All Processing Nicely

I was awake very early this morning because my brain was up before the rest of my body joined in!! My brain was “percolating” at a conversation I had last night with my very good friends. I continued to be amazed as to how intelligent people are. I was thinking about a situation and sought advice from my friends. I not only got great advice I received something I hadn’t even though about. All of this has to do with our (my family and me) family’s upcoming living arrangement in July. I thought I had things all sorted out but there was something on my mind which is when I sought the advice. It only took a few minutes for my friend to come up with an excellent solution. I have and continue to trust and believe things will work out for the very best and they certainly continue on this path.

In the theme of everything working out this is what all came together last night in a matter of minutes. The idea was presented which was so very simple but it took my friend’s vast superior intellect (I mean this seriously) to come out with this very simple solution. Instead of moving into the house I thought we would be moving into we will be moving into a different house. This different house suits our needs much better then the other house since it is much bigger and has more bedrooms. I know my wife was concerned with when our families would visit us and where they would stay. This potential issue was resolved very quickly.

We not only get to move into a larger home we still have the potential of being homeowners or I should be more specific my wife has the potential to be a homeowner much sooner then anticipated. I lost my right to be a homeowner when I did the things I did to fortify my compulsive gambling addiction. It is just as well I lost this right because my wife more then deserves to be a homeowner much sooner then expected after all that I have put her through.

Yes, all of this came together very nicely last night and I lay in bed pontificating the pros and cons. There are some downsides to this solution but the upsides far outweigh the downsides and I am eternally grateful to all the magnificent people in my life. Make no mistake what I did (steal for my compulsive gambling addiction) was so wrong in so many different ways; however; there are currently some amazing people in my life providing me with some amazing opportunities. This all stems from the Gamblers Anonymous Program. I walked into that room over three years seeking help for my compulsive gambling addiction. I continue to get help for this addiction and I have gained so much more. I have gained friends who are true friends in every sense of the word. These friends have become guardian angels and they are angels to me. I am beyond fortunate to have these people in my life and it is all thanks to recovery.

I was up early because it was my turn to bring the “goodies” to the Saturday morning GA meeting. I wanted to ensure I left myself enough time to purchase the “goodies” (bagels with cream cheese as I opposed to purchasing donuts!) after my workout and before the meeting so I was up and out early this morning. I made my way to the gym where I had a great workout. I needed to take the day off from running yesterday and do the exercise cycle. In fact I split that workout up on the exercise cycle between yesterday and today. Normally I (to use a “prison” term) “break myself off” (a.k.a. hard workout) when I ride the exercise cycle but I took it easy (at least for me) on the cycle doing only one part of the workout yesterday and the other part today.

Oh yes, exercise is largely mental and my attitude was poor yesterday which led to a less then stellar workout on the exercise cycle. For whatever reason my attitude was great this morning which led to a great workout this morning. Attitude is indeed everything and I do my best to employ a positive attitude day to day but some days the attitude is much better then other days which was the case this morning. I got done with the great workout and it was off to the bagel shop prior to the meeting. I purchased the bagels and arrived at the meeting a few minutes ahead of schedule. I was the first one to arrive at the meeting room so I had my bagel while waiting for others to arrive. The other members did arrive and there were also some newer members in attendance.

I do enjoy when new members come for their first meeting and today the new member had a very compelling story. As this member told their story I couldn’t help but to think about my previous career path. I worked in the Gaming Industry for over 12 years and even though I didn’t have direct day to day contact with customers I was still part of the Casino business. Hearing the story this morning by this new member almost made me feel embarrassed for working in this industry. Here was a person who never gambled for a good majority of their life and then they decide to take a trip to the local casino. (There are several of these “local” casinos in this area of Southern California and I worked for the largest one in this area.) This first trip seemed fun but for the compulsive gambler the fun turned into just problems.

In years past and in my case it took me almost all of my adult life of gambling to cause major destruction and damage. This new member did all of their destruction and damage in less then one year. It wasn’t a lifetime of gambling it was only a short period of time. I thought more about this and I can see many people ruining their lives because of the ease of getting to the casinos (many are in residential neighborhoods) and the ease of obtaining credit. There never seems to be a shortage of credit cards, cash advances, payday loans and many other credit instruments. Heck if you are a good enough customer the casinos will cash your personal checks and may even hold them a few days while you “supposedly” make good on the checks.

I can see a compulsive gambler who may have not known they were a compulsive gambler turn their lives inside out after only a few days of gambling. It really is too easy to gamble now more then ever. I read a statistic that stated 90% of the U.S. population is within a two hour drive of a casino. This is mind boggling because up until 1977 the only place to legally place a bet in a casino was in Nevada now these casinos are everywhere. I am certainly not against casinos because they are now part of the United States landscape and are here to stay. This is a huge business and more people spend money in casinos then any other form of “entertainment”. The statistics bear out that between 4 and 5 percent of the people who frequent gambling establishments are compulsive gamblers and the fact that almost 90% of the population of the United States of America entered a casino within the last few years makes this 4 to 5 percent a large number.

I was reading an article about a fellow compulsive gambler who has certainly turned his life around. He was in Las Vegas speaking to various agencies about the pitfalls of compulsive gambling. You can find the entire article here. I found this fascinating and was wondering how this man went from prisoner to owner of a compulsive gambler rehabilitation facility in less then five years. I do believe the answer to that question is simple; RECOVERY. His is a success story and it is something I am doing my best to emulate. My goal is to also speak with federal, state, local, universities, colleges, high schools, middle schools and whomever else that wants to here the perils of compulsive gambling.

As I mentioned I worked in that industry for a number of years and made a very good living but working in that industry didn’t preclude me from becoming a compulsive gambler. I have often thought that it propagated my compulsive gambling addiction as I fought it with years of denial. Anyhow I fully understand that the vast majority of the population can gamble within a budget (I don’t like the word “normal”) and does treat like entertainment. I am not one of those people and my idea of gambling is insane to the regular people who gamble.

I cannot and will not gamble which is a large part of my recovery. I do believe that if the states sanction this type of activity there should be some funds set aside to assist the people who need it. Unfortunately this type of assistance is slow in coming. There are several items that may get passed but compulsive gambling is so far behind alcohol and drug treatment. I do believe this problem is only going to get worse and there will be more of my stories in the coming years.