Shane with 3 days since his last drink, shares his story….. Paul starts the show off by listing his reasons for quitting drinking: I wake up eager to start the day I’m not lying to myself anymore Because It’s a progressive disease and I know the pain and misery that awaits I do not have a beer gut anymore  THIQ was being deposited into my brain after every binge drinking episode which made it harder and harder to stop I do not want to get dumber.  I want to get smarter. Most alcohol tastes like moldy tootsie rolls I was sick of telling myself “One day we are going to ________” Alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs in the world and it kills more people than any other drug combined I was failing as a dog owner… big time I do not wonder if I have Alzheimer’s anymore Because alcohol is shit, total and complete shit Money is neat, and I have a lot more of it now I do not black out anymore, I’m only on this planet once and I don’t want to miss a thing I haven’t had a serious physical injury since stopping drinking. That would be a torn hip flexor doing Limbo in 2012. No joke No more black eyes Sometimes I feel “High on Life”  A diet based on calories from alcohol doesn’t work. I’ve tried it I put an Altoids in my mouth because I like the taste, not to mask the vodka on my breath No more cavities - In those blackouts, brushing my teeth wasn’t a priority for some reason My face no longer looks like a swollen pumpkin I quit because one day I would like to share my life with a very special person. Slim to no chance of that happening before My standard poodle Ben looked at me to go play on a beautiful summer day in 2014 and I was drunk in bed at 3pm on a sunny afternoon. Those eyes broke my heart. Ben, I am so sorry Alcohol was my best friend and it turned on me I couldn’t stop drinking once I started I found I needed more and more alcohol to obtain the same effect  I quit drinking because I heard the Brave Heart soundtrack for 3 weeks straight - When it wasn’t playing, it was in my head I wasn’t free Alcohol determined where I worked, who I hung out with, when I went to bed and when I woke up Music didn’t look like much of anything  I want to look at myself in the mirror in the morning and say “Hey, I know that guy!” I do not want to go to rehab, but if I do, I’m going to Thailand I want to stop living a life of life or death. I would probably commit suicide within 5 years and I’m not really living. It’s been 8 years since I got a black eye at a bar… by a girl Girls like me now-well more than when I was talking to them cross eyed and blacked out I was sick and tired of being sick and tired My body doesn’t randomly ache anymore My right elbow hurt when I swam for about 7 years. Not anymore I can now run a 7:30 mile - three of them in a row actually  I do not want a DUI… okay another one Alcohol is shit. Did I mention that already? I saw Guns and Roses in Bolivia and remembered it. I saw 311 at Red Rocks and do not remember any of it. I’d like to remember concerts in the future. I wanted to stop blaming others for my problems Ulcers are painful, and I’ve got a several ulcers due to a compromised immune system I do not want to go to jail… okay go to jail again Shovels give me blisters, so I decided to quit digging… See what I did there? I’m AHDH and being in the moment is something I struggle with,  now I’ve got a shot My parents just retired and I can fully be there for their golden years Alcohol wasn’t cheap. Per the Recovery Elevator tracker app I’ve saved $11,867  I’ve learned to get to it, you need to go through it. Today, I feel uncomfortable feelings at face value and lean into them instead of jam them into a box only to have them explode and an inopportune moment, like my best friends bachelor party My stomach hurt from laughing 4 times 2016; from 2007-20014 that number was zero This is going to sound lame but it’s the truth. At about 6 months without a drink, the childhood feeling that I can do anything I put my mind to had