I Got Stuff

It has been a few days since I posted on here. Why? I don't know.
Every time I sat down and began to write, I put it away. I just didn't feel like it. Of course I had in my head "The world will collapse if I don't post" and "Everyone will be so disappointed in me". "Everyone counts on me". Seriously these are the thoughts that go through my head.Crazy!! So for the three people that actually might read this blog. I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I can't guarantee that it won't happen again but truly I'm sorry I'll try.
OK so on to other things on my list.

 The Anonymous People
Wow it was great. It was the first time I had seen the film in its entirety And I was extremely impressed and I was pumped to be honest. The Little was in my opinion was the perfect place to hold this event. Lots of people seemed very impressed with the screening. The Little Theater staff was great and very helpful. The really cool thing I was happy about was I didn't know 80% of the people that attended. Why does that make me happy? Well it tells me that people are truly concerned about the addiction problem in our area and even people came from Geneva,NY which is about 45 minutes from Rochester. Of course I must thank all of you that came. Whether I knew you or not that was awesome. Some of my family and friends from childhood came and that was the best type of support you can get. I also received a lot of support from people that want to help with my next project. Which brings me to my next thing to talk about.
The Rochester Recovery Film Festival

This is another reason I haven't been posting nearly as much. I have been busy trying to get this project off the ground.Lots of hurdles to get over but I'm encouraged to keep going. No major road blocks. Many things in this community need to be done about the growing drug epidemic here in Rochester. Treatment and aftercare are basically a joke. The only hope I feel an addict has in this area I feel is the 12 step programs which are extremely successful and do a great job but much more needs to be done and I feel awareness is a start just making the general public aware of the problem, the services available for help with for not only the still suffering addict but the services for the families and loved ones that are also caught in this grip of addiction.
So seeing the success I feel we had with The Anonymous People (note This was done with absolutely no media support just little ole me doing Social Media)That I felt let's expand it. So this is where the idea for The Rochester Recovery Film Festival came to be.

Now I am modeling the festival after another widely successful recovery film festival that is held across the states in large metropolitan cities such as San Francisco, Houston, NYC, Los Angeles to name a few. This festival is called Reel Film Festival. Now even though I am modeling The Rochester Recovery Film Festival after it, it will have a personality of its own. I will now give you some temporary details on it but let ma stress the word temporary. I do hope to have a press release and conference next month. My hope is that the festival can be held the the weekend of September 26,27 of this year. The reason I would like to have this held in September is because it is National Recovery Month. The first problem I am having is it seems like every film festival and its brother is having its film festival here. So finding a location is first thing on my list ( any ideas email me). Other events are also going on in this area for National Recovery Month and I felt this would be a great way to end this month. The website I am hoping will be up in the next couple of weeks as I have been working tirelessly to get that launched. 

I have been also in touch with many film directors who have expressed great interest to have their films shown and be available for Q&A sessions after the showing. So a ton of work to be ton but I feel it can be done one task at a time. 

So that's my life lately and I am happy with the way things are moving but for right now I need to get back to work. Thanks and any questions email me I'll be here.

Big Spike in Tickets for The Rochester Premier of The Anonymous People at The Little

We had a large spike in Ticket Sales for the Rochester,NY for the premier of The Anonymous People documentary. Some press is starting to kick in and more is expected as the last great P/R push begins for our April 6,2014 3:00 pm showing. If you do not purchase tickets online the only time the The Little will be selling them is day of show, so if you don't have your tickets yet buy them now online. You may click on the link below to purchase online. If you are unable to attend please consider buying a ticket for a recovering  addict who cannot afford to see this showing. I do have list of about ten people please contact me. Otherwise thanks for your support. After the showing a Q&A will be happening in the Little Cafe. Any questions about this or anything to do with the showing please contact me.
Just to let everyone know after this event I have been asked to put on a very large recovery event. Since all details are being still worked out I cannot speak of it yet but I should be able to announce it on Sunday. The reason I mention this here is for two reasons I am going to need a large volunteer committee so I would like to mention that and if you can't make it to the showing please continue to watch for posts with announcements right here but for right now my energy is all about this showing so let's have a sellout. Thanks

gathr.us/screening/7225

Depending on When You Read This 4 or 5 Days Left

gathr.us/screening/7225

As you can see not many days left until Rochester's Premier of The Anonymous People at The Little Theater at 3:00 PM on April 6,2014. Why we are having such trouble getting press is beyond me. Yesterday many news outlets were scrambling to make sure we knew all about the unfortunate heroin overdose on a college campus here. They were First to tell us about the up rise in heroin overdoses this year in our area (mainly in suburbs). Oh yea the solution---- form a partnership with an area outpatient only facility with a president/CEO that makes such responsible comments to our misinformed media here of "No One Dies From Heroin Withdrawal, You Just Feel Like You Want To"

Really??? No ones ever died from Heroin withdrawl. Really OK with not even getting into that Mr President/CEO have you checked the statistics of Suicides during withdrawl. Really Really? I'm sure you feel outpatient is the answer to everything and detox and inpatient are a waste of healthcare dollars but is the Almighty dollar more important than maybe a few lives saved? Give me a break really. Meanwhile buy a ticket and see what a positive message of recovery can do.

