posted
I haven’t posted here in a while. I haven’t posted under this screen name in even longer. Long enough that looking over some threads I realized there’s a whole lot of people I don’t know…or who don’t know me. And seems like some of the people I did know are either not posting much or gone. It’s weird leaving this place for a while and coming back. Like leaving home and coming back years later. But why is it that internet time seems to go much quicker than real time? I feel like I’ve been gone much longer than I really have...maybe something to do with the insane amount of traffic that goes on here in one day. I usually don’t talk that much in the real world.
Anyway, for anyone that doesn’t know, I stopped posting a while back under Strider. I was reaching my 4000th post but didn’t know what I wanted to do for it, and since I was pretty busy I was posting under one of my pseudonyms, Shonuff, for a while until I thought of a landmark post. But as I got busier there was more lurking and less posting. And since then I’ve had to stop posting and even lurking all together. But, this is my 4000th post(or to be acurate my 4001st), so I’m warning you now to be ready. If you’ve gone this far you’ve signed on for the whole trip. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
For a while I was thinking about all the different things I wanted to do for this landmark. I didn’t want to do a long “this is me and this is why I love hatrack” thread(I already did one of those), but just wanted to have some fun and do something cool. Well, I couldn’t think of anything cool, and now, when I finally have some more time and want to start posting again, I realized I need to do this first. I guess you can say I owe some people a landmark before I can feel good about posting again. I’ve also realized I don’t care so much anymore about what I’m going to say and I figure I’m just going to babble about whatever I feel like till I decide to hit submit.
I don’t really know where to begin. I’ve had more go on in the last couple months of my life than I’d say the whole time leading up to it. I’ve somehow managed, all in a very short amount of time, to fall in love, act on my desire to leave my job and finally quit, take steps to figuring out what I really want to do with my life, devote a lot of time and energy to an idea I really believe in and start my own business with a friend, oh, and did I mention fall in love?
So needless to say, things have been good. Even if sort of hectic. I’ll explain. I’ve been working up in north jersey as an engineer for the last two years. Leaving college I can tell you I already knew engineering wasn’t for me. I enjoy it. Parts of it. And maybe it wasn’t just engineering as much as a lot of surrounding factors going into it. I don’t think I’m made for an office, 9-5 job, sitting in front of a computer all day. But those were really just little extras, that helped push my decision. The truth is I wasn’t happy in engineering and I didn’t want to stay any longer. If anyone remembers my last landmark post, I’m pretty sure I talked about it then. Sort of interesting I think. In my first landmark I told everyone I wasn’t happy and wanted to leave my job. In my second one I left it. I didn’t want to get complacent, get accustomed and 20 or 30 years down the line regret never taking a chance and quitting and pursuing something I loved. Well I still don’t have anything to pursue, but I figured if I didn’t go ahead with part A, part B would never happen. It’s just the way I work. But before I could quit I had to wait it out a bit, and that happened to coincide with my current project switching into high gear and bogging me down with tons of work. Sweet. Good timing. Added to the fact that during this time, the online business I’m working on began coming together better and this is turn required a lot of work.
So this online business. This actually has some connection to another thread here at Hatrack from a while back. I made a thread one day about this cool website idea I had where people could search for bar specials online. Where you would come in and search for your area. And the site would list all the bars in the area. And then you’d be able to narrow down by special type or day of the week and it would tell you what bars had what specials on what days. I thought this idea was just the coolest thing(and still do) and wanted to know what people thought of it and if they’d go. Well since then, I’ve told some other people about the idea and they all loved it. I checked for other similar sites out there and couldn’t find much. I came to one of my friends and asked him to be my partner in this as he was a business/marketing major and was working in sales and had started a small business before, and I just knew he’d be great for what we were doing. Well it turned out to be a pretty good decision. Besides the fact that we’re both slackers we’ve still managed to really get going on the business. So far the website is done. All the business end things are done. Promotional material is being ordered. We’re in the process of raising some start up capital and everything is in place to go. We just need to sign some bars up on the site and go live. For anyone curious, the website address is www.barspecial.com, the sites up now but password protected for a little longer. Don’t worry. You’ll hear from me when it goes live. Oh...and just because I’m already soliciting...we’re looking for investors right now. And if you were seriously interested I can send you an investors package in the mail.
