It's been five years...

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]

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.

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! :)

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.

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.

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.

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

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>

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

And since you are here...

*run/tackle/hugs*

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.

USMU!!!!!

Hugs very very tight!

Throws confetti [img]smile.gif[/img]

*run/tackle/hugs* to usmu

Oh yes, we remember you. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Good luck with schooling. I haven't gotten around to finishing my degree yet.

The most awesome thing about threads like these is seeing old friends/posters reappear!

*hugs usmu*

Good to see you are still around some.

Hey, usmu. It's been a while. Good to see you're still around.

In the meantime, I forgot to mention I contribute to a shared blog about videogames.

www.unsavedprogress.com

I'm RSB.

My turn. hmm well it says I've been here since June 2001. This was the first messageboard I ever posted on I remember ending up here after being erm instructed that I couldn't start a random converstion in the SIP section (when the 2 were linked together). I guess I started being online more and trying to be more communicative with people after 2000 when my Dad died and I gave the eulogy about him being a real 'people whisperer' who could talk to just about anyone. And I decided I was going to try be more like him as before I was pretty quiet and shy and a little bit of a loner.

And now well you can't shut me up. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I chose here because SIP people really are quite a special breed being very welcoming, open and accepting and in general more accepting of newbies than alot of places at the time.

So over the last five years I've really started sorting out and managing my depression that I had been going through for really quite a while and for a long time unknowingly. Now I'm pretty good tho' it does catch up on me occasionally.

I'm alot better person than I was more outgoing too.

I had already started singing lessons and continued with that and in 2004? I was in an actual musical that people paid to see at the Playhouse Theatre. It was Anything Goes! -Cole Porter hehe I also had to tapdance for the first time in over a decade. I still sing I just haven't got around to it this year.

I did something I had lost hope of doing anytime soon and went to the otherside of the world with my friend on holiday. It was the first ytime I'd been away from my family and I got quite homesick but loved everymoment of it. So I got to see some of Thailand, England, Belgium, Amsterdam, Germany, Austria, Italy and France and I got to meet 3P and Sarabiga and a whole bunch of new people on my tour. I also managed to travel alone to Vienna to do the one thing I wanted to do before I died which was see a performance by the famous Lipizzaner stallions at the Spanish Riding School. I even managed to take a train to Graz and got to the Stud in Piber.

And when I came back I learned a friend from work wanted to go to the USA so I suggested a Contiki as it was going to alot of places she wanted to go to, and I invited myself along.

And so a year of hard slog and major overtime at work I was on a plane to New York with a stopover in Hawaii. I met RichC in New York and made Kathryn navigate us on a train and bus to Flushing,Queens so I could go to a big animestore.

We also went up to Canada for a few days Quebec city is awesome. Then it was diagonally across the Northerns States seeing lots of things. We went to Vegas and I got to cross 2 things off my 'New things to do before I die' list we went to Cirque du Soleil 'O' at the Bellagio in LAs Vegas it was totally awesome. And I got to go to the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton and eat lunch with a Klingon.

I went to Disneyland, I went to Medieval Times(which is very cool), I went to bunches of places which I'd never thought of seeing before. I ate cheese in a can. I met Jacesan in San Francisco and Lulu in LA.

I spent far too much money and had the best time ever and have been kinda recovering financially ever since although rediscovering the joy of anime didn't help much.

Also over this time I had a very small share in a racehorse (a pacer). it has just been retired it wasn't very good but I did get to sit in the sulky and drive him once when he was being broken in. I got to name him too, 'Gran Turismo'. It was fun and something I had wanted to do since I was 10 years old and obsessed with horseracing (by 11yrs old my Dad was putting bets on for me at the TAB and I was doing better than him lol)

And towards the end of last year I fell in love for the first time and it's with a very special girl, so special I really had to come out to my Mum as soon as possible because the girl is coming to visit me this year as she lives overseas.

Sorry didn't mean to turn this into my life stroy but I really have done all this in the last 5 years so the next 5 are sure to be interesting.

So what next? My girlfriend comes to visit me in August and then we have to think about what we want to do, before all this stuff happened my plan was to go to Japan next year and now I'm not sure what's happening.

LOL I seem to have taken up a whole page.

Cheese in a can?

Ew.

I first posted early in 2000 I think. But the bunny has trouble remembering anything these days [img]confused.gif[/img]


http://smilies.vidahost.com/kao/otn/imu2.gif

Well, at the bottom of your post it says you registered in April of 2000, so I'd say you're remembering correctly.

