It's been five years...

[3peanuts]

On February 20th 2001 I registered on SiP's message board and on the 22something I logged in StP for the first time.

Five years it's a great anniversary! [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

So I came up with this:

why don't we write a few lines to describe the way we and our life were when we registered time ago and how we are now. To see how much we've changed and if we've changed and the projects we realized, the dreams we haven't realized, the new dreams we've been wishing to come true.

I'll let somebody else start.

Hope this is not sign of a middle age crisis, cause I'm not even 28 yet [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

[crazy a]

The fine print says I registered in May '99, but it feels a lot longer than that.

In May '99 I was only married for 7 years, had 3 kids and was expecting #4 a few months later. I had quit my job at the boat factory the previous year and was adjusting to being a stay-at-home dad (which I still am, but probably not for too much longer). The wife and I may have already been kicking around the idea of a home-based business. The idea of going back to school wasn't even a blip on my screen. My wife was still teaching 7th and 8th grade.

Come May '06, I will have been married 14 years, all 4 kids are in school and doing well (although #3 has been diagnosed as ADHD). I will have graduated from a community college. The home business went belly-up. The wife got drummed out of the teaching job by Concerned Citizens, but has moved on to a better job and also began teaching at the community college I attend. I had a long-distance relationship with someone I met online which lasted 3 years. After a recent heart-to-heart, I'm actually feeling better about my marriage and my wife than I ever have before. Overall, I feel pretty okay with everything.

[JaceSan]

I was bored at my maintenance job when they'd gotten internet access at the facility. Graveyard shift gave me plenty of time to explore this new internet thingy. After getting bored with the porn, I connected with some individuals who enjoy the same comic book that I do. I hadn't even figured out where I was going with my academic studies. I'd just gone back to school to keep my mind occupied, and stay out of trouble.

Cut to several years later, and I'm finally on the cusp of landing a job in a field that I'm ecstatic about. Even though most people from the forum have gone their separate internet ways, I tried to keep tabs on them through live journals.

Besides yourself, Jadian's finishing up her law studies, and chilimuffin's been accepted to med school.

Doctor's, lawyers, ...

You guys have come a long way, baby!

[Branflakes]

Wow, Dec '99. I was in a position that was ending soon and was looking for a computer job since it was what I really wanted. I'd get bored at work a lot so found this place due to the SIP comic. Lurked a month, signed up, and by February was already posting way too much. Had started emailing this girl online. She seemed interesting as a potential friend. I was single (had always been-never dated more than a month). All my ideas for novels continued to fade within a few pages. Characters never stuck in my head. My hair was really short. I'd been playing flag football for 3 years.

Now in 2006: That girl I emailed has been my partner for nearly 5.5 years. I'm a field technician for a small computer consulting/support company. I know more about computers than I ever expected. I've built my own for several years now. In March of 2000, I started writing a book. It stuck. As of this year, I'm fixing to do another re-write on it, and am still looking for an agent. I continue to believe I'll be published one day. I'm writing another novel. My hair is longer, always between chin and neck. 2005 turned rough as I was diagnosed with PTSD and depression. I continue to get treatment for it and other complications from remembering the sexual abuse I suffered as a child. I have hope I will be better one day, but the road is long. I've been playing flag football for ten years and have been the league's president for three. I rarely post now due to real life's impedment. I love that this board is still here and I can see old friends again.

[3peanuts]

I was at a former friend/flatmate's using his pc when I first posted on SiP and StP.

I was attending University and had started meeting people at a gay and lesbian association (the one I started working as a volunteer for during April of the same year).
It was a very sad period as dad had started feeling a strange pain in his left arm and it looked like cancer was making its way again into his body.
I had just finished writing my 101 poem and decided I would have never written poems anymore.
An Italian girl had written to me as I was the only other Italian person showing up on SiP's forum. She looked interesting.

Five years later.

I graduated and found a job that gives me the chance to work in the field I am specialized (and I consider myself very lucky for this opportunity).
I am not an activist anymore: I let my hair grow very long and gave up wearing punk t-shirts.

