Life updates

[leah]

As far as Harrison goes, I haven't seen him post anything at all lately... my offer still stands strongly; wouldn't mind a new roommate and seeing him flourish in a new environment, but I suspect there may be a difficulty with the troubles he has related that his family is going through.

i haven't seen him around either i hope he is OK.

[Jay]

Seems like Harri's ok. He's moving to Syracuse with Adivina and what's his face. Got it from her on Facebook. I could have sworn they had a falling out but apparently not.

[leah]

i thought they did, too? weird. hope that works out for him... although imo getting the heck away from EVERYTHING to do with that place is a better idea.

[Arlos]

Hey! Leah! Answer your PMs, woman!

-Arlos

[Harrison]

I'm alive for those of you I haven't spoken to yet.

A metric fuckton going on and I'm still going through it, so I'll be in touch when I can.

[Adivina]

I'm alive, and I honestly thought this board got shut down long ago or else I would have been posting.

Lets see - an update on me? Since posting here I've graduated high school (2003), got my associates in Web Development (2005) and my bachelors in Web Management and Internet Commerce (2007). My thesis paper was actually on synthetic economies in MMO's - once a geek always a geek I guess.

Aryylas and I are still together, we still have our beastie Akita Meiko. We also currently have a Leopard Gecko, a Sun Conure, and a Hahn's Macaw. Aside from that our house is always busy and full of some random rescued pit bull or another - as my passion still lies in the breed and doing rescue work involved with them. One day I will have a nice properly game bred old fashioned APBT, and with that dog I want to start doing weight pull and other working competitions. My other "side project" is working against Breed Specific Legislation - involves lots of boring things like writing letters and talking to council members from various states around the US, but it is something that means a lot to me.

We moved to Syracuse, NY almost 3 months ago. I am a Web Programmer Analyst/Project Manager for a major TPA administrator. I like my job and I like the new area - even though our New Bedford city accents make us stick out like sore thumbs and people comment a lot "you are not from around here huh?" Oh well!

EDIT - Use boyfriend's forum name not RL name - hurf durf.

[brinstar]

life update from planet brinstar:

throughout all of 2008-2009 i worked full time and went to school full time. the shit i thought i had Figured Out blew up in my face this month. picked up the flaming wreckage of my heart just long enough to survive my last finals week. walked across the stage saturday* to get my BA. currently building a list of stuff to keep me occupied for the next few months until i find the motivation to figure out a new Plan.

the list so far:

write and record an entire rock album by myself
write and record sexy jazz fusion with my sexy friend heather
read all the books i didn't have time to read while in school
learn to play slide guitar and standup jazz bass
rent and watch all the movies that came and went while in school
write short stories based on awesome dreams i have
start a novel
do a song-by-song remake of my old band's first two CDs in chiptune format (see http://www.8bitchristmas.com for inspiration!)
join/start a new (rock!) band
serious computer maintenance
get back into photography


potential Plans:

go back to UNL for a M.Ed. and teaching certificate
move to Chicago anyway and start/join a rock band - got a couple friends in the music scene there that could put me with the right people
do the M.Ed. thing in Chicago while starting/joining a rock band


*ndamukong suh walked too, for those who follow college football-- you should've heard the entire auditorium erupt in "SUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHH" when he stepped up to the stage :D

[Ganzo]

Been long time since I've visited NT.

Job - So I've finally graduated with Electronic Engineering / Computer Engineering. Got an OK job troubleshooting new product on production floor at electronics company, because they promised it would be temporary, and i'd move to engineering quick. Moved to other side of MI for that, now I live in suburbs of Grand Rapids. Well they didn't lie and after 9 month as technician, i got a sweet promotion and now i'm Photonics Research Engineer in our Advanced Technology and Research center. I get to work on our future products, mostly on Vision systems and LED's. Spend 50% of my time in dark room lab, 30% soldering and 20% in stupid meetings, trying to explain to mechanical engineers the difference between series and parallel circuit. I'm very happy with the job tho, wife is complaining that i never go home.


Family - My daughter is about to turn 4, wife got cool job on this side of state so she'd happy as well. We had a scare cause they found a 2mm tumor in my wife's neck, had a biopsy and it turned out that it's harmless, so they gonna reduce it with hormone meds. For a while tho we were is near panic, thinking she had cancer. Now thinking of maybe having another kid.

