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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

In less than 12 months ...

I am curious who is going to attend the Alcoholics Anonymous 2010 International Convention next July in San Antonio. If you need to register, I have a link on my sidebar under the blogroll. It will stay there until next summer.

I'm going to keep a running list somewhere on this blog's sidebar. Let me know if you're going to attend for certain. We'll probably set aside a day and time to all meet each other.

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I'm not running from anything today; I believe I'm able to face everything that confronts me (so far)

that I still have my senses -- to see, hear, taste, smell and feel

that I'm Honest (I think), Open-Minded (seemingly) and Willing (almost always)

that the psychic change I had 6 years ago removed the insane obsession to get drunk


Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds.
- Norman Vincent Peale

just sit back and enjoy it

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my seventh year of recovery has been a breeze (so far) and there's no reason for that to change

that I got to hear Keith F's story Saturday night; he is as sick as I am and somehow, that's comforting LOL

that our friend TRUDGING aka Outright Mental Defective has returned to the blogworld after a lengthy hiatus

for another sober blogger I just became aware of -- SOBER -- drop by and say howdy

that I went to an Astros game by myself and ran into 2 sober friends who were working at the game in different capacities -- we're everywhere!!


"Why is it called "common sense" when so few people seem to have it?"
~~ me

Do you identify with any of these? part 2

Bad decisions make good stories

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from; this shouldn't be a problem....

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA . No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Darnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

I think that if, years down the road when I’m trying to have a kid, I find out that I’m sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my a$$ everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat b@st@rd before dinner.

Do you identify with any of these? part 1

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f*** was going on when I first saw it.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much; it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.


BY THE WAY ... today I celebrate 2192 consecutive days (6 years) of living without any alochol in my body.

It's Friday and it's large

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the examples set before me by my peers and my mentors

that I rarely get discouraged, about anything

that my friend Scott W. has a gallery showing this weekend
CORRECTION: his gallery opening is on the 12th -- sorry about that

that it's Friday and I get to attend 3 AA meetings before lunch (LOL)

for the life that's been given to me

that my nephew is in stable condition, but still has severe brain trauma from his motorcycle accident


You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.
- Dale Carnegie

cleaning and changing

CLICK HERE for detailed instructions as to the correct method to clean your monitor's screen.



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

to see people change

that I had and continue to have the courage to change

that I've never cared to be popular, but I've always liked to be liked


In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.
- Deepak Chopra

Life as it happens

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I'm so much more productive on a daily basis when I am not drinking or smoking maryjane

for the concept and practice of Step 3

that I didn't lose my temper (too badly) while trying to register online for the International AA convention. The website wouldn't take my credit card payment. After waiting for about 20 minutes on hold, the nice lady on the other end of the phoneline told me that their server crashed because of the enormous volume of people trying to register and pay. She told me to try again in a day or two. Step 3. Whatever.

By the end of the night, it was all fixed and I am now registered. Hope to see you guys in San Antonio next July.

that my 30 year-old nephew is now in stable, albeit very critical condition after being air-lifted via a very expensive air ambulance from Barbados to a Miami hospital. He's had 2 surgeries to repair broken bones and had lost most of his blood which has been replaced. He is still in a coma 10 days after his umpteenth motorcycle accident.

Change your thoughts, and you change your world.
- Norman Vincent Peale

A memorable anniversary

Momma cat Hayley with her 7 kitten litter September 1, 2003.

These are the 2 kittens I kept. They are 4 years old in this picture. Today, they are 6 years old.



todAAy i AAM grAAteful & thAAnkful


6 years ago today, I was waking up from one of my worst ever drunk nights. After more than 12,000 days and nights of drinking, I was done. Later in the day, I found out about my atrocious behavior from the day before. I came close to being robbed and possibly murdered by a street hustler and remembered absolutely nothing about it.
I now know that I had hit my bottom. I can think of no better words to use than incomprehensible demorilzation. I will do anything to never feel that way again. But I am stubborn. I drank again that day and the next 3 days. It wasn't until September 4th at a noon AA meeting that I had my psychic change, my spiritual awakening.

that I know my experience can benefit others

for my personal best on the elliptical (cardio) machine yesterday -- 1 hour!!
-- for someone who smoked 3 packs/day for 36 years and now has Peripheral Artery Disease, that's an accomplishment I didn't think I could do


What you do may seem insignificant, but it's important that you do it.
- Mahatma Gandhi

surfing on a Monday morning

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for possibly the most enjoyable AA Birthday night I've experienced (so far) at Lambda Center. There were 44 people celebrating with a total of 608 years of continuous sobriety. The meeting lasted for about 2 1/2 hours but it seemed to fly by. I saw people I rarely see and there were many family members present to support their alcoholic.

that by watching those around me, I find out what works --- and what doesn't!

for fellowship with other recovering alkies

that I know the proper use of the English language, unlike so many of those in the public media

for this link to This Week in Holy Crimes --- you gotta see this!