The Anonymous People Only 9 Days Left

April 6,2014 3:00pm at the Little Theater,Rochester,NY

Just to keep Everyone up to Date 70 tickets have been sold as of today.We have a little more than 9 days left until the screening.Everything that has been done so far to sell tickets has been done only with social media. Why other media is not responding I haven't a clue. I have sent an email to Film Critic Jack Garner asking for some help or suggestions on getting media to respond. The email went out this afternoon and I am looking forward to his response.

The movie is getting a lot of national attention and that can only help.

I have spoken with Congresswoman Louise Slaughter's office after receiving an inquiry email and she will be attending if her schedule permits.

So lots of great things happening surrounding the screening so tell your friends, coworkers,family whoever so we can have a sold out show.

90 tickets in only 9 days so that's only 10 tickets a day.

The only time you can buy tickets at the Little will be April 6 if any are left.

gathr.us/screening/7225

Never Leave Home Again

I'm not a big endorser usually unless somebody is paying me of course. But I found this really cool site and a lot of my friends are out of time and when I travel I sometimes can't find support.
OK let me explain things a little clearer I am a recovering addict who works a twelve step program. This weekend I am hanging with my sisters dog "Miley". Miley is awesome and I love to spend anytime I can with her.
Anyway I have been cruising around some web sites and I found this really cool site called In The Rooms. If you happen to be in recovery and you belong to any fellowships than this website is for you. First off its free and when I signed up or  I guess the proper wording would be registered. I was greeted just like I am when I go to any fellowship meeting here with lots of love people offering any help with getting around the site.Any questions I had were answered and I was able to get into tons of discussion threads about questions I had about the fellowship I am in. I am also able to share my experience, strength and hope with others.
But here is the really cool thing, they have meetings pretty much throughout the day and anybody can join. You don't need a webcam or a camera to attend.
I actually attended two meetings today and they were awesome. People were from all over and I mean all over and I really liked all the different views on things I heard. All the support and opportunities I found really made my night. So when I have that good of an experience I endorse.
www.intherooms.com

The Show Will Go On

Thank You to all of you who reserved you're tickets. We have reached the minimum number that we needed in order have the screening which is awesome. 50 tickets were reserved. We now have 105 tickets left. So those of you that didn't reserve your tickets I would suggest doing that now. I expect that since the tip was reached we will begin to get some print and TV promotion. Thanks once again
www.gathr.us/screening/7225

Press Release for The Anonymous People (only 7 Days Left to Tip)

Contact:David Attridge
585-713-2592
585-957-5113
Daveup247@gmail.com
Livinlifealloveragain.blogspot.com
gathr.us/screening/7225


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Film The Anonymous People highlights addiction recovery of over 23 million Americans;
Patrick Kennedy, NBA Star Chris Herren, Actress Kristen Johnston featured

Rochester,New York April 6,2014 A FEATURE FILM about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery and the emerging public recovery movement will be shown at The Little Theater on April 6,2014  The film is brought to Rochester by a new crowd-sourcing distribution service called Gathr.  Gathr’s “theatrical-on-demand” process allows movie-goers to bring the movies they want to watch to their nearby local theater with no facility rental cost and no risk.

Special event screening tickets are available now by clicking here gathr.us/screening/7225  This link connects to the movie trailer: http://www.theanonymouspeople.com.

They, and the film, question why the United States has criminalized and too often given superficial treatment to a chronic illness – addiction.  As a result, addiction now comes with an annual price tag of $350 billion.  The American approach has put most of the burden of long-term addiction treatment on anonymous, free, 12-step programs. Those programs have done a good job, but no other health problem is treated this way.

In addition, the culture of anonymity in these programs, while it has protected individuals from stigma, has also unintentionally perpetuated false perceptions of people with addiction – as the public doesn’t see how often people in their lives recover.

“This film is not your tired old addiction story often seen on reality television or in the news,” said film producer Greg Williams. “There are no needles hanging out of people’s arms, pictures of the brain, or fried eggs in a pan.  We set out to find the answer to one very fundamental question: Why don’t we treat addiction in this country like any other health issue?”

The Anonymous People also shines a light on prominent people who are not very anonymous and are living publicly as people in long-term recovery themselves: Award winning actress Kristen Johnston, former NBA star Chris Herren; Tara Conner, Miss USA 2006; former congressman Patrick Kennedy; veteran news anchor Laurie Dhue; Tom Coderre, chief of staff to Rhode Island Senate president and many others.  They have chosen to “come out” with their recovery in an effort to counter the existing public perception of other people just like them.