I left my job at the beginning of October, I moved back to PA, in the Lehigh area(where I went to school), and I’m living in the same house as my business partner, where we’ve set up a nice little office for ourselves(ha…it’s cool having an office), and I’ve been spending a whole lot of time working on the website and the business. The bad thing is I have no income! Now the funny thing is I didn’t quit my job to devote my time to this. It was a part of it, but it wasn’t the *reason*, it’s just sort of all worked out this way, and I can’t say I’m not happy about it. But the real reason I quit was to figure out what I wanted to do. Whether I wanted to go back to school. And what for? Well those questions aren’t answered yet. But they need to be soon. Or at least I’d like them to be. Depending on how the business works out I might not need to worry about income or figuring out my plans for a bit, but that’s not something I want to count on. We can’t realistically expect to make all that much cash that quick, but we can dream can’t we? I know I do. So my point is I need to start thinking about that. And I will soon. As soon as I finish this post...
Where was I? Love? No? Well I’ll talk about it anyway. The last, but most certainly not least thing going on in my life is the first serious girlfriend I’ve ever had. And guess what? I met her at Hatrack. It’s odd meeting your girlfriend on the internet. Now, I’ve spent a lot of time on the internet over the years, but I was never really into chatting, and Hatrack was the first forum I ever found. So chatting with people I never met was a relatively new experience for me. Meeting them was pretty interesting too. Beginning to spend more and more time chatting with the same person every day was something I had never done. But I couldn’t stop myself…when I was at work I was looking forward to being home to talk to her. When I was home and online I was disappointed that she wasn’t on. We begin writing emails to each other to fill the time when we weren’t talking. This may or may not have been before I told her I had strong feelings for her. But it was after we met and my already sneaking suspicions that I was falling for her were confirmed. So emails led to meeting in person. And meeting in person led to first kisses, and first kisses led to our current state…I think I’ve mentioned it a few times in this post. And to think, I have Hatrack to thank for it. Well technically Grenme, but it all started with Hatrack. Anyway, her name is Kira, most of you know her as Leonide, and she stole my heart.
So yeah, as you see all is good. And I hope this explains my absence to anyone that was interested. I’m glad to have this done with. I can now go back to posting about books and movies and not being serious in the least bit. Thanks for your time Hatrack.
Just thought I should mention Matrix is out today and I’m totally seeing it!
And the real reason I made this thread was so I can post in the 24 thread again.
I’m hitting submit now.
Any questions or comments please post below and I will do my best to answer them at my earliest convenience.
p.s.- i've been gone so long i originally posted this on the other side! wow...i'm an idiot.
posted
Ah, yes...heart stealing one of the very few forms of theft that are actually incouraged by society...and for good reason. Satyagraha
Posts: 1986 | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I hear you on the engineering thing, man. But it does pay me enough to live on while I think about the books I'll probably never write. Congratulations on 4000, on your new business, and to both of you on finding each other. I have to say, you kids are an intensely cute couple.
Posts: 4534 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
--- Is there some kind of master list of Hatrack couples somewhere? There's so many of them now that I'm having a hard time keeping track in my head. Is Hobbes dating Annie or :Locke? Who is brinestone again? Is Lalo pursuing Pat or Scott? It's all rather confusing.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
You know, Zal, every now and again another Hatrack couples thread surfaces...you should start your own! Everyone's dying to know what's going on with the Ralphie/dek/T_Smith saga
(is that too obscure a reference? Sometimes my obscur-o-metre is way off.)
