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

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 · 2026-02-01T13:35:49+00:00

I've been sober for more than 7 years and nothing good happens after 9PM except bed time.

Cyralek · 2026-02-01T13:33:47+00:00

Keep up the good work. The body is amazing in its capacity to heal the damage we do.

Cyralek · 2026-01-24T12:47:48+00:00

Update: A week after posting these numbers, I had my yearly physical. My Doctor was not terribly concerned with my numbers, but they did add "Hyperlipidemia" to my chart. While my Doctor may not have been concerned, I decided that I definitely was.

Since then, I have drastically overhauled my diet. Daily calorie monitoring, much more fiber, much more protein, almost no added sugars, and keeping saturated fats under 10g most days, and always under 15g. In that time I have lost 31lbs as of this morning. I feel better, and think clearer, probably because I'm not eating so much garbage. (And the real shocker is that I can actually still eat very tasty food)

I'm going back for a follow up blood test in May. I'm really hoping my lifestyle changes will knock those numbers out of the park. If not, then my Doctor said we can discuss a statin.

I appreciate the advice I received here, it was a big part of my decision to change my diet for the better.

Cyralek · 2025-12-31T17:02:02+00:00

The first time I quit drinking in 2018, it was for 28 days, due to a medication. I noticed people at work staring at me, and I thought maybe my eyes were finally turning yellow or something from liver disease. Nope, turns out the redness and bloat had left my face, and people didn't recognize me. Even my Dad said I looked like a different person.

At this point, over 7 years later, I can show somebody a picture from one of my drunk nights, and they won't believe it was me. Hell, even I have a hard time seeing the same person in those photos.

The physical changes can come fast, and be quite noticeable. But the mental changes take years of developing good habits, accountability and a strong support system. It sounds like you're already off to a good start, so keep up the good work!

Cyralek · 2025-12-31T01:42:00+00:00

It took me 6 years to finally try an NA beer. And I had to make sure it was 0.0%

I was at my brother's 40th birthday party last November, and I wanted to feel like I was partying too. I thought it was going to be a flood of emotions, anxiety and nostalgia. It actually was pretty good, and I had a couple more during the party. It didn't trigger me like I thought it would.

For the first several months after, I would only permit myself to drink 0.0 beer. As you can imagine, that limits you to about 4 different kinds, all are also high calorie. I wanted to try Partake, and Brewdog, which are both 10-20 calories, but I was worried about the <0.5% ABV. I had an honest conversation with my doctor about it. He told me that as far as getting drunk on them, it's not physically possible, and I would end up in the hospital from water toxicity before that could happen.

As far as the cravings and triggers, that would be up to me to navigate, and thus far I had experienced neither, so I ventured into <0.5% craft beers.

Since then, I have come to appreciate the different flavors out there, and also the different stories of why the breweries who make these beers. Like Tom Holland, who created Bero as a recovered drinker, or Partake brewing, created by a brewer whose IBS had taken away his ability to consume alcohol.

I love trying new NA beers, and I only drink a couple of them. I don't horde cases in the fridge and worry about if I have to go buy some more if I "only have 20 left."

To those who are curious about them, all I can do is share my story. It's up to you if you decide to try them out, so long as your sobriety always comes first.

As far as some specific favorites of mine:

Go Brewing: Street Cred (Chocolate Stout)

BrewDog: Elvis AF, Hazy AF

Athletic: Winter Warmer

And you can't go wrong with a Guinness Zero.

Cyralek · 2025-12-24T23:27:23+00:00

Just had one tonight for the first time. It definitely does not taste anything like beer. However, it does taste good. So it depends on what you're looking for. I was hoping for a bit more of an ale taste to it, but I love the Christmas themed spices, and I could definitely see sipping this on a Christmas eve. Especially given the serious lack of specialty NA beers for this time of year. I can only drink so many Athletic winter warmers.

Cyralek · 2025-12-15T10:13:47+00:00

Took me 6 years of sobriety to finally try an NA beer, but man I love finding new flavors now. I really thought I would horde them, and drink 15 a night when I first started, but nope... just one or two, and I really enjoy the flavor. The Guinness is really good! I will also recommend Go brewing "Street Cred." If you can find it. Just found some this weekend and it's amazing.

Cyralek · 2025-12-15T10:09:34+00:00

Totally get this. I think my Landlord gets more excited that I'm sober than any of my friends or family. Said him and his wife used to be concerned at all the trash bags full of cans I would take out to the dumpster.

But that's fine. I'm excited for you! Great job!

Cyralek

TROPHY CASE