my name is hotsauce

[hotsauce5000]

thank yall for your prayers, i know they helped. i had more than i knew, my sisters sunday school class was praying for me, lots of friends and relatives.
i know ive been talking to god constantly for the last few weeks.
todays results:
in a tough setting with a tough judge and a tough prosecutor. we had a new prosecutor with compassion and was willing to help, that was good for me.
this was a 3rd dwi in my lifetime, one in 87 and one in 90. in texas they dont care how long ago, they still group them. so it was a felony charge and they offered me 4 years felony probation 500$ fine and 30 days in jail.
what the changed it to:
misdemeanor 2nd dwi, 2 years probation 300$ fine, and 30 days in jail. then i got time served which was 12 days. so i serve 18 days starting next monday. and they give extra dasy credit when they are crowded.
i have to do a lot of little thigns for the probation but they will not be hard compared to what i hae accomplished i the last 7 months.
my prayers have been answered folks, thank you.
and when i got home, in the mailbox was sitting my company license!! it was approved!!.
funny thing about that license and my occupational license, they both expire iin about3 weeks so i have to redo them both!! LOL, i dont care either ive been so much. its only money and time and paperwork!!

my sobriety date is october 14th 2008!!!!!!!!!

i still have a lot of work to get through the red tape leftovers from all my life troubles but its a walk in the park compared to the last 7 months.

ill keep posting here as needed. thank you all.

 

[madison1101]

thank yall for your prayers, i know they helped. i had more than i knew, my sisters sunday school class was praying for me, lots of friends and relatives.
i know ive been talking to god constantly for the last few weeks.
todays results:
in a tough setting with a tough judge and a tough prosecutor. we had a new prosecutor with compassion and was willing to help, that was good for me.
this was a 3rd dwi in my lifetime, one in 87 and one in 90. in texas they dont care how long ago, they still group them. so it was a felony charge and they offered me 4 years felony probation 500$ fine and 30 days in jail.
what the changed it to:
misdemeanor 2nd dwi, 2 years probation 300$ fine, and 30 days in jail. then i got time served which was 12 days. so i serve 18 days starting next monday. and they give extra dasy credit when they are crowded.
i have to do a lot of little thigns for the probation but they will not be hard compared to what i hae accomplished i the last 7 months.
my prayers have been answered folks, thank you.
and when i got home, in the mailbox was sitting my company license!! it was approved!!.
funny thing about that license and my occupational license, they both expire iin about3 weeks so i have to redo them both!! LOL, i dont care either ive been so much. its only money and time and paperwork!!

my sobriety date is october 14th 2008!!!!!!!!!

i still have a lot of work to get through the red tape leftovers from all my life troubles but its a walk in the park compared to the last 7 months.

ill keep posting here as needed. thank you all.

Praise the Lord for His abundant blessing!!!

I am sure you will do fine in meeting the requirements of the courts. Just remembe, one day at a time. Get to your AA meetings and make a gratitude list.

Hugs,
Trish

 

[BobW188]

I had a hunch; but you never know. Bet a lot of that prosecutor's compassion came from the way you're turning things around. Amazing what breaks come your way when you let god help you help yourself.

 

[BlessEwe]

Excellent! I agree they can see you are trying to turn things around. So glad you are over with the court and can put it behind you, do the time and work they have for you ( here in Calif. they have to pick up garbage on the side of the freeway) So glad things are coming together.

 

[faithful follower]

It's so good to see how God is working in your life. Keep doing the next right thing and the blessings will continue. Still praying for you.

