We're all under construction

We're all under construction

What drives someone to seek a calmer, funnier life in sobriety? This episode of LOL Sober follows Nelson H, an "alcoholic addict" using a pen name, as he turns everyday irritations into recovery lessons with a comedy twist.

Nelson starts by ranting about roadworks in his town – six-minute drives turning into twelve, lane closures, detours and him "pulling [his] hair out and cursing out road crews with the windows up." It sounds trivial, and he freely admits it's a "luxury problem", but it becomes a doorway into something bigger: how easily frustration takes over when life doesn’t match the script in his head.

He then shifts to meetings, confessing that he’s been groaning more than usual when certain people or formats show up. He jokes about not wanting to hear "old so-and-so" or read "the fourth step again" and even crossing some meetings off his list just because they annoy him. If you’ve ever mentally rewritten the meeting schedule to dodge particular personalities, you’ll recognise yourself here.

The turning point comes at a new meeting in a neighbouring town, where he spots a bright orange sign on the announcements board: "character construction zone." That simple joke lands deep. Nelson reflects that "we’re all characters" with defects, all "a work in progress," and that sobriety needs every flavour of personality, including the ones that drive him up the wall.

From there, he connects his aggravation to self-centred thinking: walking around with a fixed idea of "how things should go" and, as he bluntly puts it, thinking he’s his own higher power – and maybe yours too. With humour and honesty, he commits to attending the meetings that help his recovery without taking roll call on who he likes, and to treating roadwork as part of life… unless they close that right lane again.

If you’ve been feeling mildly annoyed at everyone and everything, this episode might make you laugh – and ask yourself what you’re still under construction on.