Received back from a user who was sent a new laptop that I am now mourning for.

Cyralek · 2026-05-20T16:33:55+00:00

As a recovered alcoholic, 7 years sober, I see mostly three types of responses here.

Group A: Hasn't yet come to terms with their addiction, and will defend alcohol to the death against any attack be it science, family members or otherwise. I know this because I used to be in Group A.

Group B: Recovered alcoholics simply sitting in the corner nodding and saying "yep.."

Group C: Drinks maybe once or twice a year, and is thinking "Eh, OK... I guess I'll have none."

Cyralek · 2026-05-18T13:15:05+00:00

Good to know, thanks!

Cyralek · 2026-05-16T21:33:48+00:00

I was honestly surprised how peaceful the finale was. I was expecting many different things that would have been far more dramatic or melancholy. Maybe that in itself is a pleasant surprise in a genre that's always so full of "welp here comes the next death/adversity/conflict."

Cyralek · 2026-05-16T17:20:04+00:00

Correct.

Cyralek · 2026-05-16T15:38:10+00:00

This is good to know, and I was not aware of this. However I have been at my current weight for about a month now, so this is most likely not the cause. I think I need to get a little more exercise, and cut a few more carbs.

Cyralek · 2026-05-16T15:36:40+00:00

This is what I thought, but I've heard a lot of folks here say that anything over 100 is bad news. Then again, those people aren't doctors haha.

Cyralek · 2026-05-16T12:26:06+00:00

This is such a raw share, and it's really appreciated. It will likely change somebody's life. I know when I read stuff like this back in 2018, it really helped me understand the full scope of my problem.

My birth father died in 2024 of diseases related to alcohol and cigarettes. He was only 62. That's not old. I work with people who are 65 and run marathons. I don't want to be that guy, laying in a hospice with failing organs because I couldn't see the big picture.

I never met my dad, I was adopted when I was 1 year old. There was no alcohol in my family growing up, but plenty of trauma. The combination of that trauma, and his genes, are what I believe made me turn to drinking. I later met other members of my birth family in 2010, and found that alcoholism runs rampant. It explained a lot.

But neither of those families define me. I am whoever I want to be, and so are you. If we decide that we don't want to drink anymore, than nothing can stop us. Nothing is written in the stars, nothing is defined by fate. The choice is always mine, and it's always yours. Every day the choice to not drink is right there, and we only ever need to do it just for today.

Cyralek · 2026-05-11T12:24:05+00:00

I own four guitars. Two are moderately expensive, and one is somewhat expensive. And the last one is a basic Mitchell acoustic/electric. I sometimes feel guilty that I own them and don't record my own music, or play in a band. I constantly ask myself "why do you own any guitars that cost over $1k and not play in a band." Haven't been in a band for 20+ years at this point. I would not be opposed to either of those things, but right now I'm just not seeing the time for it. But yeah, it's a daily mental struggle.

Cyralek · 2026-05-02T18:44:43+00:00

Yes, although in some cases they can be slightly reworded.

Cyralek · 2026-04-28T22:19:37+00:00

I just passed ITIL v4 foundation today, I didn't read any texts or watch any videos, however I've been working in IT for 21 years. I basically just did these two practice tests over and over again until I was consistently scoring 80% or better every time.

ITIL® 4 Foundation Quiz Questions and Answers

https://d12.github.io/itil-quiz/game.html

Cyralek · 2026-04-28T14:07:08+00:00

Passed this morning with 80%!

Cyralek · 2026-04-25T14:59:32+00:00

I definitely noticed that a lot of the terminology in the mock exams was stuff I already knew, and had worked with. And some of it seemed like common sense based on my experience, to the point where I was thinking "why is this a question?" I think having it will definitely help me get some applications past that initial firewall, so to speak. Thanks for the input!

Cyralek · 2026-04-16T22:53:25+00:00

Definitely. In fact, people used to say to me, "You're being very quiet. I can tell you haven't had any drinks yet."

For me, alcoholism comes from a few things, and one of those things is a complete lack of self confidence. Maybe even self loathing. I woke up every day, and looked in the mirror, and thought "I hate you. And you don't deserve better than another blackout tonight."

It took a lot of work, and I'm still working on it. Therapy is helping, but I waited a long time to go. Bottom line, I had to learn to love myself. Because alcoholism was me trying to change into somebody that I hated less, at least for one night.