 

[hotsauce5000]

todays update:

the court had set me to upgrade to a breathalyzer that takes a picture everytime you start the truck. so i go to make calls to set up the upgrade and the company tells me that they dont offer that model, they will have to remove it and i have to get one elsewhere. ok, so i go to set an appointment to remove it before i have to pay another month service. at least the guy tells me on the phone that i need a court order to remove it. guess what, the court didtn give me one, and seemed to not know that it was needed. so it took me from tuseday to friday to get one. by this time i had to go in this morning and pay another month service, then go to the court and get the order, drive right back over there and have it removed. total clustermess.
so i have a friend to drive since my new probation requires me to have the new device installed before i can drive.

i did manage to get an appointment to install new device on monday before i go report to sherif office to serve time.

i have a whole other update for the clustermess on my drivers license but im too wound up to type it out . it get that next time om online.

thanks yall for all the prayers and support.

bye

 

[hotsauce5000]

well the details on my license can wait, its a long story and invloves a lot of typing. lets just say its a royal PITA to get my driving priveleges going again.

after today i had to park my truck somewhere besides my house as my court paperwork states. it may not be parked at home unless it had the breathalyzer with photographic capabilities. so thats why it was parked at a friends house until monday when i can get it installed. in the street.
so.......
i got a call about midnight from my friend, a girl was driving along putting on her makeup and rear ended my parked truck. she wasnt hurt thankfully and it wasnt as bad as it sounded at first. i will have to take it in for an insurance claim im sure, the bumper is messed up and has body damage and a broken brakelight lens.

as weird as that sounds, i just was out for a bite with another friend when i got the call. we had pulled in a parking lot to see what happened with all the flashing red and blues plus the fire trucks and an ambulance. i asked one of the wrecker drivers what happened, turns out a kid claimed he had been smoking pot all night and was clocked at 127 mph shortly before he hit a telephone pole. i never saw a pole snapped at the base and at the top, hanging from the power lines. that was weird. they said he was in decent condition but as you can imagine the car looked pretty bad.
i gave thanks to god that we hadnt been there a few minutes before, and been in the way, and that no one else had been hit.

the power of prayer, i know god is looking out for me and i thank him all the time.
would yall please pray for that boy that he recovers from that wreck.

 

[hotsauce5000]

howdy yall.
my life is doing well now, i had to go "check in" for a little time to serve. it was only 18 days, but still it sucked having to plan on going to jail. it really sucked and most of the deputies there were pretty bad people. i guess they are trained to treat people like crap so they dont want to come back. anyhow i was blessed to be randomly picked to be in the work unit. they treat you slightly betterm the place is a little nicer and they let you getin a van and leave the building during the day. i got fresh air and sunshine, it made a huge difference. i was able to work with tools and mechanical stuff so that made me happy. one poor fellow was there for pirating dvds, and accidentally came back from work with a razor in his pocket. he got in huge trouble for that charged with a new felony of smuggling a weapon in their. i prayed a lot for him, not much else i can do. so i finished that 18 days, and my body is still trying to rrecover from it. food was not that good, bed was very bad, and sleeping hours was all messed up. never slpet more than 3 hours ata time. my body is so out of whack, havent been to the gym in a month, im ragged out and feel it. i am so happy to have such wonderful loving supportive parents. also now have a wonderful woman in my life, im wondering if she is the one. she is on this forum now, she may chime in sometime. we are separated by geography at the moment but will see each other in a coullke of weeks, it will be a special time in my life.

i now have 2 years of probation to go through. i am not worried whatsoever about getting through it dry and not getting arrested for anything. the only thing i worry about is the screwed up system and the corrupt legal system in this state. all it would take is for a state employee to misfile a form or instruct me wrong on something for them to put me in jail for a year. already i have found discrepencies in their stuff and when i ask one or their office personel they have no idea what the answer is. i also have a case with the child support courts so they can throw a wrench in it if they want. in fact i had a court date with them while i was staying with the sheriff department, it was a nightmare trying to get that handled with out getting a failure to appear problem. my parents and i prayed a lot for that and got a reset for that date. of course they didnt inform me, i had to go to court, wasnt on docket, went to their office and asked if i was in trouble or what. just uesterday i got an actual peice of paper from certified mail of the date they showed me on a little yellow sticky. so all is well, and im in a very happy place. court is done, i live with my parents, i have a good woman in my life, and jesus in my heart.
i finally have a little work coming in so have a little income, i sure need it, they are hitting me with little fines and fees left and right, not to mention my usual bills. it will be until november until i am able to get a regular driuveing license. and it will cost 15oo i think. dont think i can afford another occupational license, last one was over 1000, took months to get, then was onlu valid for a few weeks. this on e is different, it is a convicted license. my compnay license is safe as far as i know, it too was only valid for a few weeksm but i sent off that stuff before i went downtown, so im waiting for it to be here in the mail any day.
so im trytin to get my body back in shape and my sleeping fixed. i cant wait to get back in the gym and lose a couple of pounds, get back in shape.