Well, geez Louise, this place just refuses to die... I love it!

Let's see... I registered early '99, methinks. I had just stopped attending my classes in my second semester at college (without properly dropping out, a stupid, stupid mistake) and was spending a lot of time at home. Just a few months before that I had finally realized I was really into women. I wasn't sure about anything- myself, my beliefs, how to spell. This was one of the many places online where I sorta lost myself; I'll admit I kinda stopped living. Then I officially dropped out of school, moved out of New York, came back to New York and through all of that I kept coming to the SiP boards and talking to the people. In 2000-2001 I met some of you in person (waves to AsIs) tried going back to school and failed and then I spent a year doing absolutely nothing. I'd like to blame it on 9/11 or on youth, but neither one of those works.

And then in '03 I went back to school and this time, I stuck with it. I graduated summer of '05, found a job within a month, started volunteering at a great place, I actually dated a boy (a boy!) for an entire year and some months. I realized there's still more of me to uncover. I'm working on a lit magazine with a group of friends and I truly believe we are doing something worth doing.

At the time, I'm single. Raelee (remember her?) and I still email each other practically every day. I stick with SiP more cuz... well, I just want to see how it ends rather than thinking that is still the best comic book out there. I'm applying to grad schools but as of now all of them but one have answered, and with a no.

I've changed. Lord, I am not the same LairBaby I once was- don't know if I'm yet the LairBaby that I want to be- but I'm happy. I think that counts for something. [img]wink.gif[/img]

and, Hi Y'all.

Wow, I'm glad that I randomly popped in here. It's nice to see that this place is still around. To be honest, I really don't remember when I joined STP. The past five years are a bit of a blur in my head. My memory isn't what it used to be. I'll try to dig way back, though.

Five years ago, it was 2001. Cripes, what was I doing in 2001? That was before my tech support jobs, but after I worked at DQ. I'll take a wild guess and say that I was either unemployed, or working some crappy job that wasn't worth remembering. Most likely, I was rather depressed about my situation. Living at home, having been kicked out of school some years previously, and not being able to find gainful employment will do that. I do know that I loved my comic books, and still do. SiP was a breath of fresh air to me, in a land of spandex clad superheroes. Comics helped me escape from what really was a dismal situation.

Today, I am doing quite well. After a couple of years of on-again-off-again employment, I decided to go back to school for a computer science degree. Lucky me, I found that I actually enjoy programming a great deal. About one week after I re-entered school, a series of hurricanes hit Florida. I was left with the choice of staying in school, or dropping everything to go to work. I currently work for FEMA (I can hear the boo's and hisses, you know), so it was a tough decision to make. I decided to stay in school, and am glad that I did. After two semesters, I decided that it was time to make some money. I had been completely unable to find a part time job that would work around my classes, and not involve food service. So, after a year of mooching off of my elderly parents, I jumped at the chance to work for a bit in Albany.

Albany is only two hours away from my house, so I got to go back and forth on weekends, to hang out with friends, do laundry, and transport more stuff to the suite I was living out of. In Albany I learned a new job that was made possible from a class I had taken the previous semester. I learned quite a bit about mapping systems (GIS), and had a ball doing it. By the end of my time there, I was in charge of my whole unit of two people. Katrina hit while I was in Albany. There aren't many GIS people in FEMA, so even I was a valuable asset that needed to be mobilized to the south. I finished up in NY, then went to Mississippi for four months. I learned some new software, worked on my first database project, and honed my GIS skills. In October I took a brief break and went to Yuricon, in NJ. I got to hang out with AsIs a bit, as well as some cool new people. After another break for Christmas, I went to Louisiana to help out my old boss. I've been working there since mid-January. My current job is as a GIS Specialist (that's Geographic Information Systems) in the GIU (Geospatial Intelligence Unit) in Baton Rouge. The people that I work with are rather brilliant, and a bit crazy. We get along fantastically. I've never had so much fun with my coworkers before. I'm currently on a much needed vacation, back in NY. I've only got about a week to go before I have to go back south.

