today's quota: Admitting You're an Alcoholic

Sick of Sugarcoating the Past
"Part of me is sick of sugarcoating my past... I could just say I had a drinking problem, or I can really tell it like it is... I can stop being afraid of who will find me out. There's real power in telling your secrets... I had no control over how I would act when I was drinking... I could be mean, aggressive, nice, promiscuous... I suddenly saw myself doing this, and I thought, 'This isn't a way to live, this is a way to die'... I was a little nervous about coming out as an alcoholic, but now none of that matters. What matters is to deliver a message that's meaningful."
- Melissa Ellefson quote, 'Alcoholic, Not Anonymous'


Good Question
"How can we resent the life we've created for ourselves?"
- Richard Bach quote


Raise Your Hand if
You're an Alcoholic



There Is A Solution
"There is an easy way and a hard way to recovery from alcoholism. The hard way is by just going to meetings" (Doctor Bob quote). You can try the hard way and keep it complicated. Or you can go the easier softer way and keep it simple.
More information here:
Recovery is Possible

quipping post: Making Amends?

I'm So Totally Sorry...
Examining your past and looking for that special card to help you make amends? "Sorry I Smoked All Your Pot", and "Sorry I Called You Stupid" are just a couple of the cards you can find at this site. Four pages of them here, but some are less apologetic:
CardJackers Gallery

links added today: Art, Walks, and Recovery Sites

Sober Art
See art and photos by SJ Ketchum - click on the thumbnail shots for larger views:
Sober Art


See Sandra's Blog Here


MADD Support Walks
Info about Mothers Against Drunk Driving support walks:
MADD Walks Info Page



Madballdan's
Narcotics Anonymous Related Recovery Site



Recovery Universe
Helping Friends Stay Sober & Share Experience, Strength, Hope

multimedia: Addiction TV Show Trailer & Gallery

From White House Intern to Crack Addict
This past week Oprah aired a show about addiction - see the trailer and a 'Battling Addictions' slideshow gallery here:
From Intern to Addict

today's quota: Addiction Music

Drunk & Scared
"Cause now I’m drunk again
The means to my end...
Cause now it’s the same, the faces and names
And I’m scared of myself again...."
- Reel Big Fish lyrics, 'Drunk Again'

Don't Do It!
"Ticket to ride, white line highway
Tell all your friends, they can go my way
Pay your toll, sell your soul
Pound for pound costs more than gold.
The longer you stay, the more you pay
My white lines go a long way
Either up your nose or through your vein
With nothin' to gain except killin' your brain...
A million magic crystals, painted pure and white
A multi-million dollars almost overnight
Twice as sweet as sugar, twice as bitter as salt
And if you get hooked baby, it's nobody else's fault, so don't do it!"
- Grandmaster Flash lyrics, 'White Lines'

quipping post: Drinking, Drugging, and Dancing

Drinking
"I would see cats coming out of the club so tipsy and drunk that they're two-stepping."
- J-Kwon Rapper quote

Drugging
"I'd stay away from Ecstasy. This is a drug so strong it makes white people think they can dance."
- Lenny Henry quote

Dancing

Image source: AllPosters.com

links added today: Recovery Music

Twelve Songs
"Inspired by achieving recovery through the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, each song uniquely relates to a corresponding step":
Twelve Songs Website




Jim W Songs
"One Man's Walk" 12 Step recovery music:
Jim W Songs Home Page



More Recovery Music
Lots of links in the dryblog 'Recovery Music & Radio' list,
scroll down the page or find it in the Right Column by clicking Here

today's quota: Exploring the Realms of Alcohol

"Last night I went to drunk-land, and my drunk-twin took my place. But he was in pretty good form. I was lucky this time. However, many's the time I've awoken, and found that my drunk twin was in horrible form. 'I wanted to punch you in the face last night,' my friend will say. 'Yeah, I was this close,' will add another. And I'll sit there, and think, hell, I don't remember any of that. For me, alcohol resembles an evil spirit; it possesses my body. It makes me do all manner of annoying, taboo things; and then it leaves me, and I'm left with the consequences."
- Jeff Gaither, 'Exploring the Realms of Alcohol'

quipping post: Blackout Commercials Flash Clips

The Best Beer is a Root Beer
Two humorous Flash clips about the blackout experience:
Blackout Clip


Another Blackout



Alcohol-Induced Blackouts
I found the above commercials on this site where you can get the real skinny on blackouts with lots of good information:
Blackouts


See the Home Page Here

recovery resources: Cliches, Home, and Promises

Clichés used in Narcotics Anonymous
The button on the linked page changes the cliché with each click:
NA Clichés



GoingHomeDotCom
"Yes as simple as it sounds, my problem is my first drink."
Their 'Sitemap' tab at the top brings up lots of resources:
Going Home



The Promises Project
Helping People in Recovery Find and Utilize Services

today's quota: Living With An Addict

"I'd sit in the living room thinking that something was wrong with me... I was always waiting for the next crisis, the next time I'd send him to the store and he wouldn't come back... Do I love him? Yeah. I'll probably always love him. That hurts... It's very sad to see someone destroy their life like that... That's not something I want in my life ever again."
- Theresa, 'Living With An Addict'

quipping post: Insanity and Bad Luck

Twelve Steps To Insanity
Humorous piece from Recovery Parables:
12 Steps to Insanity


Lots on a more serious note Here



"Gimme a Beer, Barkeep..."
Flash video clips of stickmen with some really bad luck:
Stickmen Shorts 1-5


Others like this at A E Flash



Humor might be the best medicine...
But if you or someone you know is still suffering, there's nothing funny about that. You don't have to face it alone - there's always hope and help available. See here:

Alcoholics Anonymous: Letter to Anyone New to A.A.

