Great Email!!!!

There was an earthquake yesterday a few minutes before noon and now that I am a “seasoned” west coast veteran I realized as soon as the shaking started. There was shaking, rattling and rolling which lasted all of a few seconds. I thought that it was a much bigger earthquake because this was the biggest earthquake I have felt in the 14 plus years of living on the west coast. Fortunately the damage of the 5.4 magnitude quake was minimal and no one was injured.

There seemed to be a great deal of concern from friends and family not living in the area since I received a few emails and telephone calls. My wife and children were safely tucked away at the beach and didn’t feel a thing.

I have to share this email I received yesterday from a dear friend who was inquiring about the earthquake; “Did you feel the earthquake?? Everything okay?? I know you two (my wife and I) haven't been together for awhile. But come on give me a break... talk about making the earth move!!!!" I nearly fell off of my chair!!!! This was so funny and my dear friend is always sending emails like this; wow I had a great laugh. Again fortunately the damage of the earthquake was minimal and it is a reality living in Southern California.

Where we live in Southern California does reside on two faults but I really pay no attention until something like yesterday happens. I watched the late local news and I it was a good thing the earthquake happened because I don’t believe there was any other news!! The newscasts were devoted to the earthquake and remember there was no major damage. It was like beating a dead horse and I can only imagine how much more coverage there would have been if damages had occurred.

Yesterday evening I did go to the Tuesday evening GA meeting because I wanted to see a dear friend. This is the same dear friend who has gone out of their way for me while I was in prison. This dear friend is a regular attendee at the Tuesday evening meeting and it was important to me to see them.

With my impending new GA meeting schedule I won’t get to see this dear friend on a regular basis but I will make it a point to get to at least one Tuesday evening meeting per month. In fact last night I volunteered my services to Chair next week’s meeting because the regular Secretaries are going to the business meeting of GA. It is my pleasure to assist and it is the least I can do for a program that continues to save my life.

The meeting was good and I have to remind myself of one of the very best mottos in the program; “principles before personalities”. There are many personalities that make up a meeting and that is just like life. However; the principles of the program is what continues to enrich my life. If I start nitpicking the idiosyncrasies of my fellow members I am going against the principles in the program. The key principle is to recover from a truly baffling insidious addiction. I know I cannot do this myself and the moment I think I can I am doomed. I am eternally grateful to the Gamblers Anonymous program and the wonderful people.

The meeting was over and I went over a very dear friend’s house to help them out. This is the same dear friend who gave me shelter prior to the arrival of my family. I do miss our nightly talks and last night we had a mini-talk which of course had to do with recovery. I was more than happy to assist in the minor task and this is certainly the least I can do.

After this it was time to head home where my son was having a friend sleepover and my daughter was sleeping over a friend’s house. Things are transitional very well and my wife and children are making up for lost time of being away from their dear friends. It is amazing how everything is coming together so nicely.

This morning was a day off from the gym since I went to sleep very late due to the incessant earthquake coverage. I was up at a reasonable hour and was able to hug and kiss my wife and son goodbye for the day. I headed over to the office where things are very interesting.

There is no need for me to go into details because truth is certainly stranger than fiction. I didn’t have a particularly great day because one of those “business” moments occurred. I had to do something I hadn’t had to do in quite sometime and this is never a pleasant thing. I summoned up all that I have learned in recovery and in business and went ahead with the task.

It is so hard when people say “it isn’t personal it is just business”. This to me is cold and callous but sometimes very necessary to survive. I do believe in any situation I have been in having to deal with business matters does cross the line into personal. Being in business and having a job is part of most people’s daily lives which becomes extremely personal. Difficult decisions are made and hopefully I handled today’s difficult decision to the best of my ability.