just worried me as no one at work knows. Im a a contractor and i cant have anyone knowing or likely ill be down the road.

He just aknowledged me and that was that, now ive calmed down i feel ok, it was just a shock to see him out of the context of the meeting,

to be honest when i was in the meeting i thought i maybe recognised him , but put it down to just because it was local meeting may have seen him somewhere at some time in the past.

hopefully its like fight club, first rule of fight club, you dont talk about fight club !!

I see people outside of meetings in lots of different scenarios. Not once have I ever had anyone mention a meeting or recovery. Everyone I know tends to keep it hush. The key is in the name. Have a chat the next time you see him at a meeting. This isn't something you should be afraid of. Instead you should embrace it. Someone in recovery is always around you.

Natom.

Dont worry baddog,I am sure he knows the yellow card,who we see here ,what we hear herewhen we leave here,let it stay here

As long as you are both sober I am sure your anonymity is protected.

Wishing you well.

LOL, the world becomes VERY small when you are in AA. It's amazing when you start realizing how many people are in recovery that you had NO CLUE about.

I felt weird, too, the first time I ran into someone I knew at a meeting, but now I just get all warm and fuzzy inside. Always nice to meet a fellow trudger!

yeah it was just a shock, ill speak to him next time i see him at a meeting.

it was wierd as everyone knows that the only people in AA are wino tramps and lost hopers and not professionals with normal lives

:headbange
(thats a joke of course)

i know what you mean about a small world, i started going to AA in December in the town i was working away in at the time, first time i went to a meeting in my home town , the lady running it that week is from the same village as me and ive known her years as were both in the same line of work. She was suprised to see me as wed not spoke for a few years and i didnt have a problem then, but just happy to see that i was seeking help and hoped that the meetings would help.

I absolutely LUV seeing other members
outside meetings on the street, stores,
resturants. I feel like we are in an exclusive,
special club meant to be just for us who
are addicted to alcohol or drugs. :)

Seeing familar faces makes me smile and
filles my heart with happiness and graditude. :)

One the back of our Harley Road King is our
AA symbol sticker in red. On the back window
of my car is my AA symbol also in red. What I
love about stickers is that no one knows what
it stands for except those in recovery. While on
the road traveling on our destination, even to
Sturgis, a big bike ralley, cars or bikes may pass
us giving us the thumbs up sign or wave or blow
their horn.

We smile and respond back with a happy jesture. :)

I also wear a gold AA symbol pendant on a black
leather cord around my neck all the time for a long
time and is just a part of me. No one has commented
on it yet and is a personal reminder to me that AA
recovery is a part of my life each time I look in the
mirror.

Just recently my husband and I were at a local
grocery store checking out when a man standing
behind my husband caught my eye. I didnt know
him, but he kept looking at me which made me
wonder why. Anyway, we headed out the door to
our car when I heard, Ma'am, and I turned around
when the man said that I looked familar to him
and we both tried to think why. Then I pointed
to my AA pendant and mentioned AA and a meeting
place. He smiled and said yes, i remember you now,
you are the one with all the pretty tattoos. WOW, I
was shocked he remembered me and my tattoos when
I dont recall ever talking to him. :)

I was soooooo excited as i got in the car and
shared with my husband. I guess you never know
when someone whether it be recovery or not will
be put in your path for whatever reason it maybe. :)

So true. We are everywhere.

Me too! I wish we had a secret signal to give or see, that only we could know about. I'm sure there are some around me in my new job but I haven't run into them yet.

Oh and to the OP, don't forget they too are in the program, and so they might be worried about you blowing their cover too.

Our NA group dealt with this issue last night. The meeting was not listed in the newspaper, because some members worried that the community would identify their cars at the meetings. Well, we've been talking about putting it in the newspaper for a few weeks, scheduled the decision last night, and no one against the idea stayed for the business meeting. So we'll see if that scares anyone away or attracts new members.

This is not just a small town, I live on a small island. By going to meetings, one pretty much makes the decision to be "out" in the community as a recovering addict. OF COURSE, when I meet fellows, we do not mention meetings.

we ARE everywhere!! Make this person your FRIEND/SOBER BUDDY in the office; only an addict understands how this is for us. You are very fortunate to have the support from someone who understands.

Alcohol addiction is as unexplainable to a non-alcoholic as someone who smokes (and no judgement here! I just never started thank goodness!) trying to tell me what "pleasure" there is in smoking.

I am so glad I never started that one.

Worse than what you have is an AA person who works at a liquor store who "caught" me buying alcohol to feed my last relapse; I could see the pain in her eyes... maybe that is what has made me work toward sobriety ... sigh... again.

I spoke earlier up top about how I would
wear my AA pendant around my neck all
the time and no one as of yet has noticed
it until today.

My husband and I were out and about this
morning doing our weekly shopping at Walmart,
and Lowes. While browsing around the isles
a voice began talking to me saying something
then i acknowledged him, a store employee.

He smiled and said he liked my necklace and
I emmediately grabed it and smiled. Then he
showed one of those rubber recovery bracelets
turned upside down on his arm under his sleeve
to acknowledge he was also in recovery.

He seemed so excited to recognize someone
in recovery wearing a recovery symbol like
he was. We then chit chatted a bite about
recovery as he shared a name of someone
he was related to with lots of recovery and
has been a recovery councilor for many yrs.

After I heard this mans name, i told him that
he was also one of my councilors in rehab back
in 1990 and that I knew him.

Later as I sat in the car thinking about what I
had just encountered, i was simply astounded
and amazed at how recovery works in my life.

Here I was a few days early sharing something
that has never happened and today it did. Unbelievable.

:c041:I guess i'll never know why this guys path and
mine crossed today and how we both have
someone else in recovery in common. Id have
to say that it is extremely rare for something
like that to happen to me if not at all.

So I have to believe that my HP had a hand
in this encounter today.

I absolutely love recovery. :c014:

baddog, I recognized a lot of people when I went to AA, it made me feel better that I was not alone. I wouldn't worry too much, I'm sure he feels the same. ;)

I've run into members around town.. It is a great feeling being a part of a secret society!!

Hey I'm from leeds too :) even the www is small haha.
Don't worry i'm sure he will be as anxious as you to keep this private, don't let it affect your recovery.

Oh my gosh, I cannot fathom the pain of working AA and then turning around and selling alcohol to people... It blows my mind that someone could do that.