T.A. Michaels

Recently, I got a new job. When i went to put in my two weeks at my existing job management indicated that I didn't have to come in and could be discharged early if i wanted. So i said ok. I've had about 2 weeks off by this point and I start my new job on Monday the 28th. I'm looking forward to it.  While I've been off, I've been tending to things around the house and becoming more active. I've been able to go to the gym virtually any time i want... and the wife and I even took up Basketball today. I'm hoping that i can spend this fall / winter / spring getting my physical health in order while at the same time advancing my career. I am also working on Quitting smoking. Today is day 3 of 56 in the program. I'm expecting my sense of smell to improve sometime in the next 24 hours. Usually it kicks in between day 3 and day 5. It usually comes on suddenly and without warning. All of a sudden the smells of the room I'm in are overly amplified. Which can h...

 Yesterday went out like a bang. I ended up smoking nearly two packs of cigarettes yesterday which is a bit harder than one might think. Especially when smoking Marlboro's. I found that by midway through the second pack i found that i was nearly dying for oxygen. Which is tough when your standing up and walking around nearly the entire time. The second pack of cigarettes literally made me feel like I was dying. When i got home last night after smoking the full second pack... I found that laying on the couch, I had more than enough mucus in my throat to choke me and the sounds of breathing were not fun. In order to calm down... I put on a movie and watched about an hour of it. The Justice League - Justice is Grey... I've never watched it before and figured a 4 hour movie would be good to dive the senses into. After an hour or so... Katie wanted me to come to bed so that's ultimately what I did.  When i woke up this morning... the craving for a cigarette was fairly strong. I ...

 November 12th, I'll make 2 years sober. In November 2022, just shortly after Katie and I had gotten married, I had decided it was in both mine and her best interest for me to quit drinking. Katie was starting to believe that I was an alcoholic but I didn't want to believe it for myself. I had abruptly quit... I didn't tell her or really anyone else for that matter. A person i met at the bar who had been in AA for nearly 20 years indicated that he would go to a meeting for me. We went... and the story from the person making 1 year had really struck a nerve. A man who nearly lost everything until he quit drinking and got his life together. The story nearly brought me to tears. On the way out... when walking back to my car the friend who had brought me told me that if i drink again... the "Guilt" would get to me. Since then... I've only had two beers. One was about 6 months in where i was out listening to music and the bar tender had given me a drink by accident...

Recently, Life has been good overall. Last week, I ended up accepting a position at a new company and I start on the 28th. Additionally, last Friday was our second anniversary. This coming Thursday and Friday we are heading up to MA for a couple of days to enjoy ourselves for a few days. Our cat's are doing well and the apartment is in order. The news on TV though, that leaves much to be desired. It seems like the sum of all fears is on our doorstep and any day now the air raid sirens are going to be blaring in the streets. The US and NATO fighting a proxy war with Russia through Ukraine, and Israel starting their own war on terror... between the two I'm surprised that we aren't having major issues here in the US. Protests on college campuses have died down dramatically, however i did hear that there was a sit-in at the New York Stock Exchange today to protest the war in Gaza. Really the US has it's hands full. And the best thing that America could do right now is not e...

 This year had basically been chaotic for me. Between Me losing and getting a new job to Katie going out on TDI and quitting her job. The only thing that really stayed constant was the apartment. Nothing wrong with that I suppose.   In Recent developments... I got my teeth and eyes checked out for the first time in about 10 years. I didn't have any cavities (Which pissed off Katie). But I did require a root and scaling procedure. As for My vision.. I could have probably spent 10 dollars on readers rather than going with the prescription... But I at least know why my eyes are as bad as they are. Apparently when I was a kid... I was suppose to wear an eye patch to correct a lazy eye. But it never happened because the doctors back then thought that I needed glasses which I never really ended up wearing. Well... hear I am 30 years later and I need glasses. I'm not bitching about it... I'm just making a general observation. I recently heard about age spurts.. basically at 2 dist...

 While the medication can be good for some, I noticed a stark difference in my thought patterns after the 5 day mark. I had actually gone as long as nine days on the medication but i found that day 8 did not start with a resolving throwing the pack away and moving on into the future with resolve and courage. In fact, it was quite the opposite. By the end of day 8 I had resolved pretty negatively that I was better off dead. The negative attitude i was developing was interfering with my job, and my marriage. I would honestly advise anyone who has Schizoaffective disorder, Bi-Polar type, to stay clear of Chantix as a smoking cessation medication. About three days after coming off the medication i did notice a shift in thinking in a new direction though. I wouldn't say that it reset my thought patterns, but it actually gave me a new hopes and ideas.  I correlated that my good morning habits in years past wasn't due to not being on the medication or working third shift.... It was a...