Saturday, August 14, 2010

Attended an AA meeting - 8/4/10


Hi my name is Diana and no, I'm not an Alcoholic but I did attend an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting to see, to feel, to understand what goes on at those gatherings. We all have images of AA meetings, courtesy of movies and television but I've always wondered what it is actually like to be around people battling addiction. And that's the key word: Addiction. To be considered an alcoholic, alcohol really must consume one's life and to those of us that don't know anyone that is an alcoholic (or a recovering one), we don't always understand what that looks like. Neither do we understand what it feels like to be a recovering alcoholic where everyday is a battle, where everyday you must say no, where the smallest sip or drink feeds that addiction no matter how long, where even the smallest sip knocks your days of sobriety, be it a few days or several years, back to zero.

The most impacting aspect of that meeting was the diversity of the people. Recovering alcoholics can be anyone! Male, female, young, old, short, tall, well-built, fat, White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, corporate businessman, hourly worker. They were ALL represented at this meeting I went to. And while passing each other on the street they probably would not speak to each other or run in the same circle, here at this meeting, they were sources of support and a reflection of oneself in the name of sobriety. Their testimonies were given with intent to inspire and encourage others but I suspect to also remind themselves how far they have come in recovery.

An emotional moment occurred at the end with the giving out of the sobriety coins/chips. White chips, known as the "desire" chip, represent those that make a vow today to quit drinking. One man picked up that chip. A huge chip was the 30-day chip, which when you think about it for you or I to abstain from some things for a month may not seem like anything but for a person who went from night and day thinking about or drinking alcohol, 30 days is HUGE! The 6-month chips were very emotional for two men and like I said, I found it hard not to get caught up in the moment. Clapping for these guys weren't enough, I wanted to get up and hug them and tell them how great of a job they were doing and how much I admire them.

And let me tell you, alcoholics, they face a hard challenge socially. I don't drink alcohol, coffee, soda, or diet products but I can say on a day-t0-day basis I am inundated with one of those products on a social manner. My friends ask to, "catch up over coffee," or "meet after work for drinks," and what do I, a non-alcoholic say to that? Sure, but I'll have herbal tea or just a seltzer water with lemon instead of the coffee or cocktail. And I, a non-alcoholic, have moments of discomfort where I'm in situations where everyone is drinking something, and I am not, and for me it's by choice, knowing that if I were to partake, I wouldn't spin out of control. Imagine what it must feel like for a recovering alcoholic.

And so to end, I challenge you all to two things. First, attend an AA meeting if you get a chance. Go to a meeting where there is a speaker and listen to the person's battle with alcohol, see the actions of the people at the meeting. Observe the structure of the meeting, the respect and solidarity that exists. Second, try getting sober: Give up something you find yourself not able to live without or something that you do everyday for 30 days to understand the challenges faced. Give up that morning coffee, after-dinner dessert, Facebook, fast-food, driving, etc. And let me know via comments how it goes.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Make a Wedding Cake.

When an opportunity presents itself, you've gotta take it! Who woulda thought that someone would have actually ASKED ME to make their wedding cake. I figured one of two things for this bucket list item: a) I'd be asked to make this cake years down the road after a few classes or something or b) I'd end up making a wedding cake just for snorts and giggles (and have a whole lot of people over to eat it!)
But, when my roommate was in wedding planning mode, she and
her now-husband, sampled my cream cheese chocolate chip cake with cream cheese icing and nonchalantly said, "Do you want to make our wedding cake?" I think at the time I thought she was kidding and maybe she even thought I was kidding when I said that I would.

And it certainly was a true opportunity presenting itself because to my knowledge she didn't even know that this was an item on my list! Knock knock, it's me opportunity!
So finally the days withered down until wedding time and my kitchen was bustling as were the dining room and my mind. Everything was planned out: baking days, ingredient layout, utensils, etc. The cake was white cake, homemade dulce de leche, and Italian buttercream.

A couple of things: Italian Buttercream ROCKS! Fat-free dulce de leche is good, but not as great as the regular stuff and Betty Crocker white cake mix is TERRIBLE, never use if must use cake mix...Pillsbury all the wayyyy.

I had originally made a white cake from scratch that the wedding party had liked but to replicate that recipe to make a three-tiered cake that fed 150 people I realized could not happen with my awesome but household KitchenAid stand mixer. We decided to go with cake mix and I mistakenly chose Betty Crocker. Gross.

















Wedding day: Cake made. Cake safely transported. Cake assembled. Cake presented. Cake Cut. Cake Success. And here's to happily-ever-after.
Bottom line: I felt extremely honored to be able to make a cake for someone's wedding. It's a testament of their confidence in you and their appreciation and enjoyment of your work. I'm no Ace of Cakes and it's a ton of work. But I'd DEFINITELY do it again. Just not anytime soon.


Sunday, April 4, 2010

Run the Monument 10K

Picture this: Me. Running. and Running. and Running. Running for 6.2 miles. And in all actuality, I don't think 6.2 miles are that much to run, I mean it's only for an hour or so (unless you are some speedy-ass people and run it in oh 24-46 minutes). I'm sure you can find other ways to mindlessly spend an hour and forget about those wasted hours weeks, months or years later. However, I don't think I'll easily forget running the Ukrops' Monument 10k.

So..I signed up in February for the race, thinking that'd be plenty of time to train...oh about 6 weeks until race day.

5 weeks till race day: Still haven't run.
4 weeks until race day: It's cold man, no running.
3 weeks until race day: a 3 mile run. That's normal.
1 week until race day: 1.5 mile run..it started to rain and I had to turn around.
2 days before race day: hmm...I should do some running, 4.5 mile run. K, that's it until race day.
Race day: Amazing what adrenaline and determination to finish will do!

It was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful race. I had my playlist bumping, the spectators were awesome, the weather a little chilly but sunny and the turnout grand! It took me a while to get in the groove but I was dead set on never walking, never stopping. It wasn't until around mile 3 that I'd gotten into a rhythm and as I crossed the finish line, I felt as if I could have kept going.

I'm not runner. And I can't say I enjoy running. But I do enjoy crossing that finish line. Over 37,000 people signed up to run that race, and I was one of the 30,000 that showed up on race day. It was wild and most enormous feeling.

So, I think I'll start signing up for other races, 5Ks, 10Ks, 15Ks..leading up the next race on the list: A Half-Marathon. BRING IT!