Daddy died and mommy got older.

I've kept my promise and I haven't been writing poetry for years now.

The Italian girl and I got together, broke up after 4 and half years, managed to keep friendship alive.
I am in love again.

I am still very sad sometimes.

[Ersby]

I also first posted here from a friend's PC.

Hmm, in the time I've been here, I fell in love, moved to Italy, fell out of love and am now moving back to the UK. Partly due to a lack of girlfriend but mostly for financial reasons.

I can't say I've acheived a great deal, to be honest. Certainly not in the last four years. Still, it's been fun. I'm looking forward to returning home although I'm a bit worried about going back into the job market. My plan is: four months to find a decent job and if that fails, I'll look for work teaching in Japan since I have experience and I know some Japanese.

I still have my old hard drive with stuff on it from the board's hey-day. When I get enough money, I'll build a computer around it and have another look. It should be good blackmail material.

[AsIs]

Hey Ersby,

I think I still have the limricks thread you sent me. I'll see if it is on one of my hard drives that still works.

When I started on this board, I was a board moderator for another company. It was a actual job, job. At the time I was posting here, I was getting pretty beat up at the boards I was moderating and this was sort of a refuge for me to just play at.

I sort of miss that job, the company went belly up. But in a lot of ways, it was a very cool job.

Since then, Bush and the war on terrorism happened and the job market has gone down the tubes. Uh, unless you want to work for Walmart, I hear they are adding jobs like crazy and single handedly saving the job market on their own. LOL

I worked sevearl retail jobs to make ends meet. Started a online comic shop. And November last year opened up a real life comic shop to go with the online one.

Having two businesses limits my free time, there is always work to do, but it is nice to stop by here and see old friends.

Great topic 3P

[Jadian]

It has been so long since I was on this board, I can no longer remember when I joined, but it was around the year 2000...

I'd finished high school, was on the verge of breaking up with my boyfriend of four years to go to university. I had some idea of becoming a journalist but that was mostly because I thought it would be easy (HA) work.

Now, six-or-so years later, I am marrying that same boyfriend I nearly broke up with this June, and graduating with my law dregree in May. I'll be doing criminal defence work and living in the city I love. All of this made easier by the fact that my man hit the jackpot last October and won over three million dollars (happily, some time after we had become engaged [img]wink.gif[/img] )

I haven't heard from Eden in years. I haven't seen Jelymo in at least twelve months. But I *have* missed you all.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 07, 2006 07:36 PM: Message edited by: Jadian ]</font>

[AsIs]

Wow, Jadian! Congrats!! On all of it. [img]smile.gif[/img]

And since you are here...

*run/tackle/hugs*

[usmu]

Hi everyone. Remember me? Probably not, but it's been three years or so since I've last been here, so I can't blame you.

I think I registered at hostboard in half way through 1999. I did so to ask a question at the then official SiP message board. I don't know how long it was before I actually started hanging out here, but it took me a while. Never regretted it though.

What I've been up to? Well work wise I've been stuck in a crummy job working at the personnel department's archive of a dutch university for the last three years. 50% of the time I'm punching holes in pieces of paper, the rest of the time I'm filing them. Yay! I'm looking for another job, but haven't had much luck so far.

After never amounting to much at various schools I've decided to have a third go and do a part-time philosophy bachelor degree at university. I started this September and am enjoying the hell out of it. I'm meeting all kinds of interesting people, getting reasonably good grades and get to use my brain.

My love-life has been dead but not quite buried. I haven't been in a relationship for 13 years and it doesn't look like that will change any time soon. I wouldn't mind change, but don't mind staying single either.

Various other bits and pieces: dabble a bit in local politics, but have lost interest. My parents opened an art-gallery I'm helping out with. Got a second tattoo. Am residing at livejoural under the same username, but haven't updated for two or three weeks. Will eventually get back to it. Occasionally lurk around here. And now posted after all these years.

I don't think I had any big dreams or goals back than. I still don't. The two things I'd like to get done now are finally getting my bachelor degree and finding a new job. Otherwise I'll just stick around and find out what happens.