# Hey all, I'm Back **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 27, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260 "2004-09-27T05:05:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/1 "2004-09-27T05:05:20Z")
Hey all, I’m back and damned happy about it. A short explanation of my absense. I’ve been having an ongoing battle with Bacchus, which until recently I’ve been losing. In other words I’m an acoholic, now in recovery. (WOO HOOO, I got six months yesterday). I decided to move into a halfway house because I couldn’t get sober alone. So I spent 5 months in the house. I recently moved out and bought myself a membership here for my birthday. Since getting sober I got a new job doing support for a company that makes hotel/spa/golf reservation software. I also got a new car. More important than that I am earning back the trust of my family and friends. I’ve got a lot more to do to keep my sobriety and all that goes along with it, but I am ‘doin the deal’ as someone I truly respect in the program always preaches. Anyway, I am truely happy to be back on the board. Slee ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/2 "2004-09-27T05:11:55Z")
Glad to see you back and healthy. Don’t be a stranger:) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/3 "2004-09-27T05:14:44Z")
Welcome back! So what was it like in the halfway house? Do they watch you 24-7 or what? Was it only alcoholics or other drug users as well? Why did you decide to stop drinking excessively? What was your epiphany? ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/4 "2004-09-27T05:17:30Z")
Welcome back, **sleestak** , and congratulations on your six months of recovery. Keep on keeping on. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/5 "2004-09-27T05:24:01Z")
Hey I remember ya! Glad to see you back, and hope you had a good day yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/6 "2004-09-27T05:52:33Z")
Congratulations, and welcome back! ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/7 "2004-09-27T05:56:31Z")
Welcome back to the Land of the Lost. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/8 "2004-09-27T06:32:54Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Welcome back to the Land of the Lost. I think that should be: Welcome back **from** the land of the lost! 😉 Yes, I know what a sleestak is, but I also know relatives that truly did indeed came back from the land of lost weekends… It is not easy, and is a happy time when an alcoholic relative decides to get help and to get better. Glad to see you get better! ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/9 "2004-09-27T06:39:34Z")
Thanks all. It is nice to be back. > [@astro](#): > > Welcome back! > > So what was it like in the halfway house? Do they watch you 24-7 or what? Was it only alcoholics or other drug users as well? > > Why did you decide to stop drinking excessively? What was your epiphany? The halfway house wasn’t all that bad. I mean I wouldn’t recommend it for a vacation but if you need to get sober it is the way to go. The house was pretty laid back and mainly for alcoholics, though some drug addicts were in there. You had to have a job, there was a 10 pm curfew, you had to hit an AA meeting a day and you had chores to do. Otherwise you could do what you wanted. It had cable and I ended up installing a computer and running cat 5 so we had cable internet. Probably the worst part of it was the snoring. It seems that drunks, or at least the large majority of drunks, snore even when they are sober. The guy who runs the place, I’ll call him D, was pretty cool. Same with the guy who owns the place, F. If you were doing the right things they would go out of their way to help. If you screwed up, on the other hand, you heard about it quickly. I decided that I never ever wanted to piss off F or D. I saw Frank go off on a guy who came home loaded. F is an Irishman and cusses better than anyone on the face of the planet. As ar as what caused me to stop drinking, I just hit the bottom. (I _ALWAYS_ drank excessively. I never did understand moderation) I just couldn’t go on the way I was. It was either stop drinking or kill myself. Being a wimp suicide didn’t seem very appealing. I’d screwed up a lot of things, jobs, relationships, cars(thankfully I didn’t kill anyone). All I had left was just utter dispair. So it was time to do something different, to try doing it someone elses way, which happens to be AA. And it works. Life no longer sucks. In fact it is pretty damned neat. Slee ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/10 "2004-09-27T12:36:26Z")
Glad to have you back, **slee** - and it sounds like you are in a great place. Congratulations. ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/11 "2004-09-27T12:53:35Z")
Welcome back! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/12 "2004-09-27T13:58:20Z")
Welcome back, **sleestak** – you’ll find there’s a whole bunch of us recovering Dopers. twicks, clean and sober 18 years, nine months, and five days. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/13 "2004-09-27T15:19:38Z")
Congratulations. Keep up the great work. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/14 "2004-09-27T17:46:51Z")
_The_ **sleestak**? I’ve heard so much about [you](http://www.70slivekidvid.com/land/sleestak1.jpg)! I’m honored, sir… Congrats on the sobriety, too! ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/15 "2004-09-27T18:53:01Z")
Hey hey, good to have you back **Sleestak**. Even better that you’re doing a great job of putting the pieces of your life back together. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/16 "2004-09-27T19:08:40Z")
Congrats!! I have the utmost respect for people who can take their demons by the horns, turn them around, bend them over and… :eek: sorry, I was getting overwhelmed. Alcoholism has ripped appart some people in my family, as you know **slee** it is a cunning, and patient monster, so be vigilent, and if need be take it one minute at a time. Very good on you!! I’ll say it again…Very good on you!! Welcome back. Oh and Happy Birthday… ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-all-im-back/266260/17 "2004-09-27T19:53:59Z")
Hey, welcome back **Sleestak** , and congratulations on your sobriety.