The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

It gets easier mate, I promise! Don't give into the demons & they can't hurt you anymore than they already have! One bet is what got us all here in the 1st place so keep choosing 'No' just for today & the improvement will come!

Chin up, you are doing this - ODAAT

Hi
Mark

Im sure you will find GA of great benefit, it certainly saved my life. Give it 90 of everything you have got. Be willing to accept solutions suggested to you. After all where has your thinking when it comes to gambling got you before. Probabley the same place mine used to get me! Which meeting are you attending tomorrow i may have friends there who could look out for you

Dan

Hi Dan,

Many thanks for your post. Will be attending Eastcote, Harrow.

Do you have a thread of your own? Cannot see it anywhere. Either yes or you are a Samaritan!

Best,

Mark

Not my neck of the woods so dont know anybody there im afraid. Just click on my user name it will take you there. If you have any questions/concerns about GA please feel free to ask

Dan

Thanks again Dan - will leave feed back after the meeting tomorrow

That's another working day done without a bet. Off now to pick up two of the three lights of my life!

Mark

Another day of abstinence!

My trousers are still a little on the ragged side but from the bookies' point of view I am being far from Philanthropic. I will keep my hard earned cash in my own pocket to day if you do not mind

Thanks Mark

I was remiss in my early time on posting on my own diary. I have tried to add to my diary daily over the last 2 weeks. Good luck tonight @ your 1st GA meeting i also attend on a thursday as well as a monday so will be thinking of you in another room a 100 miles away getting the hope, experience, love & understanding GA has to offer. I think a guy called called Big Dave attends there if memory serves me. He offers advice on the GA website which always seems sound. Let me know how you get on

Dan

Hi Markman, thanks for dropping by & yes, I am resolute in my recovery 🙂 I am mad (& not just because I am a bird) but I have been very fortunate in that I have been able to isolate my anger towards my addiction! I guess after about 30 years of doing the damage, it's only fair that I apportion some of my blame elsewhere! I seem to remember the pressure of being determined not to gamble did feel overwhelming @ times but then, as now, I had no choice! I'd run out of options & I was broken! All of the yukky feelings that came in my early stages of recovery, all of my foul moods & all of the fear of discovering I could never gamble again were still better than my days gambling! I'm not even entirely convinced non gambling ever becomes the norm...I don't gamble now because I don't want to but I will not let my guard down as I can't afford (mentally) to go back! I hope GA can give you some answers that you crave!

Whatever happens, just makes sure you keep those pennies in your pocket - ODAAT

Just got back from my first GA meeting.

Feeling very pleased with myself for once.

It was quite as expected. Men from all different wakes of life united in the fight against a common enemy.

I have my handbook. 20/20. I always did aim high!

Nothing spectacular to report, but I do feel different. Almost normal. I have no desire to gamble and the for the present moment the pain of abstinence has lost its sting. I hope that I feel the same tomorrow.

I already look forward to next week's meeting. So much I want to say over and above being gamble free for one more week.

Verdict: 2 1/4 hours very well spent.

Good night.

Mark

Hey Mark, glad to hear you found GA helpful, I've been way too busy lately, I will have more time to read this week so hopefully by Firday I will be able to tell you what I think of the book. I support Tranmere for my sins! Time for me to sleep and when I wake up can watch Better Call Saul before work. Thanks for all the posts on my diary.

Phil

Thanks you so much for your posts ODAAT and Phil. Will check in on your diaries in a bit. I am very pleased to have safely negotiated another weekend without a bet. It was Louis's seventh birthday on Valentine's day - birthday party with 16 kids at aWacky Warehouse type place. My wife is a very accomplished cake baker and decorator and everyone was in awe of her amazing Skylanders cake - even other parties. It was really nice to see my sister and nieces. I have been to the venue for kids parties so many times before but was too wrapped up in my phone gambling to have enjoyed myself. It was ever so nice to shake people by the hand and even look at them in the eye and offer to buy them a cup of coffee. Four weeks ago this would never have happened. I am starting to feel a little more normal. I hope I can get used to this feeling.

Mark

Congratulations on 4 weeks Markman 🙂

Good to hear GA went well! The weekend sounds like a complete nightmare to me but reading your post made me smile from ear to ear 🙂 Not only will you get used to it but you'll soon by wondering why you let it pass you by for so long!

Keep strong - ODAAT

Hey Markman, hope you have now seen episode three of Better Call Saul, it really cracked me up, I loved seeing Mike getting involved, hes such a cool guy! As for Fargo, well I loved the film but the series is even better, Billy Bob Thornton really stars in it and I'm looking forward to seeing where they go with season two.

Hope you're having a good week mate and thanks for all the posts on my diary.

Phil

Thanks Phil. Fargo done and dusted yesterday. Another great series. Cracking on with Better Call Saul tonight!

Another very busy day at the office. I am covering one of the partners so have a massively increased workload. Thankfully I have mananged to get my lovely couple and children into their new home today so only three days of sitting in removal vans for them! Next come the nasties and our litigators will have a field day recovering losses. Let's hope the buyer's solicitors cough up as litigation will, like the bookies, only bleed the buyer dry and it is not the buyer's doing.

No real urges to gamble this morning. As I hear repeatedly at GA recovery requires an improvement in our personality as well as total abstinence if we are to go the distance. At the moment abstinence is in hand but it is my impatience and almost perpetual boredom that I need to address. Thankfully I have lots of work on and Wednesday is a 5 o'clock sharp "off home day" day so I should not have too much time to think about things - another character trait which does me no favours. I will check in this evening and look back at this paragraph and think "where did the day go!"

Mark

Oh Markman, I'm such a clown...I re-read your post twice last night & just couldn't see it! I decided that all you blokes are Mensa candidates messing with my tiny little girl brain & was gonna resort to running it by Ginger Freud! I have just looked again & have done one of my little snorts (embarrassing but I didn't get anyone today)...How did I not notice sick being spelled with a 'd' :-0 Brilliant!

Impatience is a trait among us that I am struggling to manage! Lately I run whatever my moaning conversation would be (should anyone be prepared to listen) through my head pretending to be said person listening & mostly all I can come up with in response to myself is along the lines of "Are you s******g me?!?"

Just about an hour & a half to go before you can escape the office & get out & take a deep gulp of fresh-ish air!

You're doing great...Keep @ it - ODAAT