Fun - Since we moved, we hadn't made new friends to hang out with yet, kinda weird, don't even know where you find them when you in your 30's. We see occasional movies, go out but nothing crazy.

I'm thinking of going back to school for master, but can't pick a degree.

[Gaazy]

Ya know on my way back tonight I was just driving along and thought about starting a thread like this to see how everyone was doing. I check this site anymore like once a month, and barely browse when I do, just kinda scan and see if i see anything, so I have no idea how anyone is doing.

Times are rough everywhere. I hope everyone gets back on their feet. Some of you seem to be doing well, and some runnin a little close to empty. Everyone in this country needs to come together to weather this storm out. Its bad everywhere, and I dont see it getting better for a while, unfortunately I think its gonna get a lot worse.

We are still makin our way along. Work comes and goes, same as with anything. Right now its even worse though, now that the EPA finally bought their little ruling. Hardest thing Ive done in business yet happened a couple weeks ago. Laid off 4 guys, good hard working guys, the week of christmas. Any other time wouldnt have been as bad. Ive laid people off bunches of times, but that sucked. They understood though, just didnt have work for them at the moment. And you cant pay people to do nothing while waiting on work. Times like these, thats the end of you. I have already hired one back since then...just goes to show how up and down that is. So that leaves me with 14 employees total, office and shop. This time of year is always iffy, but usually towards the end of the month and Feb. a lot of work piles in once these big companies get their budget money set out and all that, so just kind of weathering the storm right now. Its tough going from doing 3 or 4 $300,000-$500,000 rebuilds and month and 3 or 4 new $100,000-$250,000 belt heads a month to doing barely a few less than 100k jobs a month. All it does it fill up one hole and dig out another when your business is shaped around having millions a month in income normally. But all you can do is lay off, watch the pennies, and bang down doors looking for work and weather it out. Theres already been dozens of companies go under, and im sure therell be a lot more before its all said and done. So needless to say, I spend 14 or 15 hours a day pondering over paperwork and trying to figure out ways to cut back and make every penny count most days. Trying to fit square pegs into round holes is fuuuuun.

Another thing that pleases me is I really think people are starting to use their fucking eyes and heads and LOOK at this global warming issue, not just listen to the media and go on auto believe and take it all in. I see people actually weighing the issue and thinking about it, and more and more finally seeing that its a money scam. Gore and his people are making a KILLING on that shit while the rest of the country is bleeding to death. God I just wish they'd step up and ban mountaintop removal and get it out of the way. Youd be surprised how many people in the coal industry that want that shit done away with. Its ruining everything. Theres more than plenty of coal to be mined without ripping the mountains up and making the industry look worse and worse.

Then, on top of that, I took Dad for a colonoscopy a few weeks ago, and they found 2 huge polyps in there (and by huge, I mean the size of golf balls). So this weekend Ive been at the University of Virginia for his surgery. They had to remove 12 inches of his colon and splice it back together. Turned out once they got in there, there was only one polyp, one giant polpy with 2 heads on it, the size of a big plum. The doctor was one of the best gastro int guys in the country, and he said it wasnt a matter of if it turned to cancer, it was when, and one that big it probably wouldnt have been long. so the first couple weeks before the surg I was walking on pins and needles waiting on the biopsy to come back, and thank god it turned negativo. First time in a long time Ive sat down and prayed.

Just goes to show, you aint got nothin if you aint got your health. Remember that when you think times are tough and theres no way out. As long as youve got your health, theres always a way out. The older I get, the more I realize no matter how bad things get, the more important it is to take care of yourself.



and Harri, for the love of fuck would you do whatever it takes and get the fuck out of there? Anywhere for anything, just get the fuck away from there. It sounds like all your problems root from that place, and if you ever want a chance of success youll get the fuck out while you can. Maybe im wrong, and im sure theres more to it than I know, but it sounds to me like you gotta get the fuck out of there dude. Surround yourself with a new crowd who gives a fuck about you and get out of there. You're a smart guy, get out and start over.

And to everyone who is continuing education and grabbin degrees here and there, congrats. Nows a good time to do it I reckon if you can with the lack of jobs everywhere. So congrats.

[Zanchief]

What ever happened with your Ponzi Scheme Gaazy?

