090909

AFV - Cats Gone Wild! @ Yahoo! Video


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I further my recovery every time I go to an AA meeting

for a first-time newcomer that graced the meeting room yesterday

for the many varied experiences I've been so fortunate to have during my 55 years, including
... 6 years running track
... 4 years of university and earning a degree in education
... 10 years as a baseball umpire
... 1 year teaching public school and coaching football & track
... 1 year as a retail store manager
... 2 years as an office manager in the trucking industry
... 19 years in the offshore oil exploration industry
... living and working in 25 countries
... visiting an additional 7 countries
... 33 years as a practicing alcoholic
... 6 years as a recovering alcoholic
... waking up sober this morning
... today, with all its opportunities

Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards.
- Soren Kierkegaard

good view

the view from my seat at Minute Maid Park;
I get to sit here for 27 games this season


todAAy i Am grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I said a short prayer this morning, asking my HP to guide me throughout this day so that I can be the best person I can possibly be -- for today

that I ask for that guidance every morning

for lessons from other recovering drunks;

friends who suffer losses of friends and family have shown me how to handle that situation when it happens

that my sponsee chaired a wonderful meeting at noon yesterday, attended by someone at their first ever AA meeting

that my sponsor dropped by to see my new home-under-construction

Getting to know someone is not a task--it’s an art.
-Pierce LeBlanc

Social Insecurity

"But it is from our twisted relations with family, friends, and society at large that many of us have suffered the most. We have been especially stupid and stubborn about them. The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a true partnership with another human being. Our egomania digs two disastrous pitfalls. Either we insist upon dominating the people we know, or we depend upon them far too much. If we lean too heavily on people, they will sooner or later fail us, for they are human, too, and cannot possibly meet our incessant demands. In this way our insecurity grows and festers. When we habitually try to manipulate others to our own willful desires, they revolt, and resist us heavily. Then we develop hurt feelings, a sense of persecution, and a desire to retaliate."
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, page 53

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my Mom has enough snap left to remember birthdays and other important dates; ie: tomorrow is my sister's 55th b-day and she continues to remain 21 months older than me

that I am still in a sort of feeling-good-in-recovery-zone -- it's like whatever happens just doesn't seem to matter because I know it will be OK and I don't need to worry about it or try to change it -- I also know this is temporary and I should enjoy it while it lasts - LOL

that my prostate exam was negative and the doctor used a glove; I did not, however, get a date or even a free dinner out of the experience; I may have to change doctors

for a phone call from a newcomer on his 4th day sober; this rarely seems to happen even though I give out a self-made business-type card with my picture and contact info on it to many newcomers

that I'll actually get in 3 official workouts with my trainer this week

that I may never learn to never say never

that this is my 1500th post since I began blogging in December 2004

I am trying this litle piece of software today.
Give it a try if you are willing ...

more at twiigs.com...

"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."
-Oscar Wilde