New Alcohol self help

sparrer

Hi Lewt an' all

Drinking aftershave - I'm not surprised she was sick! I never got to the stage of doing anything like that and feel for anyone who does...I was always in the (un)fortunate position of being able to afford my litre of voddie every day.

I hear what you say re finding a balance, it's another question that I don't think there's an answer to.

I was supposed to go to a local meeting this evening but it was just so cold. Felt a bit guilty but I got a call, which I'd have missed if I'd gone, from someone asking me if I could do her service for her tomorrow so I feel sort of exonerated

Are you still in HK, or were you there on business? And brodev I think was in Portugal, or was it Scotland? My memory is shot to pieces these days! Think it was my GP who said the only cells that can't regenerate are brain cells - I'm walking proof of that.

Anyway thank you for the reply,
yours in fellowship
sparrer

brodev

Hi Sparrer, you are by name a sparrer. I am by nature a swallow. I migrate between Scotland and Portugal with the seasons. As it is winter I am in Portugal just now.
As far as alcohol in food and other things go I do what I am comfortable with. I respect anybody else who does something different to me but the person I have to live with 24/7 is ME. Therefore I have to be true to myself. If I meet a situation that I have not come across before and I do not know what to do I err on the side of caution. Then I find out what I can and make my decision. I take into consideration that my alcoholic head is always trying to fool me.

sparrer

brodev I wasn't a sparrer til I smoked for too many years and got some sort of lung prob (copd), now I really can't sing :doh:.

Oh yes, I remember Scotland...the wettest place I've ever been. What I'll never forget though are the stunning colours, and the vastness of the sky - they're still in my mind after almost 20 years so it wasn't all bad :rolleyes:. I also went to Portugal once, one of my main memories was of taking a bus from Alvor to Lagos via the villages. It was a very bumpy ride, so much so that not only was the woman opposite my then OH jumping up and down, after a particularly big bump she ended up on his lap :rotfl:. Most of the passengers including OH thought it was hilarious, but when we did the same journey a few days later she got on the bus, saw him and went and sat at the far end!

brodev

Alvor is a lovely little town and Lagos is quite a busy place now. The road between them is fairly smooth now. I am in Lagos area just a little west of the town in Praia da Luz.

lewt

Hi sparrer i dont live in HK no, my mum and dad moved there, one of the joys of me getting well is them being able to get on with their lives and not worry about me. i hope to be going there in febuary again which i am looking forward to.

sparrer

Morning...(okay afternoon, I'm a late riser)

I loved Alvor brodev, I would like to go back one day but at present my hols are spent taking my dear ol' (87) Mum wherever she wants to go.

Lewt re HK, what an amazing place to retire to. Your parents will certainly be kept as busy as they want to be..

I watched a film last night, Leaving Las Vegas. I know, I know, everyone except me has seen it already! There was one scene a few seconds long, he was just walking from one room to another with bottle in hand but the attention wasn't particularly on the bottle, it was just a natural extension of his hand. His eyes were so like the eyes of an alkie. He wasn't there, he was trying to concentrate on what he was doing but he was subconsciously focused on the next drink. His skin, his posture, even his clothes shouted alkie. For those few seconds I felt it with him and felt very, very scared and very sick. I'm coming up for 4 years in Feb but the fear and reality of what lifting the first glass will do, will never leave me while I see things like that.

Today I have my meetings and sevice and am ever grateful when I see a new member come into the rooms. They're all reminders of where I was and where I could be today but that film, or rather that scene...shook me to my boots

Thanks for letting me ramble..

Sparrer

lewt

sad film huh...
mum has retired my father is still working.. we was head hunted and since he finished his job here a few years early due to working with unpleasant people who tried to screw him out of his pension (battles are still going on) he thought why not go out there for a few years. they love it.

sparrer

Yes it was sad lewt, I think only an alkie could feel the depth of it.

Had some really sad news last night, one of the ladies at a local village meeting has picked up after 9 years...we're never safe, are we?

I take my mother on holiday a couple of times a year, she drinks like a fish but I'm okay with it today - as long as I don't see the bottle. Strange how if it's in a glass sit doesn't affect me, but like all alkies I didn't have time to reach for and dirty a glass. Fortunately I have a great sponsor, we send txt messages when either of us is away so I draw a lot of strength from her at those times.

Trying to persuade my daughter to pay for my g/daughter so I can take her to HK, I really need to go before I can't fly any more and she'd love it!

'Night all, yours in fellowship
Sparrer

brodev

sparrer wrote: »

Had some really sad news last night, one of the ladies at a local village meeting has picked up after 9 years...we're never safe, are we?

Hi Sparrer, sorry to hear of your friend. I disagree with "we are never safe" however. We are never cured but I believe I am safe on a daily basis. I also believe that as long as I do what AA suggests then I will remain safe. I have known a number of people who have returned to drinking after a period of time. All of them, that I have spoken to, have said that they stopped doing this that or the other as they felt that they did not need to any more. What surprised me was that a number of them could not stay stopped again, despite the fact that they had shown previous ability to stay stopped for many years. I believe that I need to be ever vigilant but I am not fearful of the future, although at my age I may not have a long one. I look forward with anticipation to what the world and my God will bring me.

lewt

sparrer wrote: »

Yes it was sad lewt, I think only an alkie could feel the depth of it.

Had some really sad news last night, one of the ladies at a local village meeting has picked up after 9 years...we're never safe, are we?

I take my mother on holiday a couple of times a year, she drinks like a fish but I'm okay with it today - as long as I don't see the bottle. Strange how if it's in a glass sit doesn't affect me, but like all alkies I didn't have time to reach for and dirty a glass. Fortunately I have a great sponsor, we send txt messages when either of us is away so I draw a lot of strength from her at those times.

Trying to persuade my daughter to pay for my g/daughter so I can take her to HK, I really need to go before I can't fly any more and she'd love it!

'Night all, yours in fellowship
Sparrer

the AA room in HK is wicked, i was amazed... do go... im out the on the 12th of feb. i cant wait.
I think its like brodev said i dont feel like im never safe, i try and learn from others i have spoke to that have been back out. I can't drink safely but i have recovered from thinking i can, however i need to maintain that on a daily basis.
the step ten pomises are good to read at time like these.