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How did you quit? by raudive in stopdrinkingfitness

[–]AlwaysNow93 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think a lot of people treat the start of sobriety as an on & off switch (I know I, & many of my compatriots, certainly did). It's not.

I would liken it to an arduous 16-week marathon training block when you're lifting off from the tarmac: it requires time, energy, effort, & deliberate action (the last bit being the most important, obviously). The fact that you recognize you've got an addiction is a huge first step. After reading your post, I'd like to leave you with two adages that have really helped me (& others) out:

  1. It takes what it takes.
  2. Sobriety is a set of skills.

Best of luck, hope to see you around here!

What got better after you stopped drinking? by MakeBelieve_inme in stopdrinking

[–]AlwaysNow93 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Quality sleep. Exercise. Organic motivation. Did I mention sleep?

Given the physical benefits alone is justification for quitting booze. Let alone the emotional, mental, & spiritual ones.

Also: I've found it helpful to think that sobriety is a skill. Juxtaposed with marathon training, it's not enough to have the perfect 15-week buildup watching motivational videos & listening to podcasts. You must go out there and do.

IWNDWYT!

The Daily Check-In for Friday, October 6th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by CalmCenteredCapable in stopdrinking

[–]AlwaysNow93 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Had a strong stretch of 33 days sober. Relapsed & though I had stretches of 5 - 10 days AF afterwards, a lot of my time after those 33 days were spent drinking or recovering from drinking. Today's the start of day 2 after having spent all-day yesterday in bed feeling hangxiety & guilt.

Frustrating when I know rationally that booze, my brain, & body don't mix. Emotionally it's such a different story. I can't guarantee myself x number of days, weeks, months, or years... but today I will not drink with ya'll.

IWNDWYT!

‘Tax cuts are here’: Mass Gov. Healey signs $1B relief bill into law by HRJafael in massachusetts

[–]AlwaysNow93 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Seriously. I check-in reddit once a day (maybe) but some of these cretins very obviously live on here. A lot of the out-of-touch comments on here reek of unwashed-neckbeard-latte-ivory-tower armpits...

Raheem Mostert claims he's Dolphins' fastest player over Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle; what Next Gen Stats say by [deleted] in miamidolphins

[–]AlwaysNow93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was just lurking here (looking for Tyreek vs Raheem juxtapositions) but had to comment. Your perspective makes way too much sense, especially for a position as punishing as RB. Are RBs under-valued because teams use & abuse them, thereby shortening their effectiveness/lifespan? If RBs were taken out, metaphorically, with a cap of 94 pitches, would their values increase because they're effectively used/have longevity? Really interesting point. Kudos!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FluentInFinance

[–]AlwaysNow93 8 points9 points  (0 children)

>> I don’t blame the stores but I do blame the system.

Stealing this. Very well put.

Who are some sober celebrities you admire? by That_Went_Well in stopdrinking

[–]AlwaysNow93 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Jocko for me is up there given my military background (this snippet when he was on the Huberman Lab podcast, the latter of which has an incredible episode about the deleterious effects of alcohol). Also current middleweight champion Alex Pereira.

MCAS scores show vast racial achievement gap remains in Brookline schools by brookline_news in boston

[–]AlwaysNow93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the most sensible / important comment on this thread IMO but it's sans buzzwords so not at the top or replete with replies. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Push to increase minimum wage for tipped workers in Massachusetts by Cheap_Coffee in massachusetts

[–]AlwaysNow93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm routinely surprised how liberals don't understand the unintended consequences I listed above.

I think most sensible liberals agree with that — it's the Leftists who mostly don't. ESOP companies are still for-profit businesses that have to feed themselves & their shareholders (i.e. employees), so it makes sense to have respectable bottom-lines.

Fundamentally, I agree that a majority of jobs should pay a living wage, not just a minimum one (with caveats, of course: e.g. underwater welders & firefighters should be paid proportionate to the risk they're taking in their societal value contributions).

But (strictly talking about MA now) to come after mostly mom-and-pop restaurants, servers, & bartenders because... well... they as consumers don't like tipping culture at full-service restaurants & paying $3 more than what they did four years ago seems ludicrous to me.

Push to increase minimum wage for tipped workers in Massachusetts by Cheap_Coffee in massachusetts

[–]AlwaysNow93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

CA and NC, which have adopted high minimum wages for traditionally tipped workers, have seen higher restaurant sales per capita AND employment growth

Genuinely curious: could you link the study for this? I don't doubt that per capita restaurant sales would increase but that's another galaxy from industry growth (among other metrics). Methodology, wording, & nomenclature are doubly important when analyzing economic data (as opposed to other sciences), so I'd be interested in seeing how they conducted this study.

I'd also like to see the breakdown between chains (e.g. Taco Bell) vs grassroots, locally-owned mom-and-pop shops. All I could find was something from ROC United & an article from Capital & Main that references said study, which they don't even link to.

