I've been rather busy with the holidays and forgot to post this. In November I was working, building a deck on a condo. This condo's back yard was right on a canal with no other access except through the unit. The owner was away during the days and told us that we could help ourselves to beverages in the refrigerator. I drank a water the first day and the second I opted for a diet pepsi. As I was kinda scurrying back with the soda bottle I quickly opened it and took a small drink. All at the same time my brain was processing that the lid of the bottle didn't seem to have been sealed (or had been opened before) I was just starting to swallow and realized that there was alcohol (rum) in the bottle. My throat immediately closed, I spit most of it out but did accidentially swallow about a half of an ounce. Damn I thought, this has never happened in 21 years. There had been some close calls when I picked up someone elses drink, but I always smell an open drink to be sure. This was, what I thought to be a closed bottle (which is the best way go).
So I'm sorta pissed, and sorta laughing it off. Obviously the guy's live in girlfriend had taken these bottles, poured some of the pepsi out and added rum. My brain is attempting to race and sort out stupid stuff like "is this a relapse" and "what's my sponsor going to say" because that's what my brain was processing 22 years ago when I was relapsing regularly. I shook it off and went back to work, no aparent affects where felt but it shure woke me up. Be careful my friends, things are not always what they seem. I think that I will stay out of my customers refrigerators from now on. lol
-- Edited by StPeteDean on Thursday 6th of January 2011 06:10:36 AM
Seems like you handled it fine. Mistakes will always happen, and I doubt somebody with your quality sobriety would let something like that escalate. Although I'm sure it was an unpleasant experience. ick.
But think about the owner/girlfriend: Who goes through the complex exercise of opening, mixing, and then re-sealing mixed drinks, only to store them in the fridge for later? Maybe they need to think about their drinking. None of our business of course.
Also, the alcoholic part of my brain is thinking, "Who would ruin rum with DIET coke???"
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Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and unto God that which is God's.
What is great about this is the laughing it off with the recognition that it was very serious. $hit happens and we react. You reacted well. That intake was like gargling scope so press on. 26 years ago (when I was about 25) this happened to me (someone spiked my drink knowing I was not drinking) as a joke (in the military--go figure) and I took it as permission! My hangover the next day put me back on the wagon, but since you are in your late 70's, your age and wisdom came in handy!
Tom
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"You're in the right place. That's the door right there. Turn around."
Thanks Dean for passing on some wisdom. We have to be ever diligent to protect ourselves. Others are only looking after themselves. Which is the way life is I suppose.
early on I was on the first class train to London. Breakfast included. 08:20 a.m. a glass of orange juice is put in front of me while my order is taken. 08:21 I take a mouthful. Swallow. Think this OJ is fizzy. Get waiter, hey what's in the OJ?
It's not OJ, it's Buck Fizz! (OJ and champagne) At 08:20 am FFS!
Spoke to someone in AA (not sponsor as I had his number on another phone that I didn't have with me - pillock!) who PHSL, told me it was a genuine accident and advised me not to drink anything unless I knew for sure what it was.
Later that day, at work, whole division meeting, 90 of us. 4 pm. Waitresses come out with tall glasses of something iced and pinky red, with mint leaves on it. So i'm ready. What's in this I ask. It's a Tom Collins. yes but what's in it?
Waitress goes back to check, comes back muttering, some cranberry juice, some alcohol (can't remember what) some Ice, some mint, some other stuff. There's not a lot of alcohol in it. In fact only about 5 bottles for the 90 of you (why bother?)
So can i have a plain Cranberry Juice? yes, if the director signs for it! Sod it I'll buy my own.
So I guess the first one wasa sharpener to get me vigilant, the second one was a test to see if I'd remembered.
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It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you got. BB
Too bad we recovering alkies don't have elephant trunks. They always have to suck liquid up into their "noses" before they then tranfer the liquid into their mouths to take a drink. lol
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~Your Higher Power has not given you a longing to do that which you have no ability to do.
So I say to the waiter"can you make veal marsala without the wine in it!!! :) Yes we must always be aware,things will happen!!! I can visualize you spitting that now..check it out ,could of had customer right next to you,interesting scenario spitting it all over them huh!!! :) ahhh sorry miss,I ain't sposed to drink this........A serious /comedical adventure in life........
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Selfishness-self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
Keep laughing I find it much more enjoyable than pissed off. You handled it well and by no stretch of the imagination can this be considered a relapse.
Ever vigilant
Larry, ----------------------- "God's will is to be of maximum service to others without regard of cost to self. Self will is to be of maximum service to self without regard of cost to others."
Yes I can certainly identify. In early sobriety I woke up with a deadly headache for a few days and while chatting to an old timer at a meeting I told her about same and what I was eating a lot of which was black forest gateau, a slice a night. She warned me to stay the hell away from it as it is laced with booze. This christmas I had a cough so I asked my better half to get me some cough mixture but to make sure it was non-drowsy, I should have said with no alcohol, actually felt ill after taking it, realised when I read the ingredients that yes it has alcohol in it, dumped it. Have just got a kidney infection and though I would usually take a herbal remedy, will not as it too is in an alcohol tincture. I can't risk that as speaking to another member tonight she told me that she knew someone with fifteen years sobriety and she took something similar and she went back drinking, might not be connected but could be and I can't take those chances. I must be prepared to go to any lengths so have antibiotics and It will pass. The anxiety of worrying about content would not be worth it to me.
Like the humour of dealing with it Dean -- and thanks for sharing on this, goes to show just how vigilant we have to be, but how to deal with it if it does happen, despite everything...
Bill recovered alcoholic. The book tells me that for by this time I will have stopped fighting every thing even alcohol. For sanity has returned I have no more power not to drink as I do to drink . Gods grace and mercy period.but my self esteem security ambitions and pocketbook will try to tell me different just like pride and ego. No power . After going thru this process and working 10 11 and 12 every day .I live in the truth and it is impossible for me to get drunk. God removed that not me that's the beauty of it it just comes. By no thought or effort on my part. Spiritual action self sacrifice unselfish and constructive action. Not being pissed .the book talks about mental blank spots . Your higher power was doing for you what you could not do for your self .if you are any thing like me .a real alcoholic. In the light of expert opinion recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. I work these steps . Vital spiritual awakening . That was my result. I never ever have to drink again . So when I bite into the rum ball at moms house on christmas . I spit it out .because god removed that love from me and replaced it with his .
I have had the same sort of thing happen a couple of times--once while at a family gathering even though the glasses were marked with names but there were two sets, the name was not checked and a refill occured in mine and not the other persons, much to my surprise.
The other time was at a Military function and I had requested a different colored from the rest of my group so I to know for sure what one was mine, they came around with champagne for toasting and yes they filled mine by mistake.
Luckly in both cases it was just a sip, but at least enough to know that a mistake had been made.
Things would be different if it had been drinking a whole bottle.
Obviously someone in that household is hiding their stuff by mixing and putting back and noone else is the wiser unless they like the same beverage as what happened to you.
No it is not a relapse, just an oops that could happen to anyone.
-- Edited by kld47 on Friday 7th of January 2011 05:25:24 PM
-- Edited by kld47 on Friday 7th of January 2011 05:25:46 PM
A serious /comedical adventure in life........