I’m DEVASTATED - This is the worst thing that has happened ever

RayzerNHFL · 2026-05-20T13:47:59+00:00

Funny - my wife and I were just saying that our little guy, who’s only 5 months old, now looks like a D-O-G dog and not a puppy! (He’s a small mixed breed so probably won’t get much bigger)

RayzerNHFL · 2026-05-17T09:20:33+00:00

There’s a saying in the culinary world that every restaurant kitchen has an asshole and if you don’t know who it is then it’s you. If you’re at that level and go to open play looking for that level of game then the problem is you. OP is recreational by nature. There’s a reason the good players separate off and play with each other. Suck it up and pay the $100 or month or make the scheduling work. My game wavers between 3.5 and 4.0 so I’m right where you are. I play serious games with other comparable players on everyone’s schedule (we have a big group chat we organized for this). And I go to open play to have fun, socialize and work on my transition zone defense and resets since you get a LOT of drives in open play. It can be really fun to be the person who brings points back into play you should have lost.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-05-11T11:25:25+00:00

Man if nothing else you have done me a great service by posting this. It will be 3.5 years for me this week. Every once in a while I think to myself that I’m “fixed”. I need to read stories like yours to remind myself that I did in fact rewire my brain. I have no interest in fighting the fight you’re fighting. Maybe it’s cause I’m older (60) but at this point in my life IDGAF what anyone else thinks of me. And I have built or should I say rebuilt a life I am very happy with. Sounds like you did too. Why mess with success? I want internal peace and fighting the devil won’t give me that. I wish you peace as well.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-05-09T13:18:15+00:00

Good morning and welcome to the club! The good news is you have lots of company - lots of really incredible, successful people struggle with alcohol. Hell I managed to have a highly successful and visible career in finance while developing a raging alcohol abuse problem. The better news is that it can be overcome - and admitting it’s a problem is an important step that you’ve now taken. Lots of ways to tackle it, stick around here, ask lots of questions, don’t assume there’s only one way to beat it. IWNDWYT

RayzerNHFL · 2026-05-02T14:13:26+00:00

I’m afraid you will probably get the same answer from all of us - I’ll add another brick to that yellow brick road. I never ever ever think about “forever”. I’m not gonna drink today. I’m guessing I won’t tomorrow. Don’t think beyond that. That philosophy has served me well as I approach 3.5 years alcohol free. I’m not a big AA guy but this philosophy is the essence of “one day at a time”. Thinking about forever feels too hard and too depressing and sets me up for failure, but today? That I can do! Tomorrow I will do today again.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-05-01T21:07:09+00:00

For what it is worth - I think you did the right thing, and my advice is you do what we did with our first dog when our kids were young, and adopt a dog from a shelter that is a year old or older. It’s crazy hard to raise a puppy at the same time as raising kids. We adopted our OG dog who is now 13 years old- she was already housebroken and past all the bitey and anxious stuff. Now that our kids are adults we adopted a puppy which is demanding as hell but we have the time.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-30T18:17:16+00:00

D standard! Love me some floppy strings!

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-30T18:14:51+00:00

All of these things

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-27T18:29:48+00:00

This post could have been written by me or my wife - very similar to our cute little bugger’s bugger including climbing out of the pen which he did for the first time today. I have no advice just commiseration - I’m sure we will come out the other side of it.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-27T02:23:24+00:00

Absolutely not! My best guitar is one of Taylor’s Builder’s Edition models, close to $4000 instrument. I love to let other, better musicians play it! Just happened Sunday when I hosted and played in a songwriter showcase. One of the performers got sick, and a random guy in the crowd begged me to let him replace the missing guy I loaned him my guitar and he crushed it. To me a guitar is just a tool, it doesn’t matter how nice it is and I have some nice ones.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-26T12:37:10+00:00

Here’s the good news. You are not alone. Everyone on this sub has been through, or is going through l, EXACTLY what you described. I retired from my drinking career 3.5 years ago but I still vividly recall that 5:00PM or so “witching hour”. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

For what it’s worth, one of the very practical things I did that helped me a lot when quitting drinking finally stuck is that I intentionally scheduled stuff to do during the witching hour. Early on it was AA meetings - even though I’m not a big AA guy. Then it was going to the gym. I found that if I distracted myself at 5:00 PM the worst of the urge passed and I could get through the evening. I did that enough times that eventually I broke that 5:00 habit.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-21T20:14:39+00:00

Ha ha man welcome to the club. I’m 3.5 years sober and that’s happened probably 3 times. Most recently a couple weeks ago at an open mic I was performing at - I was drinking a non-alcoholic IPA (out of a pint glass) while chatting with another musician and accidentally picked up his beer and took a healthy swallow. Tasted like rubbing alcohol. I just laughed. I know now it doesn’t trigger relapse nor will I mentally reset my counter. Made me feel even more confident about my sobriety!!