i still have to get an insurance claim from my truck getting hit, so at least i can get a littel money from that to help with bills.

gotta run for now, a frined is coming to get me for dinner.

things are looking up for me, thank you all for your prayers. ill keep coming back here, and letting yall know whats going on with me. i am more than happy to help others along the way too., if anyone wants to they can send me a PM anytime.


bye for now.

 

[BobW188]

Welcome back! And do have your lady drop by and say "Hi!"

The best I can tell you about probation is to keep your PO informed. When you submit that paperwork that is later misfiled, let him/her know. Ditto when "they" tell you something that proves to be wrong. Email, phone, write, talk ... whichever works best but whether the news is good or bad, let that PO hear it first from you.!

It was my observation in my jailin' years that most of the guys ... inmates, probationers, parolees ... were more or less constantly trying to con people ... deputies, POs, judges, their own lawyers, their own families ... and hadn't noticed that they weren't very good at it! POs get quite used to being lied to. Establish a track record of up-front honesty with yours. I'll go so far as to suggest that you bring your Dad along to meet him and your AA sponsor. The more this guy sees you taking this seriously, the better frame of mind he'll be in. Also remember: he's probably got a caseload four times what he should have. It doesn't make for a good disposition.
Hope you've looked around here. There's been stuff going on.

 

[hotsauce5000]

hi yall,
stopped in for an update:

well lets see, i sent off for my work license on may 20th, and just today i had to call and find out the word, they said it was good and i will get it in the mail in a couple of weeks. that is awesome.
my woman came to see me for a few days, we got to spend time together and talk a lot. maybe i was put here to bring her back to being a christian?

work is slow but im making a little here and there.
i got my truck seen by an adjuster from that rear end, at first they acted like they knew nothing about it but after complaining vividly they had it looked at. ended up sending me a check for damages which came in mail yesterday. finally got that over with.
i havent even looked into the drivers license further, that junk aint free or cheap so i may just ahve to wait til november, and thats still gonn be expensive.
ive been to the gym very little but have dropped a couple of pounds and now ready to get my but back in there.
next week i will have been dry for nine months! so i guess i get a new chip from aa. i go about 2 or 3 times a week and it aint bad, i sort of enjoy it. i dont talk much though.

ive gotten much better at sending out monthly invoices and doing quarterly taxes,. thats what i did all day today. amazing how much more efficeint i can be with a clear head.

thank you all for reading my babbling and praying for me, it is most appreciated. i am so far from where i was at a few months ago.

i will ask for prayers of support though, this new "community supervision" officer doesnt seem very pleasant, so i need help dealing with her. i was fortunate to be able to provide her with documentation that she was supposed to have, and explain to her some of the things that she was supposed to be explaining to me. HMmmm, that just dont sound right. i re-read what i just wrote, and it is written correctly. at my first appointment i have completed almost all of the requirements of probation. what i have left is 29 hours community service which is at a church near my home.
a victim impact panel in 2 weeks, and a class in 3 or 4 weeks.

ps. thanks for your advice bob, i will ask her if i can bring my folks to meet her, but they make it a big deal that on the person goes back there. i will ask.



thank you all

 

[BobW188]