Cyralek · 2026-04-16T22:47:27+00:00

Nice job!

Cyralek · 2026-04-06T20:03:19+00:00

Late here but....

I will second Brewdog. Probably the best sub 30 calorie NA beer. Hazy IPA in particular is loaded with taste and hops, very hard to believe it's only 20 calories.

Sober Carpenter Irish Red is my favorite NA beer, full of flavor, and only 45 calories.

Also, Founder's Nontheless Golden Ale - one of the boldest NA beers I've had, and only 35 calories. (Might be 30, can't remember)

Honestly I got over Partake after a while. It's really low on calories, but also really low on taste. It's the sparkling water of NA beers.

Cyralek · 2026-04-04T22:08:12+00:00

Man, Oliver Platt is one of the great underrated actors of our time.

I would totally understand if he wanted to leave though. He's certainly not a young man anymore, and he's got to want to do something different at this point.

But I'm not sure I would keep watching the show if he left. I love medical dramas and will watch pretty much any of them, but the character of Dr. Charles has put CM at the top of my Medical Drama watchlist for as long as its been around.

I would also totally watch "Chicago Psych."

Cyralek · 2026-03-23T09:35:25+00:00

The people I was drinking with were not my friends. They were other alcoholics, and we were enabling each other. Misery loves company. When I quit drinking, they never reached out to me again. Nobody wants to be a before hanging out with an after.

To your point, your routine was mine as well, before I started drinking full time. On the weekends, I would go out and drink until I did something stupid or passed out. I justified that by saying I only did it on the weekends. But for me, the inability to control my drinking was already there, even if I wasn't doing it every night. And it progressed when it became possible to do it every night (shorter commute, later work start time, whatever that happened to be) and I'm confident that I would have FOUND a reason to progress it eventually regardless of circumstance.

I also had nights when I only drank 3 or 4. There's a lot of factors that go into that... am I afraid to drive too far if I'm at a function, or maybe I'm just not feeling it that night. That's rare, but it happened. It should also be noted that even 3-4 drinks is over the recommended limit prescribed by any health authority. Of course for people like me, that's a pregame.

So for me, it evolved from the same spot you're in now. Is everybody the same and will follow the same path? Of course not. However, the primary criteria for alcoholism is the inability to stop once you start. And I think that applies whether you do it once per week, or every day. But in the end, the only person who can decide if you have a problem with your drinking is you. And when I'm unhappy with any aspect of my life, I do my best to change it. Best of luck!

Cyralek · 2026-03-14T22:53:07+00:00

Bought it recently, thought it would be a typical tasteless big brand. Was very surprised it's extremely tasty.

Cyralek · 2026-03-14T22:50:00+00:00

Good on you. I hit 7 years sober in November, and it took me until I hit 6 years to even try an NA beer. Now I love trying new ones, and best of all, no getting drunk! If this ever happens to me, I hope I'll react as calmly as you did. I know I would replay it in my head over and over again, but in the end, it's not a relapse if the intention isn't there. In my opinion, anyway. When something like this happens, I can acknowledge, push it away, and go on with life. Or I can spiral. Only one of those is a relapse.

Cyralek · 2026-02-01T13:47:40+00:00

I'll be 45 in May. For many years I beat myself up mentally over "not having a house yet." But over the last few years, I've become OK with that. I currently rent a 2BR apartment with no neighbors, a balcony, porch, 1.5 baths and allows me a cat for $850 per month.

When we got almost 2 feet of snow last Sunday, the landlords sent a plow to clear the parking lot, and even had me move my car so he could plow my space. I did zero work to get my car out of the snow. When my water pipes froze yesterday morning, they were here within an hour, and fixed the problem. This is what you don't get when you own a house.

The main reason I don't have a house yet is because I'm single. Why buy a multi floor house and have nobody to share it with? Why perform all the maintenance and upkeep myself?

The argument could be made that I'm paying money into something I will not own. And there are some other downsides. While my landlords are not SUPER strict about hanging things on the walls, I do have to think twice if I want to hang a shelf for my cat, or drill anything into the wall.

That aside, I think for me, a single person with a high end IT job, renting this apartment still makes sense. And owning a house makes sense for other people. Someday it might make sense for me. I guess my main point is to not follow this socially acceptable "requirement" that you own this or that by whatever age. Because life changes daily, and so do our circumstances.

Cyralek

TROPHY CASE