This film aims at transforming public discourse in much the same way that activists once decided that an honest open discussion had to take place about topics such as breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, and being gay in order to spark widespread change.

The Anonymous People is produced and directed by Greg Williams; written by Aaron Cohen, Greg Williams, Jeff Reilly, and Bud Mikhitarian; executive produced by Paul McCulley; co-executive produced by John Silverman; photographed by Craig Mikhitarian; and edited by Jeff Reilly; with an original score by Brendan Berry.

Following The showing of "The Anonymous People ", A panel of local drug addiction professionals, Representative from local treatment centers and local residents who are a living a life of recovery will be hosting  a panel Q&A for movie attendees immediately following the film.

Sleepless in Seattle

OK I'm not in Seattle but with the rain and the wind outside right now I might as well be. At least I could go out and get a good cup of coffee. I don't really drink coffee but if I lived in Seattle maybe I would. Well its 430 as I write this,that is 4:30 am. I can't sleep at all. Nope not a wink. I used to hate nights like this. When I was using and isolating myself from the world ( except my dealer of course) these would be the hours where either I ran out of cash or any dealer I knew stopped answering the phone. That last year or two of my using I was so sick and tired of begin sick and tired my days of pounding on their doors and windows at these hours was over I couldn't do it.
I don't get many of these sleepless nights any more.During my first year of being clean I had many sleepless nights. The nights that would really suck would be those using dream nights, I'd wake up from the dream and I'd swear the shit was on the nightstand, I'd jump out of bed and start looking on the floor for that bag.  Sometimes my mind would be so wicked I would think I had used it all and I'd be putting my jeans on getting ready to go get more. It would usually be when I was putting my second leg in my jeans that I'd be like " hey that was a dream go back to bed." I'd go back to bed but I'd be so freaked out no sleep was gonna happen. The last 6 months well no more using dreams (thank God). The sleepless nights are few and far between maybe once or twice a month. I'll be completely honest I hate them.
Let me set this straight first off the sleepless nights are nothing and I mean nothing like when I really was using those night were just constant racing thoughts of how early could I get the next fix? How was I gonna support my habit today? The scenarios,the planning, the back up plan, the back up plan to that. Believe me when I tell you being an active drug addict was a dangerous full time job, with 2 part time jobs on the weekend.
Many of you may think well at least I saw a lot of sunrises right? NO WAY I never watched sunrises they would just remind me that another dreadful day of an active drug user was about to begin. As much as I couldn't wait to get the next one, I also dreaded getting the next one. In fact many many days I hoped and prayed I wouldn't make it to the next morning.
I often hear many other addicts say My disease ( that would be "The disease of Addiction) wants me dead. I don't think that at all, in fact my disease (again - of Addiction) had its chance to have me dead 18 months ago. I am convinced my disease just loves to fuckin torture me.
So let's get back to tonight ( sorry, I can ramble sometimes.) Now the few sleepless night I have each month mainly consist of 1. My mind still racing of  thoughts of " Am I doing things right? Am I on the right track? 2. Conversations with my higher power the God of my understanding ( you can call it praying, if it makes you feel better) . 3. Thoughts of my chiropractor cause I think she's really smart and hot(That combination is new to me usually its just "hot" but yet I still never get the nerve...) 4. Thoughts of all the amends to the people I screwed over and if they will ever forgive me but even more important before any amends can be made I need to forgive myself and believe me that can make stay up for a few hours. 5. Did I mention my chiropractor? ( Actually I really hope she doesn't see this because she will just think or know how crazy I am.6. Conversations with my father even though he has been gone for 7 years there is not a day I don't think of him or the things he taught me that for many years I had forgotten . Those times with him I make sure I never forget. 7. I think about my other " defects of character I have and how I need to deal with those. 8. This has never happened before but tonight at 5:40 am I thinking about a bowl of cheerios.
Rock On My Friends.

11 Days to Tip....

To those of you that have reserved your tickets I thank you. To those of you that haven't I ask for you to consider doing so. We have 27 more tickets that need to be reserved in order to have this premiere . This documentary is awesome and and sheds light about the addict in recovery and attempts to kill the stigma of the"addict".
Once again the premier we are hoping to have is Sunday April 6,2014 at 3pm at The Little Theater,240 East Ave, Rochester,NY. The cost is $10.00 and the tickets can be reserved by clicking on the link at the end of this post.You can also watch a trailer of the movie the link at the bottom of this post. For those of you that can't make it please consider buying a ticket for a recovering addict you may know or an addict you may know that is stuck in the grips this disease  or someone you know affected by a lobed one in addiction. After the showing,  a panel of experts in recovery will be available for a q &a.
I have notified all media in the Rochester with press releases but they seem to have no interest in doing anything with addiction unless it is extremely negative. Everything is now being done via social media.I appreciate all your support.
gathr.us/screening/7225