saoutchik

Late Summer '14 - the London Underground rail network was awash with "STOPTOBER" ads. (in 2019 "Go sober in October is the strapline) A laudable aim to get normies (not alcoholics like me) to quit booze or ciggies for a month.

At that time I was fast approaching the event horizon of alcohol oblivion, half a bottle of whiskey weekdays more at weekends. My insides were a mess and I was in constant pain combined with a perma-hangover. I did try stopping managing a 49 day spell in 2011 but my best since 2013 was only 17 days.

I did no research, the idea was to resist with willpower until the cravings went away. It never worked, merely underscoring Einstein's famous comment about madness. It was in this state that I hatched the plan to quit for charity and I made a big deal of it getting pledges totalling £500 +

Of course it failed I lasted 23 days and I now know that attempting to fight my alcoholism by quitting for charity is dumb squared. It did however set off a train of events.

Firstly I am faced with a dilemma. Do I do the right thing, own up and not collect the pledges? No, I don't do this because of potential repercussions for my job not to mention the scorn of friends and colleagues. What I did do to assuage the guilt was to chip on with a large donation of my own taking the amount up to £1K which in turn got me an invite to the charity's Halloween Ball for 2 years (drinks served after midnight)

Secondly it made me cast around for help and one cast fell on SR. I lurked for a couple of months, quit booze on 30th Dec '14 and joined SR in mid Jan and thanks to all the support and advice I received I'm still sober and that is a big confidence booster. Hats off to all of you for that (Top Hats on this case)

The Avatar? Me dressed as Alice Cooper at the same event in 2015 when I was 10 months sober. It's only temporary, the Penguin will return in a day or two.

Kaily

Great post Sao.

least

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Nonsensical

Who quits on December 30?

Somebody who wants to change their life, that's who!

Mags1

Good honest post Saou

dpac414

Great post Sao!! And thanks for sharing your awesome costume. Although I admit it does feel strange to imagine a person behind the username instead of a penguin. :P

saoutchik

Sorry about the length of the post. I didn't start it with the intention of writing War and Peace.

There is a long and frankly tedious story about that which I won't bore anyone with, suffice to say I thought it was New Year's Eve and then blacked out.

harriet11

That's a great share Sao, thanks! I love that phrase "fast approaching the event horizon of alcoholic oblivion" brilliant.

Love the top hat but I wish these avatars were just a bit bigger, they're so tiny. It looks like you're wearing John Lennon type dark glasses but that must be the AC style make up. Looks a bit steam punk too, a good look.

So, what's the story behind the penguin ?

harriet11

Dee74

Thanks for sharing that Sao

D

STDragon

Curious about the job bit. I've seen more than one co-worker get sacked over drinking. Tho no where near tip-top condition, managing to do well in my job only bolstered my drinking.

saoutchik

harriet I did sponsor two Humboldt penguins at London Zoo - Hank and Grizelda. Hank is sadly no longer with us though he lived to a great age for a penguin. (19) Grizelda is still very much alive though she is getting on now too.

saoutchik

Dragon I was reaching the point where my alcoholism had begun to impact on my performance at work and one or two people had commented on my appearance and performance including the boss. I work for a small company and I didn't have confidence that in finding out I was an alcoholic they would be supportive - I feared the opposite, that they would get rid of me. Now that I have a long period of sobriety behind me I am less coy about it but I do still think I did the right thing in keeping it quiet.

harriet11

Oh thanks, for some reason when I first saw the penguin avatar I imagined it meant that you were Canadian (well, it gets very cold up there) and now I know . That's lovely

Fusion

A brilliant post Saoutchik, and I love the photo too,! You do the makeup, costume and stance, better than the real one!

andyh

Canada's a long way from the South Pole though.

which reminds me of my favourite Wikipedia caption:



good on you Sao

saoutchik

Thanks Tatsy! That pic was taken outside my sister's house in the late afternoon. (it was here who did the makeup) Some young kids were out trick or treating - I scared the **** out of them


Andy, that is an extraordinary photo on all sorts of levels, not least the fact that the bagpiper stuck with wearing a kilt in god knows what temperature.

harriet11

I thought huge flocks of them migrated north in winter. A lot of Canadians keep penguins in their backyards instead of chickens.

Venecia

That is the kind of inspiration that shines a light on the path for newcomers. Thank you, Sao!

STDragon

They fly to tropical places...


https://youtu.be/9dfWzp7rYR4