Narcotics Anonymous: Who, What, How and Why

For Family & Friends of alcoholics: What is Al-Anon?

Family & Friends of drug addicts: About Nar-Anon

links added today: Addiction & Recovery - Blogs & Journals

Blue's Thoughts
Ramblings of a sweet & kind person with big holes in her brain...
also a friend of Bill W":
Blue's Thoughts



John's Life Without Gambling
"This blog discusses all problem gambling related issues...":
Life without Gambling


Gamblers Anonymous Home Page Here

Gam-Anon for Spouses, Family & Friends


Cunning, Baffling, Powerful
A Diva Tribe journal - click on 'Index' at the top of her page for previous posts:
Cunning, Baffling, Powerful


DivaTribe.com



Don't Try This At Home, Kids
A Junky Life blog - "Hey There, Daddy-O...":
Don't try this at Home


Uncensored Expression of Junky Life

today's quota: Pope, Drunk Noah, and LEGO Art

Joseph Ratzinger Quotes, aka Pope Benedict XVI:

"God gives so that we can give."

"...the more we trust Him, the more we find Him, the more we discover the love and freedom that sustain us through all the nights."

"The world does not need to be alone. In the desolation the men don’t have to be lost here and there, tragically staying ultimately alone..."

"We always work on our internal problems and we do not realize that the world is in need of answers; it does not know how to live. The world's inability to live properly is seen in drugs, terrorism, etc. Therefore, the world is thirsty for answers - and we remain with our problems. I am convinced that if we go out to meet others... even our internal problems will be relativized and resolved."


Michelangelo's Drunkenness of Noah (Restored)

"He drank some wine and got drunk, and was uncovered in his tent."
- Genesis 9:21


Noah's Insobriety Slideshow
Characters and settings built out of LEGO bricks and photographed to create an illustrated story (warning: some LEGO nudity here):
Noah's Insobriety


LEGO Brick
Testament


LEGO.com

quipping post: Drunk Ritual

- Sacrifice to a Lower Power -

"After a night of too much alcohol and spirits. Thou must kneel,
embrace thy throne and sacrifice to the porcelain god"........
(Image source: AllPosters.com)

links added today: Recovery, Church, and Ship

Clergy Recovery
Support for ministry professionals through personal crisis and early recovery:
Clergy Recovery



Online Church
"No two VirtualChurch.com services are the same. Over 365 Billion possibilities":
VirtualChurch.com



Ship of Fools
The "Magazine of Christian Unrest":
Ship of Fools

today's quota: Addicted to Stress & Chaos

"The problem with any addiction is that the high is transitory and one always needs a bigger high to experience the rush. Addiction gives a person a false sense of control. Deep down the addict has lost personal power. A stress-addict is looking to feel numb through distraction to avoid dealing with the source of unhappiness and loss of control. It is easier to be incredibly busy than to face the painful layers of grief accumulated during the course of a lifetime. There are no new hurts; only old ones with a different cast of characters, conflicts and dramas."
- Debbie Mandel, 'Are You Addicted to Stress?'

"I'm a study of a man in chaos in search of frenzy."
- Oscar Levant quote

quipping post: Mindfulness Cartoon

Philosophy With Fur!
"Cartoons that blend humour & spirituality - on the rocky path to nirvana with a Buddhist cat, a novice monk and a mouse hell-bent on cheese":
Dharma The Cat

recovery resources: Alcoholism & Addiction

AA Resources on the Web
"This is not a chair, a share or a life story - but rather a reassurance that if you are reading this and are an alcoholic like myself, you are not alone":
AA-Meetings.com



The Emergence Site
"While many resources exist for recovering alcoholics and addicts, none, so far, address the primary feature of all addictions; the state addicts would call 'aloneness'":
Emergence Addictions Page


Emergence Home Page Here

multimedia: Recovery Screensaver & Broadcast

12 Step Screensaver Download
"This is a free screensaver that displays the 12 Steps and readings relating to them along with photos. Get some recovery inspiration right on your computer screen." See screenshots here:
Serenity Found - Free 12 Step Screensaver Download Page



Cocktails at 5 with Jeffrey
Addiction Talk Show Live Online Mondays
From 5-6 pm Pacific Time; 6-7 pm Mountain;
7-8 pm Midwest; 8-9 pm Eastern Canada & US
(International listeners, see the Time Converter below):
Cocktails at 5 Here


International Zones Thingy:
Time Zone to Time Zone

today's quota: The Alcoholic Label

"Being a recovering alcoholic is nothing to be embarrassed about in today’s world. In fact, in many social settings, it has become a status symbol. The only problem that you are going to have to deal with is... that label being tacked onto your shoulders. Not to be flip but, if that is the case, get over it. There are a lot worse things that people can think about you; being an alcoholic is certainly not one of them."
- Ann Israel quote, 'Advice for the Lawlorn'

quipping post: Drinking Cartoon; Addiction Quote; NA Humor

I like to sit and think;
But usually I just sit...

Image © Carlberg Design

The Writing's on the Label
"Most people don't know how they're gonna feel from one day to the next, but a drug fiend has a pretty good idea. All you gotta do is look at the labels on the little bottles."
- From the film, 'Drugstore Cowboy'

Say it Ain't So
Click below to see 'What ISN'T the NA Program':
Say it Ain't So


More like this here:
Underbelly Index

addiction blogs: Sober & Reason

Sober on the Beach
"This blog is about sober living and alcoholism":
Sober on the Beach



A Reason, A Season, A Lifetime
"Stay safe, stay sober, stay healthy, stay happy":
Reason, Season, Lifetime