Sober awkward

And in the blink of an eye, I was back in Auckland! I wasn’t overly happy about leaving the peaceful and beautiful quiet places I had enjoyed but was excited to see the show and possibly meet some interesting fellow sober people!

I found an interesting campsite out of the city which was fine for one night. I got my self as dolled up as my pretty casual clothes allowed me, put on some make up and cute jewelry and made my way into the city. After an hour of walking, I was still an hour away so did end up getting an uber. I got to the venue and sat by myself with a zero and waited for the call to enter the theatre room. I ended up sitting by myself the whole time and spoke to no one except the show hosts! Thinking about it now (in the future), I probably made myself look too nervous and unapproachable, a lot of people were in groups or couples, but I am so proud of myself for going alone and I did end up having an awesome time.

There was complimentary drinks from seedlip, which were so good that they felt like they were taking the edge off a bit. The venue host got us all up from our seats to all do a 10 second sober dance which was awkward and horrifying but we all did it together and it helped!

Then the stars of the show, Vic and Hamish who run the Sober Awkward podcast. I had started listening to it before coming over on my travels back when it was Vic and Lucy, two English women who had moved over to Australia and started the podcast together after going sober. I hadn’t listened enough to meet Hamish on the actual podcast but seeing him (and meeting him) in person was really special. They both had such different lives and introductions to becoming sober, they were both so, so funny and also had some stories that had me proper belly chuckling and some that were quite tearjerking, especially the poem Vic read out. They were an incredible duo and I felt completely engaged with everything they were saying, despite all our different lives I found it so relatable, especially with Vic from her introduction to alcohol in the UK and lifestyles growing up around it.

I ended up buying her book “A Thousand Wasted Sundays” and read it all in less than a day. She even signed it for me and we had a great chat, she admitted she was so nervous to do this show and I said I was the most awkward one here in coming alone and we just embraced it all. Hamish was soooo lovely, his voice is so soothing and he gave me a hug which made me realize how long it had been since my last.

Despite how awkward I felt at first, I left the show feeling lighter, happier and so much more open and excited to trying things like this again. When I started my sober journey I tried to do it alone, not wanting others to see me fail or bother anyone, but soon learnt the best way is to get involve who cares, and get involved with the great communities available. There is so much to engage in just online but having an event to attend was so rewarding and I can’t wait to go to more again back home.