Back from QUEST - Part 2
As soon as we returned from Atalaya, we spramped and were back in the car, heading right back to where we were. Well, actually a little further. (We'd returned to pick up and drop off others in the group.) We were on our way to the home of a friend in the program. He'd made salad, shrimp creole, rice, cornbread and pineapple cake for us! It was delicious! I had two servings of shrimp creole and rice and two slices of cake! Piggy! It was a nice little visit to his home; about a dozen of us were there.
We headed back to the resort for the 8:00 speaker meeting and sobriety count-up. The meeting was good, with the speaker regaling us with a well-presented tale of his story. The count-up was and is always a neat thing to experience. A 12 & 12 and a Big Book had been circulating amongst us in the previous events to sign. They were presented to the attendees with the shortest time of sobriety and the longest.
We headed back to the Hostility Suite for more socializing and ice cream and birthday cake. Before I went there, I went to my room to crash for a few minutes. Since it was the last night I'd be there, I called the front desk to find out when the indoor pool closed. 10:00 and it was 9:25. I hemmed and hawed for a few minutes and decided to do what I normally wouldn't. So, I got into my board shorts and a zip-up sweatshirt and sandals and headed down to the pool. (I was looking pretty good! I have been working out...) I get into the pool room and I'm alone. That's fine. Take off the sandals and sweatshirt and step into the pool. YEEEEOWWWWW!!! It was freezing!!! It may be an indoor pool, but it sure as Hell ain't heated!!! Oh well, forget that...
I head back to the room and dress a little warmer and head to the party. It was OK, but I never really got engaged in a good conversation. Rather than hanging around others' conversations or just standing there looking stupid, I headed back to the room after an hour or so. I did have a short conversation with someone that really made me feel good. An oldtimer who was the speaker at last year's QUEST approached me and commented on what I shared in the 4th & 5th workshop. He paid me several compliments on how I seemed to be working my program and offered some suggestions, too. We exchanged email addresses; I've dropped him a line. He's almost always on the go (over 200 round-ups in 10 years!), so I imagine it may be awhile before I hear from him. He's a very neat fellow and I'm glad I go to hear his story last year. A major point in it is that he got sober by stumbling into a gay AA round-up! How's that for God doing...?
Back in the room, I got my clothes ready to pack in the morning. Chilled out and watched a bit of Mad TV. My partner came in and gave me a shoulder massage, a very rare treat! Our suite mate came in and headed back out for a walk on the beach. I dozed.
Come morning, I was awake again at dawn. I peeked at it and rolled over for another hour. We got all packed and put the luggage in the car. A quick bite in the hostility suite and we headed to the last meeting. The Sunday morning gratitude meeting was a good close to the weekend. Bittersweet, but good; it ends so quickly. More contact info was exchanged and, in a short while, we were on the road. We grabbed a Starbucks - aaaaaaahhhhhh, real coffee - and made our way home. I played navigator with my new GPS for my new laptop (FABULOUS TOY/TOOL!), my partner drove and our suitemate played D.J.
I'm glad I went, participated, reflected, grew, helped, lived.
We headed back to the resort for the 8:00 speaker meeting and sobriety count-up. The meeting was good, with the speaker regaling us with a well-presented tale of his story. The count-up was and is always a neat thing to experience. A 12 & 12 and a Big Book had been circulating amongst us in the previous events to sign. They were presented to the attendees with the shortest time of sobriety and the longest.
We headed back to the Hostility Suite for more socializing and ice cream and birthday cake. Before I went there, I went to my room to crash for a few minutes. Since it was the last night I'd be there, I called the front desk to find out when the indoor pool closed. 10:00 and it was 9:25. I hemmed and hawed for a few minutes and decided to do what I normally wouldn't. So, I got into my board shorts and a zip-up sweatshirt and sandals and headed down to the pool. (I was looking pretty good! I have been working out...) I get into the pool room and I'm alone. That's fine. Take off the sandals and sweatshirt and step into the pool. YEEEEOWWWWW!!! It was freezing!!! It may be an indoor pool, but it sure as Hell ain't heated!!! Oh well, forget that...
I head back to the room and dress a little warmer and head to the party. It was OK, but I never really got engaged in a good conversation. Rather than hanging around others' conversations or just standing there looking stupid, I headed back to the room after an hour or so. I did have a short conversation with someone that really made me feel good. An oldtimer who was the speaker at last year's QUEST approached me and commented on what I shared in the 4th & 5th workshop. He paid me several compliments on how I seemed to be working my program and offered some suggestions, too. We exchanged email addresses; I've dropped him a line. He's almost always on the go (over 200 round-ups in 10 years!), so I imagine it may be awhile before I hear from him. He's a very neat fellow and I'm glad I go to hear his story last year. A major point in it is that he got sober by stumbling into a gay AA round-up! How's that for God doing...?
Back in the room, I got my clothes ready to pack in the morning. Chilled out and watched a bit of Mad TV. My partner came in and gave me a shoulder massage, a very rare treat! Our suite mate came in and headed back out for a walk on the beach. I dozed.
Come morning, I was awake again at dawn. I peeked at it and rolled over for another hour. We got all packed and put the luggage in the car. A quick bite in the hostility suite and we headed to the last meeting. The Sunday morning gratitude meeting was a good close to the weekend. Bittersweet, but good; it ends so quickly. More contact info was exchanged and, in a short while, we were on the road. We grabbed a Starbucks - aaaaaaahhhhhh, real coffee - and made our way home. I played navigator with my new GPS for my new laptop (FABULOUS TOY/TOOL!), my partner drove and our suitemate played D.J.
I'm glad I went, participated, reflected, grew, helped, lived.