Let's face it. Whether they're called parole, probation or community service officers, it's hard to blame them for getting cold and cynical. They've been conned, lied to, flimflammed, you name it. My eight years in corrections taught me that, though many inmates were nice enough guys, they were control freaks who couldn't get it through their heads that what they were doing didn't work.
So, keep in mind that your CSO has a lot of reason for her attitude; and that it's largely up to you to build a positive relationship with her. You want her to be an ally, not an adversary.
I once saw a PO spend three hours of his off-duty time in my book-in office calling lawyers, judges, and treatment facilities because a client with whom he had this kind of relationship had been brought in for what was nothing more, really, than getting into a situation that was over her head. Thanks to him, she spent the night in treatment, not jail. When these guys see that you are trying as hard as you can to do what you're supposed to do and said you'd do, they can move mountains. But you can't blame them if, when they see you don't really care, are lying to them or trying a con, they descend on you like a bad smell.
Glad to know things are generally going well but, you know something? I'm not surprised. It's just amazing what can happen when you admit you're powerless and turn it over.

 

[hotsauce5000]

thanks for your input bob, i can see where that is good advice.

thoughti would update here, in case anyone was wondering where i went.

been quite busy lately, still dry, i hit 9 months a couple weeks ago.

i saw my community supervision officer again, she was actually pleasant, and didnt make me wee in a cup. i provided more documentation rewquored oif me so that went well. (child support, invoices and receipts, AA sign in sheets, stuff like that). last week i got signed up for a dwi class im rewuired to take. i missed a required class i set out to do, but was too baked from work that day, man it was 106 that day and i worked all day long in the sun next to a stucco building and asphault. im mean i was really baked, took me over a week to recooperate. anyhow i can still take it next month and still be within the deadline. i have only 7 hous of sommuntiy service left and it will be done this friday. they sent me to a nearby church adn have been working iwth the maintenance guys doing odd jobs. last week i helped dismantle an old copier then suggested we make a rolling owrk bench instead of traching it. they loved it and let me make it. i found some scrap wood and screws and fabricated it for them. then they found me some paint and it got purdy. i actually ahd fun at community service.

i hit a major goal last weekend too, i had saved up to buy an alternator for my play truck. also ended up replacing the battery but at least i got it pro rated so it was cheap. that truck hasnt been driven in about a year. i was in deep financial trouble before i got that dwi. so i went to a friends house who let me park it there since december. after getting it running he offered to trailer it to the offroad park for me so it was a huge bonus. i only set the goal of getting it started, but then ended up getting to drive it some. when i go there we went down to a new rope swing for a while. it was very fulfilling. the next day it broke but im not worried or sdtressing, i love working on my trucl and tinkering around with it when it ills. the rear wheel bearing went out so i already priced it at 13 bucks. ill do both sides so it will be 26 bucks and i already have gear oil.


so good things have been happening for me, i got my folks back in church as well as myself, and they are nwo interested in joining a sunday school class.
work has been picking up a little so i can pay some bills and stuff.

i have been too busy/tired to hit the gym so i have gotten a little soft in the middle, but i am tring to get my butt back in there.

i better go i am so tired, very sleepy.

thank you guys for yor prayers, and please dont stop. i can always use more.


have a good night


hotsauce

 

[hotsauce5000]

hi everyone, just wanted to pop in for an update.
its been a while so here goes:

work had slowed to a grinding halt so im broke and trying to keep up but not. i started looking into a sunday school class, i will try a few till i feel right about it. my folks have landed in one and are happy with it. ive been to the gym a tiny bit, but trying to get in more. i reconnected with an old friend and he has been driving me to work for a few weeks, giving my dad a break. the heat of summer is going now so we dont get baked so much now.
i finally was to the point that i started working on my toy truck. never had time funds or personal stability till now. i got it running a few weeks ago, it had been stored at a friends house who was nice enough to offer to store it for free. (almost a year) so i replaced battery and alternator. then he offered to haul it for me to an offroad park nearby where it is now stored and i drive it on the trails every weekend. ill narrow this sown but i had problems and had to spend a little more and put in some sweat and labor. i drove it twice and had to replace the rear axle. droive it twice more and had to rework the front bearings. then i got replacement front axles and installed them. it was a major effort for me but i got it done. drove it a few times and now the transmission is giving me a hard time. it works, just doesnt want to shift. so now its running in 4x4 now it makes me happy.

im am doing so much better now and seem to be able to be happy. that is not to say tha ti dont have problems or issues, but i have come a long way since last october. in more ways than one.
so i have still been dry since october 13th, 2008


still hit aa at least twice a week, and not very tempted to have a beer. only a couple of times when pressures mount up, but i simply recall the orange jumpsuit, bars, and very unpleasant people having the right to treat me unpleasantly. the temptation goes away very fast.

until later, i will update again.



hotsauce

 

[madison1101]

Congratulations on almost 11 months of sobriety. That is awesome.