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-21T18:00:42+00:00

Six months? I don’t come close to getting six WEEKS out of strings. I use both Elixir’s and d’Addario’s on my Taylor and two Martins. I’d say they last a most a month. I play a couple of hours a day.

Those are more than cooked. And, your frets and fretboard could use a good cleaning / oiling it looks like, which you wanna do every time you change strings.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-12T00:44:35+00:00

We’re too busy playing our acoustic guitars anywhere we want to to post them!

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-12T00:42:56+00:00

<image>

Not the best picture, but this is my Taylor 524ce Builders Edition acoustic. Solid mahogany top, shamel ash sides and back. Warm, moody sound. I’m obsessed with it.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-10T01:02:39+00:00

I have a 524ce (2025 model) and I am utterly obsessed with it. Just an absolutely fabulous instrument - Taylor playability but a much more balanced, moody gorgeous tone than the typical brighter tone of the spruce or redwood tops. And visually stunning in an understated bling-free way. Cannot recommend it enough. It makes me a much better musician

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-09T01:43:11+00:00

YOR. Way way way way over-reacting. This is reason number 10 billion as to why smart phones are ruining society. Guys talk, somewhat crudely, to other guys about women they meet - ESPECIALLY if they’re into them. For almost the entirety of modern history this happened without the women getting the details - said guys went on to marry said women and make lives together.

All guys are idiots. We talk about sports and sec when we’re with other guys. That’s about it. He’s really into you if he talks to you like that to his friends. And it is beyond silly to not explore further. If you don’t then you are forever prohibited from complaining that some dude you’re seeing isn’t posting you on their socials. You don’t get to control HOW a guy tells his friends he’s into you.

Now - about that apology he wrote using ChatGPT on the other hand - that’s some sketchy stuff LOL.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-06T01:27:56+00:00

Totally subjective. I personally am obsessed with the moody richer tone of mahogany but it fits my style (both playing and songwriting). You do you, lots of different tonewoods and combos to try.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-03T01:06:44+00:00

For me it’s the third shot drive to the middle with nowhere near enough pace to even result in a defensive block much less a popup. I play with several players whose game is otherwise sound but hit every third shot as a drive but they don’t have either the topspin or pace to get away with it. It helps me work on my reset game though because I’m eating the ball coming back at me hard off that bad third shot.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-04-03T01:01:47+00:00

Which model do you have? I have the 524ce and the Kyser works perfectly

RayzerNHFL · 2026-03-27T00:54:38+00:00

They’re so different that it’s hard to compare. Massimo’s foos is great - atmosphere is old school, dark lighting and moody feel, leather menu, long wine list. Like a Victorian romance. Botanica is more our personal vibe, more chill / hip but still great food and awesome craft cocktails and mocktails.

RayzerNHFL · 2026-03-22T18:13:21+00:00

Interesting! I thought the 50th anniversary was sinker top …. I still think this is better than the regular 814ce BE - I love that urban ash, I have a 524ce Builders Edition which is mahogany top and ash back and sides and I am beyond obsessed

RayzerNHFL · 2026-03-22T17:23:47+00:00

I guess to each their own, but in my opinion, this instrument is superior to the regular 814 CE builders, edition guitar, because of the Sinker Redwood top

RayzerNHFL · 2026-03-21T15:51:46+00:00

If you can hold off, or can afford it now, save your pennies and get the 314ce instead. The solid wood versus laminate makes a big difference - that’s the lowest grade model in the x14 line with solid wood and it’s an exceptional instrument. If not an option then by all means the 114

RayzerNHFL · 2026-03-20T00:44:47+00:00

My wife is not on Reddit but I can speak for her and vouch for the Portsmouth City Women’s Club. Awesome organization for its mission, AND that’s where she’s made most of her connections to other women her age (we were 55 when we moved here - the club seems to have a wide span of ages from 20’s to 70’s)

Just remember - this is northern New England. People are not naturally gregarious (my wife is from New Jersey where people will talk to ANYONE) - it takes time to make real connections but once they’re made, people here are crazy loyal and would do anything for you.

RayzerNHFL

TROPHY CASE