Posts: 3516 | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I think that full confessions should simply be made in this thread. No need to clutter the board.
Videotapes should be sent to Dan who will not, I'm sure, convert them to mpegs and make them available on KaZaa.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote: Everyone's dying to know what's going on with the Ralphie/dek/T_Smith saga
::Scratches head:: ::confused look::
Um...
Oh ya....
::looks around::
Huh?
Oh der, I just remembered that practical joke. I can't believe I deleted it. Well, better a well written joke being deleted than to actually have people believe it. Although... I am going up there a week from Friday.
Wait a minute... wasn't this Strider's thread?
Yes, I believe it was.
Strider, I'm glad things are working the way they are for you. When I saw that you posted, I said aloud "Finally!" And hey, thumbs up to love! Posts: 9754 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
It's amazing how it is possible to meet such wonderful people on Hatrack... It's such an incredible place in that respect! (And in many others, of course!!) (((((you know who you are)))))
posted
Congadulations Strider, that is so cool, and is it just me or do alot of people seem to be meeting on Hatrack laetely. It really is a great place to find very wonderful people. (((((You know who you are)))))
(I think most of the people in this thread probably know you are too)
Posts: 2332 | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
This is why we need a list. I can't keep track of all you people's couplings and uncouplings and clumps and clusters and twisted relationships -- not to mention all the siblings and parent/child relationships. And yet these things impact the tenor and tone of the board.
All I'm asking for is a weekly e-mail update. And while you're at it, it'd help if there was also info on who is mad with who and who was flirting with who in chat, etc.
This T_smith guy seems pretty connected maybe he should do it. Or Annie and Hobbes could do some cutesy thing and include photoshopped art with it.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote: We begin writing emails to each other to fill the time when we weren’t talking. This may or may not have been before I told her I had strong feelings for her
You wrote me only one email prior to your telling me you liked me. If anyone wants to read that email, or the conversation, I have them saved. As well as almost every convo/email of import since that time.
posted
Zal—Brinestone is my wife. She used to go by Diosmel Duda. T_Smith is my little brother, and my triplets are Annie and Katharina. Narnia is Annie's twin. I am Mini-Pat, and I'm also Icarus's clone.
I hope this clears things up.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Sorry, Jennie. I knew that I was forgetting something. I guess we really do need a memo. . . .
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
JB and Hobbes: see, I knew you guys would come around.
[stage whisper]Jon Boy -- I knew all that stuff. I actually do pay attention. How else would I know what to joke about?[/stage whisper].
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Zalmoxis, they are indeed overly subtle, but I'm frankly amazed that you haven't figured out what Marek (or I, for that matter ) is talking about...
Let's see if you can figure it out, just from this thread.
And btw, subtlety is not exactly my strong point either!
Posts: 7877 | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
He was just teasing, Marek, and also referring to Annie and Hobbes. Apparently they can't wait the...what is it, ten days now? to flirt with each other in person.
posted
Thank you, Greg, for corrupting that sweet, sweet girl.
I knew you could do it, if anyone could.
I'm gonna put that picture of her chugging beer out of the pitcher on my desktop today, if only because it has become a bit of metaphorical foreshadowing.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
I didn’t want to get complacent, get accustomed and 20 or 30 years down the line regret never taking a chance and quitting and pursuing something I loved. Well I still don’t have anything to pursue, but I figured if I didn’t go ahead with part A, part B would never happen. It’s just the way I work. But before I could quit I had to wait it out a bit, and that happened to coincide with my current project switching into high gear and bogging me down with tons of work. Sweet. Good timing. Added to the fact that during this time, the online business I’m working on began coming together better and this is turn required a lot of work. ![[Hat]](graemlins/hat.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Evil Laugh]](graemlins/evillaugh.gif)
![[Kiss]](graemlins/kiss.gif)
![[Wall Bash]](graemlins/wallbash.gif)
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
Must've missed the memo.![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
) is talking about... ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