There is much good news as far as my future. They will be hiring people locally to work at the operation in Baton Rouge. Those jobs are going to have real good pay, plus benefits (two things that I don't get right now). My unit wants me to apply for the DBA position, and they are trying to fund me to go to several Oracle and ESRI classes. So, in essance, they want to hire me for a position that pays awesomely, and pay for all of my training for it. If everything goes through, then I will be moving down to Louisiana some time this summer. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Oh, yeah. About four years ago I finally figured out that I'm trans. Everything just kind of fell into place. I'm much more comfortable with myself, but because I haven't transitioned at all, I'm a bit more uncomfortable around other people. My coworkers are at least starting to catch on that I'm not a "girl," even though I am in a female form. I geek out regularly with my favorite coworker about games, comic books, and cartoons. We're such a diverse group that everyone just fits, so that's cool. I like going out to the pub after work with the guys, which we do at least a few times a week. Our boss calls it "stress management." [img]wink.gif[/img]


Over the past five years, I've been to areas of NY that I'd never seen, NJ, Texas, and most of the south.

Over the past year I've been to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. I love traveling, but am getting tired of living out of a suitcase. I'll be happy when I can finally move and cart some of my stuff down south with me. Today, I sold my car to my best friend (who was coincidentally in bad need of another car). Once I go back to BR, I'll officially be vehicleless! Well, I get a rental while I'm down there, but I won't own a car anymore. I've been drooling over the 2005 VW Jetta with diesel engine for about six months. It WILL be mine. *_*

Quote:

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Originally posted by 3peanuts:
Cheese in a can?

Ew.

---

<font size="2" face="Comic sans ms, Helvetica, sans-serif">Bite your tongue. Most ingenious packaging for food. Ever. :P

I'm just too glad to see you Yaz and Shadowcat...

I'll end up weeping again *sniffle*

Cheese in can: I'd rather have pasta in a box [img]smile.gif[/img]

Hugs to S'cat and Yazi! Good to see y'all again! [img]smile.gif[/img]

This seems as good a place as any to post the news.

After the return of Happybunny, I sent an e-mail to Jenjen to reestablish contact. She responded today. [img]smile.gif[/img]

She is doing well. She has also been working with FEMA in helping write grants to get Harrison County, Mississippi rebuilt. She and her gf of 6.5 years broke up: no drama there, she said, the relationship just wasn't working for her anymore. And she is still very much into comics.

WOW! Eveyone is commin back....well kinda. [img]smile.gif[/img]

The childin always comes home after a time.
I have no idea where I heard that... [img]confused.gif[/img]
Pasta in a box is Canada's nation food! (KD or Kraft Dinner) (or, for South Parkians, Kroff Dinner, Lmao!)
There was, for a brief, glorious moment, Pasta in a box that also had Cheese in a can inside!

It's so nice to meet an old friend/to pass the time of day/and talk about the old Hostboard/a million miles away...

You know, its funny, I have lurked through here a couple times this year, and I think maybe even posted once or twice, and somehow totally missed this thread. Heh. Go figure.

I started posting here in 2000, right after I went back to school to get me a degree. and here I am, 2006, still working on that degree. I've had more illnesses than I can count in that time, which is why I haven't yet finished up here, but I will, I'll graduate this December. Yay!
In the last 5 years, I've been to Germany for a month, been to Rome for four months with my university, during which time I got to see large swaths of Europe. My sister has gotten married, which has probably been the happiest day of my life so far. When I first started posting here I had only a vague idea of who I was and where I was going, and now I have a very clear idea of who I am, and no idea of where I am going... Some things change, many stay the same.

I've met some of you (including usmu), and I wish I could meet more of you.

I don't read SiP anymore, which is how I first got here. And I rarely come to the forum anymore. It is comforting though, to drop in now and then and see that you are all still around. I wonder sometimes what became of those who stopped posting, and dropped off the face of the earth. I find myself surprised that I miss not just the people I got along with well here, but I miss even those who irritated me (and they are small in number).

And I miss the green smiley face that hostboard used to have. The big cheesy grin guy.

Quote:

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Originally posted by tyledras:
And I miss the green smiley face that hostboard used to have. The big cheesy grin guy.

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<font size="2" face="Comic sans ms, Helvetica, sans-serif">Absolutely. Even after all this time I still think HB's smiley's suck.

My favourite was the little blue smiley that you could put next to the thread title.

By the way, I'm back in the UK and have a job! Phew. In London, so I'm commuting at the mo' and will move there when I have some cash.

By the other way, toastboy got married and had a baby boy.

Heh, looks like we all grew up during the last five years.

CUTIE! Baby boy!

Send Toastboy my huggles...for the baby boy [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

Wow! Well congratulations on you getting your job and on toast getting a kid!