Don’t let go of the vine.
- Johnny Weissmuller, film's Tarzan

animal thievery

in (the) service

A crusty old Marine Sergeant Major found himself at a gala event hosted by a local liberal arts college. There was no shortage of extremely young idealistic ladies in attendance, one of whom approached the Sergeant Major for conversation.

"Excuse me, Sergeant Major, but you seem to be a very serious man. Is something bothering you?"
"Negative, ma'am. Just serious by nature."

The young lady looked at his awards and decorations and said, "It looks like you have seen a lot of action.
"Yes, ma'am, a lot of action."

The young lady, tiring of trying to start up a conversation, said, "You know, you should lighten up. Relax and enjoy yourself."

The Sergeant Major just stared at her in his serious manner. Finally the young lady said, "You know, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but when is the last time you had sex?"
"1955, ma'am."
"Well, there you are. No wonder you're so serious. You really need to chill out! I mean, no sex since 1955!"

She took his hand and led him to a private room where she proceeded to "relax" him several times. Afterwards, panting for breath, she leaned against his bare chest and said, "Wow, you sure didn't forget much since 1955."

The Sergeant Major said in his serious voice, after glancing at his watch, "I hope not; it's only 2130 now."

well-balanced?

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the summary of the Twelve Steps found on pages 107-109 of TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS.

that I can be of help without even trying

that I have to be on constant guard to be weary of my instincts and motives

that I'm becoming less and less likely to get involved in your insanity

that I try to make my life balanced by diversifying my interests and activities

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
- Epictetus

Get it?

I hear many people complain about other drivers talking on their cell phones while driving. This goes for texting as well, which must be much much more dangerous. This video PSA from the UK has been making the rounds. It's very graphic, but goes right to the point.




todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that Andrew E. shared what it was like, what happened and what it's like now as his experiences apply to the 12 steps

that I tend to use all of the 12 steps to maintain my recovery, not just steps 10-12

that I do my best (usually) to Keep It Simple

for the Double Winner Al-Anon group that meets on Wednesday nights

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
- Anais Nin

... and now, for something

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I woke up sober again this morning; it's getting to be a habit

that Saturday night at Lambda promises to be an enjoyable birthday night; we have about 40 people celebrating sober anniversaries

for my health

that I'm no longer in school, but I'll always be a student

for the life of Ted Kennedy. His dedication to service is an example I need to remember, regardless of what I may have thought of his politics.

The only difference between stumbling blocks and steppingstones is the way in which we use them.
- Unknown

More is being revealed

I never did this!



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


I have always thought I was a very functional alcoholic at work. But it has now occurred to me that I would never have hired me if I knew my details. Oh, I got the job done allright. I did enough to get by. Since I didn't have a boss looking over my shoulder, I could work at my own pace usually. If it could wait until tomorrow, great. That meant I could head off to a bar earlier.

Today, though, I think I'm a functioning alcoholic. Thanks to A.A. for introducing me to my own Higher Power.

that I went to the regular Monday Night Beginner's Meeting last night; it was very good

that I wasn't traded in as a clunker. Whew!

The most called-upon prerequisite of a friend is an accessible ear.
- Maya Angelou

all over the place today

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for some good Eleventh Step meetings recently, both showing me and reminding me of things I need to be doing

that I have solutions to all of the problems I have encountered so far in sobriety

for the Houston Roundup Service Auction held Saturday which raised several thousand dollars for their operating expenses

for Sunday breakfast with sober friends

that Mary Christine hasn't lost her job

to have the opportunity to witness some giant leaps in recovery in a friend

that I now begin working out at the gym without a trainer; personal budget cuts have resulted in giving up this luxury (if this ain't a high-class problem, I don't know what is LOL)

Learn as if you were going to live forever. Live as if you were going to die tomorrow.
- Mahatma Gandhi

NOTE: for a good story, Click here

football season is upon us

In honor of all of you football fans

Power tools for you

projecting nothing

These are sold in Washington D.C.

(click on the picture to enlarge)


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that when I begin my day with a conscious contact with my HP, the rest of my day usually consists of a sub-conscious contact

for an extended period of no drama in my life resulting in a very, very serene and joyful last 2 or 3 weeks

that today's story is yet to be written


What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.
- Mother Teresa