Rob Ford's Toronto

[L23]

Oh wow, he's doubling down. That's bad news for him.

Didn't he promise a while back that he'd never drink again? Or was that just at the ACC?

We all know how well that turned out.

 

[expat]

Well, he didn't rule out any kind of drugs. I agree with you though. That next embarrassing drunk video will have a lot more impact.

i wish you were right, but it doesn't matter. remember, he's already promised once before that he's "100% finished" with drink and drugs, on camera. and then. . . well, you know the rest. Ford will get blotto again, will get caught, and will simply brush it off. and a non-trivial number of Toronto voters will be OK with that.

 

[Dilla]

So just to recap, Ford's actually got a seat on the board of Waterfront TO, and the director of Waterfront TO has come to City Hall to try to meet with Ford, but Ford's never been to a board meeting or made an availability?

And now he's complaining about them?

And the assembled media nodded and then asked him if he was drunk?

Yeah, that's about the size of it.

 

[kbdid]

So just to recap, Ford's actually got a seat on the board of Waterfront TO, and the director of Waterfront TO has come to City Hall to try to meet with Ford, but Ford's never been to a board meeting or made an availability?

And now he's complaining about them?

And the assembled media nodded and then asked him if he was drunk?

that's pretty much it, and he turned a question about the death of a child/traffic into a rant against Eglinton Connects.

 

[Jado]

Yes, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the article that sent the sobriety coach off into the sunset.

I would suggest three far more plausible scenarios:
1. Rob fired him for trying to talk him out of getting in a bad situation (e.g., having just one drink, visiting 15 Windsor, etc.)
2. Bob quit because Rob got violent with him
3. Bob learned that Ford had no intention of staying sober, that the whole thing was just for show, and left

I thought Door #3 based on Mag's comment ("there are people who really need me"), bit I can totally see the second one too.

 

[Videodrome]

Ann Hui ‏@annhui 56s
Mayor Ford: "I know people are watching every move I’m making. And I want you to keep watching every move I’m making" #topoli

Hold Ford to this when he next complains about the media.

i wish you were right, but it doesn't matter. remember, he's already promised once before that he's "100% finished" with drink and drugs, on camera. and then. . . well, you know the rest. Ford will get blotto again, will get caught, and will simply brush it off. and a non-trivial number of Toronto voters will be OK with that.

Sad but true. Ford Nayshun would stick with him if he ran over someone while drunk.

 

[kaboi]

so just to recap, ford's actually got a seat on the board of waterfront to, and the director of waterfront to has come to city hall to try to meet with ford, but ford's never been to a board meeting or made an availability?

And now he's complaining about them?

And the assembled media nodded and then asked him if he was drunk?

exactly!!!!

 

[YYZ2YHZ]

Also, connect the dots - if one can't be paid enough to deal with clients like RoFo at rehab - per the Greenstone piece, just imagine what he is like right now?

AoD

My mother, who worked in addictions, used to say "The only thing worse than a drunk is a dry drunk".

Reading the following, I can't help but think being around RoFo is probably pretty insufferable

Dry Drunk SyndromeQuitting Alcohol is Only the First Step in Recovery
When an alcoholic manages to break their addiction there can be a lot of optimism about the future. For years life may have been a bit unbearable for the addict, and their love ones, due to alcohol abuse. Now that the drinking has stopped it is reasonable to expect that things will improve. Unfortunately though, just removing alcohol is not enough in most cases. Instead it is just the first step in an ongoing process. If the individual does not put a lot of effort into their recovery it can mean that they fail to progress. They get stuck and life away from alcohol will not be as fulfilling and happy as it should be. Such an individual can be classified as a dry drunk.

Dry Drunk Syndrome DefinedThe term dry drunk is believed to originate from 12 Step recovery groups. It is used to describe those who no longer drink alcohol but in many ways behave like they were still in the midst of addiction. Thy dry drunk may be full of resentment and anger. Instead of finding joy in their life away from alcohol they can act as if they were serving a prison sentence. The only change this person has made is to stop drinking, but in other respects their life remains the same. Friends and family can complain that the dry drunk is almost as hard to be around as they were when drinking. In AA they describe a person people who haven’t touched alcohol in years, but have not yet managed to get sober.

The Cause of Dry Drunk SyndromeThose individuals who turn to alcohol or drugs for comfort will do so because they find life difficult to manage. This is because they have poor coping skills and feel unable to deal with life on life’s terms. They are able to use alcohol as a way to ignore their difficulties. This means that instead of learning from the challenges they face in life they just ignore them. If such people manage to later escape addiction they will be in the same position they were in before the alcohol abuse began. In other words, they will just be returning to the same conditions that drove them to alcoholism in the first place.

Recovery is not about a return to how life was before addiction. If that life was unsatisfying at the time it is unlikely to be satisfying now. Instead recovery is about starting a new way of life that is better than anything before. Nobody gets a free pass in life and living means dealing with challenges.

It would not be possible to remove all the stresses in life, but it is possible to develop new tools to deal with these challenges. In recovery the individual learns new coping strategies and this allows them to live a good life without the need to turn to intoxicants. Of course such personal development cannot occur unless the person is a willing participant and wants to change. The dry drunk describes the individual who has not managed to put the required effort into their recovery. They are still struggling to deal with life using their old flawed coping strategies.

