Today, I am determined to not be a couch potato. I am leaving the TV off and engaging with other things. Such as writing a long and sprawling blog entry. I'm not sure the world is better off because of this. But hey…

The sponsee is still here. Last Thursday he was very sick with a cold so we couldn't check him into addiction treatment. His check-in date is now set for this Wednesday. We have been taking care of him. Fortunately he has been very easy to take care of as he sleeps most of the time.

Friday afternoon the sponsee called me. The fire alarms were going off in our house. He said there was no smoke. He couldn't figure out how to reset the alarms. I quickly drove home to investigate—the house and the sponsee. The sponsee was right. There didn't appear to be any reason for the alarms to go off. I pulled the alarm batteries and disconnected their hard lines. Modern fire detectors are just too clever. The sponsee was clear headed when we talked, but still sick and coughing. He went to bed and fell asleep shortly after I shut off the alarms.

Saturday morning I fell into some kind of procrastination black-hole. I couldn't bring myself to watch the tv shows that I wanted to watch. That would be admitting that I was goofing off. Instead, I left "The Amazing World Of Gumball" on TV and just vegged. Gumball is not the kind of show that adults should binge watch. It's a clever children's show with occasional naughty jokes. None the less, I watched it for hours. What are those creatures? What are the laws of physics in that universe?

Saturday afternoon Steven returned from his trip. I was very glad to see him.

Saturday evening was Yo's birthday. Steven and I were invited, but we thought it best if Steven stayed with the sponsee. I took a few hours off and went there by myself.

I took a Lyft there and back. I really like Lyft. The service that they provide is great. Getting a taxi is easy. I know what I'm going to pay before hand. Rides come quickly. The cars are clean.

Why is it that when I call a big taxi company, it takes 30 minutes to get a ride to my house, But with Lyft, one will be there in 5?

Anyways, It's a treat to use Lyft. Not only could I drink with out worry, but I didn't have to deal with traffic or parking. The next time Steven and I go out for an evening, I'm going to use Lyft even if it is many bucks more than driving. Steven can get frustrated driving and parking, especially when it's raining and the traffic is high. He has mentioned that he wants me to drive more, but he is such a control freak that he doesn't like it when I drive. Lyft may avoid that problem and let us have a stress free evening away.

Back to Yo and the Angel. I had dinner and drinks with them. We three are all escapees of very bad relationships. The Angel opened up about that with me for the first time.

We had a wonderful dinner. We had great drinks—hand crafted cocktails. A "Hand-crafted Cocktail Lounge" sounds pretentious compared to a "Bar" but these lounges do a nice job. They are well designed. The drinks are nice to look at. The bartenders are very showy while they make them.

The difference between a bar and a cocktail lounge… at a bar, a scantily dressed young waitress will quickly bring you your drink in a Solo cup. Male bartenders or waiters are rare. At a high end lounge, well dressed men and women will serve you and even have good conversation with you.

So I had a party night with Yo and the Angel. Even though I drank heavily, I was home by 10pm. This is my life now. When did that change happen? There were years when I wouldn't head out to a club until 10pm. Now 10pm is bed time. Even on weekends.

Sunday morning I woke up with a bit of a hangover. I cannot let Steven know when I have a hangover. Given his attitude on drinking, I think that he'd rub it in. I drank a lot of water and took a few asprin. I went for a nice long hike with the dog.   

Sunday afternoon the sponsee took a home drug test as the addiction treatment center won't take you unless there are no drugs in your system. The test showed all clear.  It was nerve wracking waiting for the test to process. We had a good laugh after.

Sunday evening the sponsee went out to his car to remove any valuables. Steven, not joking, asked "Should we watch him. Do you think he will return?" We were relieved when he did return ten minutes later.

Steven is away this week for work. We said our goodbyes a few hours ago. I babysit the sponsee today. Another AA acquaintance will watch him tomorrow. Wednesday morning we check him into treatment.

I hope he makes it.