Sounds like you are trying to put life together and develop opportunities for learning and fellowship.

Keep up the good work. How are you doing on the steps? I am working on my fourth.

Hugs,
Trish

 

[BobW188]

Keep on keepin' on, Friend.

 

[hotsauce5000]

well folks, two more days , it will be a year of being dry.

im not having any issues wanting to drink beer. every once in a while i get stressed and can taste it from memory though. i go to meetings about 3 or 4 times a week.

i put in a rewuest to go camping with my group. it is important that i make it this time. last year at this time i was set to go, but i got arrested instead adn went downt the long road of having a criminal case based on alcohol. this trip, if they let me go, will be an important date in sobriety for me. i sure hope they let me go. i added on my request that everyone in the group is aware of my sobriety and happy with it and for me.

now today was weird. ive been depressed quite a bit lately due to finances and other things in my life. just depressed and lonely, nothing to do with alcohol. so i go to church and head for my sunday school class. now ive been there a few weeks, missed a couple times for various reasons. im gettting accustomed to it, and the people there, had lunch wiht the class last week. also im wanting to start going to some of the events they have planned. (considering i can line up a ride with someone there)
so i head on late and find a seat. i then notice a new girl there, not seeing her face i see she is quite an eye pleaser. im not there for that, but i notice those things. a few minutes goes by and i take a glance back her way. I knew this girl! way back in this thread im sure i mentioned her.
it was the girl i dated that strongly encouraged me to get drunk!
CRAP, I was already out of sorts, didnt feel like going there today bnut went. I felt very uncomfortable, and it looked like she was talking about joining the class. also i was finally ready to sit with the class during regular service. nope, she sat with them. I dont want to be near or have anything to do with this girl. she hurt me in march.
she knew i went to that church, and i cant quit thinking about why she is there. i try but cant quit. this is really sitting heavy on me. i can think a several reasons why she may be there, none of them good.

so after the service i noticed she had kids with her. making me think of more reasons she is there, none of them good. (there was a restraining order keeping her from her kids, or so i was told)

i rode my bike to the store for tobacco, and asked got to take it away from me, the thoughts, the worry, the decision. i am thinking of talking to the class assistant teacher who i know.

i think she is a very bad person but still i prayed for her to be touched by god, and that she not just be there shopping for a man with money. yes, she is that bad.

so it looks like this posting turned into a whine fest, sorry about that, i just needed to get it off my chest. i think i will try to go to that class at least one more time, but not sure where i will go with my plans to be more active with my class.

wish me luck, and pray for my future with all my problems and for the mean one.

 

[BobW188]

We all go through times like that. The important thing is you're not drinking and, with the grace of God, on your way to one year!

You're right to steer shy but, unless you think it's a threat to your sobriety, I wouldn't change churches. Who knows, maybe time will show she's there to get God's help to get sober! Wait, see, don't rush.

Nobody here ... nobody... minds a whine fest! Fact is, I have'em all the time!

 

[hotsauce5000]

its been a year and 3 days, still dry.

ill follow that advice bob, ill go. next time i see that person i will ask how things are , and be nice. she may have hit bottom and changed her ways. i dont see it happening but im good at being wrong.

i did finally get that permission to go camping, took me six weeks. unfortunately things have changed since then and i need a new permit to travel. ive been trying 2 days now, and all i need is to add a name to it since the original person i was going with may not go with the group. wow, ive been calling since thursday morning and its friday at 12:40 pm. we are supposed to leave around 4, i stiil need the permit, plus a ride across town to get it, and be back here before they leave.

cutting it close. im all packed and ready to hit the road but i may not make it. maybe its not part of the plan.

