Hi guys, long time no see! It's been almost 4 years since my last post here, and I thought I'd say hi.
Life has been busy, I'm no longer in web design, but have moved on to print, which is for the better. It's somehow more gratifying for me to hold a piece of my work in my hands, at the end of the day. I am also an avid amateur photographer and purchased my first digital SLR (Rebel XT) a few months back. So. Much. Fun.
I have a dog named Neo who, ironically, was born with cataracts and is now almost completely blind. (I named him after seeing the first Matrix movie.)
I've been living with my boyfriend for just about three years now, he is a huge nerd, I'm sure you would all approve.
So yeah, last 4 years in a nutshell...what's new around here?
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Well, first the Earth cooled, then the dinosaurs came, then they died and they created oil, then the arabs came and they bought Mercedes Benz's ...
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Nearly four years in absentia, and yet the ghost of your ferret is still running the moderators' forum...
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Omega is getting married.
(That doesn't sound right no matter how many times you repeat it.)
Posted by Dani (Member # 57) on :
quote:Originally posted by TSN: Nearly four years in absentia, and yet the ghost of your ferret is still running the moderators' forum...
At first I considered making a post from Basil, but I figured it might be a bit creepy to post as your dead ferret, even for a goth girl.
quote:Originally posted by Cartman: Omega is getting married.
Charles told me!
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Jonah can eat now.
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
*bows*
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Well hi, I'm MarsNeedsWomen, one the few new members to the this forum.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Yes, Greetings- I am also a cough"new" member and have not formally met you (I believe).
Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :
Hi
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Brian's first post in two years, and that's all he says?
Posted by Charles Capps (Member # 9) on :
Who the hell does he think he is, me?
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
Well, let's see if the old black magic still works...
*summons Elim Garak*
*summons Frank*
*summons targetemployee*
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
*summons Morn69*
Wait, what are we doing again?
Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
1. I may have had e-mail contact with Elim Garak a year or so ago, if it's the same one who was involved in some other Trek tech discussions (and Vs. discussions). Otherwise he's out of the loop.
2. 50,000 cool points for quoting "Airplane!"
Posted by Dani (Member # 57) on :
Hi Lee, TSN!
And hello to all the newer folks, too.
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
Elim Garak used to live a short distance from me. Went to the same university. Now he's closer to Lee than anyone else.
Which reminds me...
*summons PsyLiam*
*summons Daryus Aden*
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
I find it amusing that nobody ever summons First of Two. Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :
Someone remembered my real name
Has it really been 2 years? I thought it was longer than that. I've lost track. Life's changed a lot. Long story, hope you are up to it.
The last time I posted I was actually unemployed and living off ramen and macaroni and cheese. I gained a lot of weight in that time period. A couple months later, I was hired to do tech support for Adelphia, and have been working at the same place(even after the Time Warner takeover). I've been living out of the 'rents home since 2004, and for two years living in Lockport, NY where I commute to downtown Buffalo for my job.
Recently, because I weigh over 500lbs, I've been seeking gastric bypass surgery. This journey has led to the discovery of a thyroid problem I've been having for years and it was unnoticed until now. It is not a big deal but may have contributed to years of weight gain. I have been approved by my insurance and my surgeon is looking into locations to have the surgery done if it is found I am too large to have it done locally. I am looking forward to being free again.
I discovered that my bachelor of arts degree in Chemistry was not enough for my preferred college's teacher certification program, so I am also back in school taking classes to that end. I hope to be a full-fledged genuine teacher by the time I'm 30. I'm 27. Being 27 scares the shit out of me. God has become a greater part of my life, too.
I'm still single too. Kinda sucks but with all that's going on right now it might not be so bad. I'm sure there's more to this story, but I'm all typed out. If you guys want to, my AIM name is JeffRaven65. My email for YIM and MSN is [email protected] Since I was receiving a dozen spam messages a day in ICQ, I have since shut that down.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
500 is big- you can still get around allright by yourself? Losing the weight will save your knees if nothing else...and you'll have enough excess skin to become a flying squirell (though they'll doubtlessly schedule additional procedures when that becomes an issue).
Hmmm...have you tried thyroid medications as an alternative to bariatric surgery (or to lose some weight in preperation for the surgery)?
Have you considered that Lapband thing instead of Bariatric? Sounds less involved and the recovery time is much less.
I assume your work is okay with you being out on disability for an extended period for recovery (techincally, they have to be, but many bosses will hold it against you anyway in some form or another).
Good luck with it!
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
The question is, does all of that take into account the cosmetic surgery that will be required to remove the extra skin?
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
I like the sound of the idea of being a flying squirrel.