Symptoms of Dry Drunk SyndromeThose individuals described as dry drunks will exhibit certain symptoms. Everyone has their bad days of course, and just because a person exhibits some negative behaviors occasionally does not necessarily mean that they stuck in recovery. The dry drunk is different because they are caught in a rut and repeatedly experience some of the following symptoms :

* The individual has a low tolerance for stress. They easily get upset if things are not going their way.
* The dry drunk continues to engage in unhealthy behaviors. In order to deal with their lack of satisfaction in recovery this individual may turn to new vices.
* Such an individual can suffer from loneliness and lack of interest in activities to fill their time. The fact that they make minimal effort to build a life in recovery means that things remain unsatisfactory.
* Denial can be as big a problem for the dry drunk as it can be for the practicing addict. The individual may refuse to see that their life in recovery needs to change. Due to this denial they may continue to live a miserable life in recovery indefinitely.
* Dry drunks may romance the drink. They forget how bad things were and can now only remember the good drinking days. This type of reminiscing is dangerous because it can only lead to relapse or increased resentment about being sober.
* Such a person is likely to suffer a lot from self-pity. Recovery is not as satisfying as they expected and they will feel cheated because of that.
* The dry drunk tends to be full of pride and feels over-confident about their abilities. They will not seek help from other people because they believe they already have all the answers.
* This individual may continue to engage in unethical behavior.

 

[animatronic]

Remember that ford doesn't need to be publicly sober for life, just until Election Day. He probably figures he can at least pull that off.

 

[basic]

Well, he didn't rule out any kind of drugs. I agree with you though. That next embarrassing drunk video will have a lot more impact.

I agree about the video, but I was talking more in terms of where his head is at. On one hand, he told us that he has a lifelong disease that he has to fight every day of his life, then comes back today saying he'll never drink again. He is still in complete denial. Stating with confidence that he'll never drink again tells us he thinks that either he is cured, or never had a problem in the first place. Tying that in with dropping SC because he can now stand on his own, his actions and words should be worrisome to those around him. Even in someone who is dilligently trying to get/stay clean, that type of overconfidence is a precursor to relapse.

And also going back to Johnny Winters/RoFo, if I can irresponsibly cherry pick my own comparison, it would be between RoFo and Chris Farley. And we all know how that ended.

 

[pud99]

So just to recap, Ford's actually got a seat on the board of Waterfront TO, and the CEO of Waterfront TO has come to City Hall to try to meet with Ford, but Ford's never been to a board meeting or made an availability?

And now he's complaining about them?

And the assembled media nodded and then asked him if he was drunk?

That about sums it up. None of the reporters there tweeted about the board seat, etc. until after the 'press conference'. It took me <2 minutes and an iPad to find out the history of when Ford was on the WT board and his 100% non-attendance. I tweeted that to Anna Hui (just because that was the 1st CH reporter name that popped up) during the presser, to no effect (and perhaps that is as it should be - why trust a tweet from who knows who). I will not say anything negative, because I am in no position to say whether it is a function of lack of time rather than lack of inclination, but it looks like a bunch of reporters went to a presser knowing the stated subject was WT without doing, or having an intern do, the most basic research about the relationship between WT and the City, and the mayor in particular.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Ann Hui ‏@annhui 56s
Mayor Ford: "I know people are watching every move I’m making. And I want you to keep watching every move I’m making" #topoli

Hold Ford to this when he next complains about the media.

Well. note that he said nothing about releasing his daily schedule, opening up his office, etc. Genuine acts of inviting others to hold him to account.

AoD

 

[Mag]

Any insight, Mag? You were told SC left because his wife was sick.

Yes, just told that SC's wife had a slight injury/infection so he went home. As mentioned yesterday, the individual said that SC commented that there were "people who really needed him" - took that to mean RF's not very serious re sobriety efforts. The individual also said that SC had been interviewed for the job and that there were several others who were also interviewed. My guess is that SC went home and RF now thinks he's good to go without him. Perhaps SC bailed before his reputation became collateral damage in the cesspool that is RF's world. I'd bet the farm that he was into something yesterday. As someone else mentioned, when his eyelids start to flutter, his head moves side to side and he speaks softly, he's using.

 

[animatronic]

That about sums it up. None of the reporters there tweeted about the board seat, etc. until after the 'press conference'. It took me <2 minutes and an iPad to find out the history of when Ford was on the WT board and his 100% non-attendance. I tweeted that to Anna Hui (just because that was the 1st CH reporter name that popped up) during the presser, to no effect (and perhaps that is as it should be - why trust a tweet from who knows who). I will not say anything negative, because I am in no position to say whether it is a function of lack of time rather than lack of inclination, but it looks like a bunch of reporters went to a presser knowing the stated subject was WT without doing, or having an intern do, the most basic research about the relationship between WT and the City, and the mayor in particular.

So call him on his bad attendance and he'll say you've got your facts wrong, nobody cares more about the waterfront than him and that's why we can't allow eglinton to go from five lanes to two.

 

[kbdid]

Ford's SC is gone, he's no longer speaking recovery-speak (i.e. guaranteeing he'll never drink again vs "one day at a time"). He's very much a dry drunk/in denial which sadly pretty much guarantees a relapse. No one serious about staying sober would promise not to relapse.