 

[hotsauce5000]

well guys, im 385 days dry, great feeling. having a good day today, just wanted to stop in to say hi and update this thread.

i got to go camping, went down to 3 pm that friday before i had a go. we left at 4, is that close or what? it was an awesome time up there in the woods, went on haunted trail ride and go to see all kinds of neat things.

some drunk fool wrecked into my friends truck and it was nasty for about 3 hours. he didnt hurt the guy but did yank him out of the truck, the kid deserved it. since it was on private property there was nothing that could be done about it. one of the witnesses did beat the tar of of him, everyone wanted to. we think he did it on purpose. my friend just finished spending two weeks on building up "her" truck and they just got engaged so it was especially infuriating to him.
after the fight, someone called the cops and here they come, it was about 4 am by this time and the cop was not happy to be there. he stormed on the scene and pointed his assault rifle at my friend. in the end he was giving my friend a citation to which he smarted off. not a good idea, that got him arrested, and the park ejected his fiancee and thier driver. wow, what a weekend, they got him out a few hours later and he is going to sue that kid for totalling his girls truck.

so, the group i went with took about 30 cases of beer, too many bottles of booze to count and at least a thousand jello shots! was i tempted?
NO WAY! never had a slightest desire to put that poison in my mouth! although at one point i was hungry and the flying jello shots seemed like food, but i turned them down, only once was it offered to me by a friend who was testing me. LOL, we joked about it too.
so that whole weekend was awesome, good friends who know i wont drink, and a memory of the trip it took me a year to achieve. we ate at the little mexican joint on the way back and had a good trip home.

now in december im planning another camping trip with another group, and i wll be driving myself this time!! my license suspension is up on the 11th, so on the 12th i get to drive!! I need a travel permit but i think it will be fine, i will be driving and im doing everything right so i dont see a problem.

since i did all the paperwork for proof of income, my quarterly tax filing only took a record 20 minutes to complete! when i used to drink they took about a week to do cause i had such crappy book keeping. now im on top of things and think, focus and remember things.

i missed my sunday school class while camoing and the following week, but made it yesterday. good lesson, and had lunch with the class afterwards. then we went to move houshold stuff for a member. i did hear mention of the mean girl, sounds like she is now a member. i have talked about that situatoin to a couple of people. i have completely let it go, gave it to god, not to let me worry or stress over it. i have been praying for her, that she comes to know jesus and has changed her ways. also that she walks with god in her life and sincerely is in church for those reasons.

halloween night i went to a party with costumes and all. they had a keg and lots of other alcohol. again, i was not tempted in the least. in fact i had an interestingly fun time watching all them people drinking. i wasnt sure i was even going since i cant drive. as a fluke i got to go but was there very early. so people kept coming, and were all sober when they got there. after a while i could see a lot of them getting their eyes all glazed over and sloppy. yup, i stayed sober and saw a lot of them get drunk. very interesting feeling to see that and think, wow, thats what it looks like from this side of the fence.

i go to my local aa 2 to 4 times a week. theres a guy there that says the meetings are like medicine for him, and i agree. the things i hear there keep me from being "sick" .

i have been blessed with some income in the last two weeks, and again tonight i have work that pays well. i should be able to rock and roll when i start driving, find some new work and start saving money.

ok i need to go now, i think i have talked about most of the things that are going on with me right now. thank you all for your support, advice, and prayers.

im going to enjoy this beautiful weather and make the most of my day!



bye

 

[hotsauce5000]

396 days dry!!

i just wanted to post an update here, i get to start driving again, TODAY!

i lost my license for a year and it has really driven me up the wall. i have a business luncheon and i am going for nutricalm since i just ran out. i have tons of plans for the weekend and for next few weeks. i want to visit lots of people who helped me get around and stuff.

im going to a singles meet up camping thing friday night and look forward to meeting some new people.