Hi, I'm Nick, I'm an alcoholic

[soberat16]

Thanks for setting up this site. I think it's great. And I totally approve of the Google ads. After all you guys have got costs too.

I fear that my motivation for joining might not make me the ideal member. I'm angry and lonely and when reading about not making this forum a replacement for meeting attendance, or a place to complain about AA, I swallowed a big gulp.

I am angry and lonely in the rooms these days, but want to take "my" inventory on why. If I can be of "humble" service in making the rooms better suited for people with my brand of the disease, then that's great too.

After getting sober at 16, I've been clean and sober for coming on 18 years....
I'm happy in my family and work, but didn't do the proper 90 in 90 your suppose to when moving to a new town, and have been on the edges of the fellowship here in Vancouver for 3 years now.

[Dallas]

Welcome to the forum Nick!!! Glad you're here with us!

You can always send me a Private Message ... if you feel the need to complain, or yell or scream. Just don't throw anything! I'm highly sensitive.

I understand how tough it can be moving to a new town -- and the fellowship or meetings being different. It's been 12 years since my last move -- and I'm still adjusting. There would be times when I would just want to quit. But, finally... I've made enough changes in myself that I'm actually enjoying the different experience. I still long for the old-days of being in my Home Group out west... and hopefully, someday it will be in my cards and I'll be back there.

One of the greatest lessons that I've learned in my difficult experience... has been -- that if I'm upset about something... if I'm disturbed about something... I can look inside of me, make some changes, and then... I'm no longer disturbed. For me, that's been a valuable asset to acquire. Now, regardless if I'm in a different place, different people... or the same ol' same ol' -- I can be happy regardless of what's going on outside of me.

Anyhoot... enough about me! And, I'm glad you found us! I'm looking forward to reading more from you!

KCB!

Dallas

[anniemac]

Hey Nick,

Wow, sober at 16, how awesome! And to hear that you have stayed sober for 18 years is phenomenal - I bet you're an excellent example and a great inspiration to the new round of teens and young adults coming in and saying how they're too young to give up drinking forever.

I didn't move in sobriety, but my work schedule changed which forced me to give up my first home group, which met 5 days a week at noon. That was two years ago, and truly I think I am just finally getting comfortable with the group of meetings I've been getting to.

It's never too late to grab a commitment. We have a guy at my homegroup who moved in to the area with some sober time, and immediately took a Greeter commitment, so he could be up front and visible to everyone who entered the room. It was a great way for him to feel a part of. Now he chairs one of the meetings and it's as if he's been there forever.

You don't say if you're feeling sorry for yourself, that folks in your new area haven't tripped over themselves to make you feel welcome...but if that's the case, I can certainly relate to that. I can get wrapped up in my own pity far too easily, and I begin to ascribe negative attributes and behaviors on others, that really I swear I see...and then, when I pull myself out of that pity pot, I see time and time again that I was not seeing things clearly. It's amazing how my perception can color situations so drastically.

[chinook2]

Hey Nick -

Ditto on sometimes feeling like a stranger in the place I've been before so many times. Wish I knew the reasons for my own experience of it - but in the end I'll take making contact here and getting back to all the stuff I lived to share and listen to so long ago.

Good to hear you're around and workin' on it.