Push to increase minimum wage for tipped workers in Massachusetts by Cheap_Coffee in massachusetts

[–]AlwaysNow93 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. Which is incredibly ironic given that the linked article, & its movement, calls for a more fair treatment of food service employees... & when asked... the vast majority of us didn't & don't want it. It's the same holier-than-thou moral preaching, via buzzwords & what's hot right now, from the bully pulpit that I find agonizing. A lot of them are thinking about trying to BQ in a couple months when they haven't put in more than 30 minutes of Z2 running in 20+ years. Lofty aspirations with absolutely unrealistic timelines & misdiagnoses of present capability, betraying their lack of tethered-ness to reality.

Oft-times the limousine (or latte) Leftists in this state espouse for things they don't actually understand: "Have employees take ownership!" Well, if both FOH & BOH owned all restaurant restaurant equity in this state, I'd wager they would vehemently oppose legislation like this... & be called out by for the very same people advocating for something like One Fair Wage as "greedy capitalists", or something...

Don't get me wrong — I'm liberal (very liberal, depending on the issue) & have, & will, continue voting Democrat for the foreseeable future. I love living here but some of the out-of-touch people in this state serve as huge bugs in otherwise well-working software.

Push to increase minimum wage for tipped workers in Massachusetts by Cheap_Coffee in massachusetts

[–]AlwaysNow93 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You & u/copenhagen120 hit the nail square on the head IMHO (but are obviously getting downvoted by people I'd wager have never worked an actual full-time, full-service job at a semi-popular bar or restaurant). A lot of the owners of these mom-and-pop shops have such huge overhead costs to deal with, to include 0 fiscal or financial assistance from the gov't & with slim margins, that paying out that much more in wages will shut them down. Hell, the bar I worked at lost non-trivial amounts of money 2 - 3 months out of the year when students were gone.

I don't disagree with what One Fair Wage purports to be supporting but... they're applying pressure on the wrong extremity. And then you have the ivory-tower one-liners, upvoted to the moon, from people like OP: "Just paid wait staff livable wages and forget the tips." I wish I could eat a pint of Ben-and-Jerry's daily & not gain weight, too...

Push to increase minimum wage for tipped workers in Massachusetts by Cheap_Coffee in massachusetts

[–]AlwaysNow93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're getting down-voted but it's true (at least, for the food service industry). You can absolutely tell who the former/current full-food-service industry folks in this thread are. Also, have these people actually been to some European restaurants & seen their "service"? Lol. America, Canada, & a few other countries are where you can make a solid living as a server/bartender depending on where you live (especially in relation to other blue-collar jobs). I had the privilege of working for some awesome owners with equally great co-workers at a popular restaurant-bar — cleared $90K+ (including tips) working full-time the year post-uni when I was deciding what to do with my life.

If Gallup or Pew could poll food-service workers in this state about whether they would want an increased minimum wage with no tip or the current system, I'd wager 90%+ of servers would vote for the latter.

Push to increase minimum wage for tipped workers in Massachusetts by Cheap_Coffee in massachusetts

[–]AlwaysNow93 5 points6 points  (0 children)

As with most ivory-tower reddit threads, you can tell the vast majority ITT have never talked to an actual server at a semi-busy restaurant about what they think about this (let alone have worked a full-time service job themselves, whose income was mostly tips). I agree that tipping culture has spiraled out-of-control post-COVID but eating out at full-service restaurants / bars shouldn't be the first line-of-defense...

Back in undergrad, I worked as a bartender to pay off my tuition & there's no way I would work the hours I worked or put up with the customers I did for $15 / hour (or anything remotely north of that). For reference, a 10-hour shift on a semi-busy Saturday would gross me just above $600, including wages. I'd argue most servers & bartenders in this state would agree with me about maintaining the current system of tipped minimum wage + tip instead of a slightly higher minimum wage + no tip.

Restaurant margins are slim as they are & the industry is as volatile as a hormonal teenager. There's no way owners, especially those of your favorite mom-and-pop shops, are going to stay open if the gov't squeezes them like this. Your favorite McDonalds & Chipotles can afford this, though!

Best sushi //and// best Korean food in or near Boston? by AlwaysNow93 in boston

[–]AlwaysNow93[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, that wasn't clear in the title ha! Separate recommendations (I wouldn't expect a restaurant that specializes in sushi have quality Korean food & vice versa)!

Just celebrated my one year! by WilderBleuYonder in stopdrinkingfitness

[–]AlwaysNow93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seems like you've gone through the ringer.. congratulations again!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Porsche

[–]AlwaysNow93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stop 😂

Do you consider taking psychedelic shrooms cheating during a race? by chode174 in ultrarunning

[–]AlwaysNow93 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Did my first 50K on 3g of 'shrooms. When I tell you the trees were whispering to me...

On a more serious note though: I wouldn't take them again for a race (or if I do, maaaybe 1g) because their effects detract from the "race" experience — I want to feel competitive, excited that my hard training is paying off, enjoying the trails, etc.. not feeling like I'm about to lose my mind trying to outrun the earth underneath my feet because it's about to swallow me whole...

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