[Tikker]

Beat me to it. How much of your $5000 did you lose

[Drem]

he'll be dodging those questions forever

[Eziekial]

I'm wrapping up my year of mobilization here in the desert. Going back to my maritime recruiting gig. Strangly enough, before I left for duty I sold my BMW and am in the market for a pick-up; not sure of the connection there with Diekan.. very wierd.
No home, no girl, no car.. but happy non-the-less. Wish all of you a great year!
-Roberto

[Kramer]

hey all, been a long while, i am working for an uber-insurance company doing utlization reviews on psychologists/psychiatrists and Master's level counselors. have a 3rd kid as of July 2009 and am looking to have knee surgery soon, bummer. out of gaming completely and am never on comp enough to check boards, hope you guys are well

[araby]

Hey, how's it going? I read everyone's updates (even if they're old) and I'm glad to see most of your are motivated and happy! I'm the same, home and family life are pretty great...needs a job but that's never far away. alright!

[Nusk]

lets see.. 2 years ago i decided to be my fathers caregiver when he passed i spent another year throwing away and selling everything. now im in the process of selling his ranch (anyone want a 51 acre cattle/tree ranch? only 750k). for money im the district manager of staples easytech. think geeksquad only the techs actually have to know something well at least in my area

[leah]

update on me: i am having surgery in january to fix chronic exertional compartment syndrome in my legs. the procedure is a fasciotomy; look it up, it's intense! i'm pretty excited about it, because A) i'll have awesome leg scars and B) i'll finally be able to run without my feet going numb. so, it looks like the 5K i'm running on sunday will be my last for a while. boo.

surgery went well, btw. it's been about a week and a half and i'm already (mostly) walking unaided--just with a heck of a limp. i'm hoping to be walking normally by the end of the week, at which point i'll get back to the gym to at least do some cycling or other low-impact stuff. second surgery will likely be in march.

[brinstar]

that's my sis, a beat-ass trooper

[Trielelvan]

surgery went well, btw. it's been about a week and a half and i'm already (mostly) walking unaided--just with a heck of a limp. i'm hoping to be walking normally by the end of the week, at which point i'll get back to the gym to at least do some cycling or other low-impact stuff. second surgery will likely be in march.

So glad you're feeling better and that the surgery went well!

[Harrison]

surgery went well, btw. it's been about a week and a half and i'm already (mostly) walking unaided--just with a heck of a limp. i'm hoping to be walking normally by the end of the week, at which point i'll get back to the gym to at least do some cycling or other low-impact stuff. second surgery will likely be in march.

So glad you're feeling better and that the surgery went well!

[Martrae]

Hey guys!

Not much has changed with me. Still in NC. Kahar is still working. I'm still homeschooling the kids (who all have colds currently). And life goes on.

We're currently buried under about 7 inches of snow, highly unusual for Raleigh. The dog absolutely loves it, though. She only comes in long enough to warm up a bit and then wants out again. The cats aren't nearly as enthralled by it.

The kids are growing like weeds. Hard to believe my oldest is 11 already...and she wears a shoe size that only half a size smaller than my own. Breanna definitely inherited from the Swede side of the family there. The boys are doing good as well. Liam is absolutely fascinated by all things science and Riley is a natural at math. So I'm encouraging their interests in those subjects. Bre's more into art and literature. Keeping her in books is nearly impossible and she's turning into a very good artist.

And that's about it.




Leah, glad the surgery went well. And everyone else, it's been good reading what everyone's been up to.

/wave

[Kramer]

that's cool you are able to do the home-schooling thing, my wife is condiering doing that in a few years, once our youngest is finally 2 or so, good to see updates

[Dylan]

So I packed up the truck and made the 1308 mile trip from Seattle to Loveland, CO. Like I mentioned in my first post, my work was threatening to not transfer my job but the store manager here swore up and down that I would have a job when I got here. She lied. Savings are dwindling but I have several interviews lined up for new jobs all paying 30% less than what I would have been paid had I been able to keep my old job.

Keeping positive though and trying to exercise more since I have so much time off, lost about 15lbs. Been planning to get a dog, probably an Australian Shepherd or a Border Collie. Both are really active breeds so they would probably force me to lose even more weight chasing them around. The apartment I live at has a huge dog park so I am really interested in doing Frisbee training or maybe even agility training if I can buy/build the equipment on the cheap.

[Jay]

Sorry to hear that Dylan. Good luck on your job search.

[brinstar]

yeah that's rough

i would advise you to wait until you get a job and/or cashflow coming in before taking the plunge on a dog

sounds cliche, but it's true: just another mouth to feed