In Australia they are called Sugar-gliders... and they might only exist in Australia - flying squirrel may have been an Americanisation of the name for the Australian marsupial.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Or, y'know...not. Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :
I am big. While I don't exactly look like I'm 500lbs, I have a lot of muscle from my years playing football. I can still get around, but I have constant back pain and walking for more than 30 minutes is very rough. Imagine having to carry around 15 20lb bricks with you everywhere you go. That's what I'm doing right now.
Lap band was another solution but it is not as effective, and it can be defeated much easier than bariatric. Bariatric patients usually see 50% loss of their excess body fat over time, and usually permanently. I don't know the figures but from what I was told it's less than that for lap band. Plus I plan to get rid of most of my excess body fat. I want to get back into weight lifting again.
My thyroid medication wasn't the sole problem and it won't be the sole solution either.
I can't imagine them holding it against me. I'm not doing this for cosmetic reasons, I'm doing it for health reasons. In the long run, the healthier I am, the better I'll be at coming to work, and the less sick time I'll be using.
As for the excess skin, that's handled later, usually by a plastic surgeon. Again, the key is having it done for health reasons and not cosmetic reasons. A good primary care physician will help me there, and document the health risks of excess skin. Most insurance will cover abdominoplasty, but the arms and legs aren't.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
500lbs?! Shit. I'm having as hard time reconciling that with the only picture we ever saw, you as buff football player. You're actually on my YM and MSNM BTW, say hi if you ever see me.
Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :
OK that should sum it up.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Curry for all.
Posted by Daryus Aden (Member # 12) on :
Indeed.
Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :
quote:Originally posted by TSN: You might think he doesn't look that big, but keep in mind that that crucifix is 1:1 scale.
I get a lot of comments about the cross, but that was by far the funniest. You made my day. In truth is about the size of a pack of cards.
As for catching up, how is everyone else? Does anyone know what happened to Baloo, First of Two, and Sol System?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Baloo just got on with enjoying his life with his son, etc. Fo2 went off in a huff to find somewhere he might actually win an argument now and then; I gather he posts on the Snopes.com forums. Sol seems to have vanished without trace. Liam too.
All symptoms of a gradual decline, really. I still check in here a couple of times a day, but I rarely read any threads (if any have actually have any new posts) and don't post all that much. No Trek, BSG on hiatus, no personal interest in Stargate: all this leads to not having much to say. Even my Chat activity had faded to nothing, I'm currently using MSNM again for the first time in 6 months or more.
Most of my online-community activity now revolves around a British forum ostensibly devoted to comedy (and to the work of one particular comedian, not that I participate that much in the comedy chat, it's mainly the current affairs threads I follow).
I've always been the one to foretell this Forum's doom, and I've usually been proved wrong. But it does feel as if we're in the Twilight of Flare.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
More poignantly... Flare feels like a house with all the children gone.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Actually, all the First Ones have left & the younger races are doing a shitty job of raising themselves.
Posted by WizArtist II (Member # 1425) on :
Nobody listens to Zathros.....
Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :
That's usually how it is with online communities. Most of the ones I visit(I have quite a few) seem to dry up over time. However, there is still life here.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
I find myself participating at exisle.net more (along with Kosh; remember him?). It's broader in scope, and has a ton more activity. But Flare will always be home. I have to say, as I look back over my life, those Flameboard debates may have done more to shape me into an adult than my parents did.
Congrats on the business, marriage and child, Daryus! I'm engaged myself now. Tell me, how is it, and will I survive? Posted by Daryus Aden (Member # 12) on :
You'll be fine. Just be honest and things usually work out.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
quote:Originally posted by Omega: I have to say, as I look back over my life, those Flameboard debates may have done more to shape me into an adult than my parents did.
Sweet- I am so climing you on this year's return. ALL of you, my pretties!
Hmmm..I miss Sol and Liam, 'tis true we never gelled in the way that me and...er...well, someone. ...the point is, they argue nicely.
Omega, you got any ultra-conservative or insane pals we can scrap with? It's been an almost-unheard of time since the Flameboard was in full swing.
I blame myself and my depressing medical problems for the general gloom. And Jay...mostly Jay. That Jerk. anyone heard from him, BTW? I took the pins out of his voodoo doll and put an band-aid on it's head and everything...
EDIT: thinking on it, I consider Flare home because, even when slow, the threads here [/i]so[/i] outshine anything else: not a lot of thoughtless posts in even the most obscure of subjects.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Simon's been MIA because his computer blew up back in October, and I guess he still hasn't gotten a new one.
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
I'm still here. I'm one of those annoying guests who blatantly ignores the hints that it's time to go. I'll be here after everyone else has left, and help sweep up and turn off the lights.
--Jonah
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Peregrinus: Barkeep of Flare.
Posted by Charles Capps (Member # 9) on :
Technically, I'd be the only one here after the lights are turned off.
Not that I plan on allowing that to happen.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
Pushing 30. Not Engaged. Go Figure.
Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :
quote:Originally posted by Fabrux: *summons Elim Garak*
*appears (somewhat belatedly)*
quote:Originally posted by Fabrux: Elim Garak used to live a short distance from me. Went to the same university. Now he's closer to Lee than anyone else.
Not any more, new country (same continent)... Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Explain. And if you were here, you coulda said. It's hurtful, all these Canadians, they live right next door to Americans, yet it's ME they're scared of.
Posted by Charles Capps (Member # 9) on :
I think Garak sets the new record. 23 posts since the year 2000.
Posted by Ventriloquists Got Shot (Member # 239) on :
Simon texted me, yo. He's a grownup now?
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Oh, man. we all need to text Simon. And UM.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Um, you're talking to him.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
It's not the same! I want to texct him at 3 AM & ask about udon.
Posted by Ventriloquists Got Shot (Member # 239) on :
noudles
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Nudels.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
PEOPLE! It's made from people! Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lee: Explain.
I'm in France but will be back in the UK after a few months. It's part of my degree. Sort of... EuroPhD fun...
quote:Originally posted by Lee: It's hurtful, all these Canadians, they live right next door to Americans, yet it's ME they're scared of.
*LOL*
If it makes you feel better, Manchester is of course way closer to Liverpool (Liam). And although we went to school on the same campus, I've never (to my knowledge) seen Topher...
Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :
quote:Originally posted by Charles Capps: I think Garak sets the new record. 23 posts since the year 2000.
I try. Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
HEY!!
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
Yeah, don't feel so bad, Lee. We went to uni in the same damn building and I never met him.
Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :
Ooh, I didn't think it was the same building...
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I demand a Meet!
Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :
But then how will Fabrux feel!
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
Dude, we were both in Head Hall for like a year. I look up your photo on the grad class display and I recognized you. Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :
Well, at least it was a good photo. Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
All that time, with visual recognition, and you never even said hello? Sheesh, my wife couldn't even spend two hours in the same restaurant as a champion athlete the other day without going to speak to him. Seriously, Benjamin, you need your horizons broadened.
Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :
I wasn't the one who recognised anyone. Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
I didn't recognize him until I saw the picture with his name under it. Then it was like "I've SEEN that kid."
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
And they you were all, like, [jackbauer]Dammit! I almost had him![/jackbauer]
Posted by Diane (Member # 53) on :
quote:Originally posted by TSN: Simon's been MIA because his computer blew up back in October, and I guess he still hasn't gotten a new one.
THAT explains why I haven't been able to get a hold of him. Poor guy.
quote:Originally posted by Omega: I have to say, as I look back over my life, those Flameboard debates may have done more to shape me into an adult than my parents did.
I have similar sentiments. Even though I wouldn't say they had more influence than my parents did, I can trace a lot of lessons I've learned back to those days.
Regarding Liam: I've had occasional emails from him and it seems like he's fairly busy with work (still luckless in the romantic department). Although I don't know what he's so busy doing that he can't get me his damn Wii number.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
The sad thing is that we shaped him.... It is kind of scary when you dwell on it.
Elim, soft and squishy?
Does anyone think that Snay should take lessons, on posting, from Elim?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I've tried texting Liam and Monty, and gotten no reply. Naybe their numbers have changed, Or maybe they don't want to/can't be bothered to reply, which is fair enough, at the end of the day I'm just a random distant acquaintance.
Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :
I don't think anyone should take lessons on posting from me. Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
Elim lives!!
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
My computer totally blew up.
So in the meantime I became an adult, of sorts. I got a new job, doing exactly what I was doing before, only all the time. I wear a tie. Sometimes after work I go to the Sports Center and sit quietly, by myself, drinking brandy. (Except for the one time I was talking to some girl and then was all "Oh man, I've got to get home to see Lost!" and then I wandered around downtown Yakima until I felt fit to drive.) I bought new glasses. My new car, purchased from some good Slovakian friends of mine just before they left the continent, also blew up. They are still my friends, though.
I bought a cell phone, and put some Beck songs on it.
And I just spent grown-up money on this new computer.
I guess I plan to take a vacation to England this fall/winter, to go visit a friend who will be studying... well, somewhere. I'm not clear yet. ("It's in Oxford." "Oxford!" "No, it's in Oxford.") But there was another school he was considering in, I don't know, Sheffield?
I'm opening a Flickr account as we speak.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME, MISTER.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
Missed him did you?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Oxford is doable. Sheffield would be a bit trickier. September/October would be problematic as that's when they're saying Kate will have her op.
Posted by Diane (Member # 53) on :
I miss England. LA sucks ass.
Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
Hi there Diane!! I was wondering about you the other day. Good to see you are still here.
Hi Dani, if you come back before another four years is up.
Posted by Diane (Member # 53) on :
Hi there Kosh. That's sweet of you to say .
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
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