5 long years.

[Kay]

Well I think I fell off these forums before they officially went offline, sadly. Life just got super busy! A lot has happened.

Health-wise: I have been diagnosed with some auto-immune diseases, so I'm on an immunosuppressant and a bunch of other meds now. Ulcerative colitis means my immune system attacks my colon, which leads to bleeding and dietary restrictions and loss of nutrients and exhaustion. Anylosing spondilitis means my immune system attacks my spine mostly but also other joints, and my soft tissues gradually turn into hard tissues, so without proper treatment the damage will eventually cripple me, and I'm in a lot of pain off and on. But so far the meds are slowing down the damage (**knocks on wood**)! I also had a very successful eye surgery which improved my life so much! I still have a terribly high prescription, but I no longer see double all the time so that's great!

Family-wise: I got married! And we have a doggy. And we bought a house! We moved when my husband got this amazing job opportunity. I probably shouldn't say too much, but I'm really proud of him, and let's just say I play a lot of a certain Battle Royale style game now because of it. Ha! On a worse note, my dad died a few months ago, and that was really hard. Every other death I've experienced was sad, of course, but so much simpler - you love the person, they die, you are sad, the end. With a parent, there's so much to *do* that I didn't really have time to grieve until much later. But I'm getting back to normal, finally.

Career-wise: For several years I was having a great time managing a little family-owned coffee shop, and I loved it and was good at it; but having no benefits and low pay was a problem when the health problems began cropping up. So I started managing a Starbucks instead, and well, I don't recommend that, lol. Starbucks killed my soul. And my body. So when my husband got the job and we moved, I took that as an opportunity to explore other things. I feel like, I'm in my 30s now but I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up! But I'm working on a plan to make and sell art again, hopefully.

Adventure-wise: People tell you to save aggressively and wait to travel when you're retired, but my health issues plus my parents never getting to travel and then my dad died etc. really drove the point home that time is more valuable than money. We're not trying to be stupid or anything, but I want to have adventures while I can still enjoy them! While I can walk and have some energy and stuff. So my husband and I have been having adventures! (It helps that my husband's work lets me tag along when he has to travel!) Conventions, a cruise, Disneyworld, NYC, Vegas, Seattle, etc.

Sorry, I'm long-winded as usual! But let me just say that I'm really enjoying reading what's going on with y'all and seeing how y'all's lives have progressed! I'm so glad to have this little online home back up and running. (Though reading my blog was honestly super CRINGE lol)

Love you guyssssss

[Taterbud]

I feel like not a lot has changed in the past five years for me but I’m still married lol, still have Adriana who’s 9 and will be in fourth grade this year but we will be doing homeschooling this year for the first time, I was an apartment manager for four years but I quit that as they were horrible owners and wouldn’t do what was needed for the tenants last October and have been a stay at home mom since then. I have been making cloth diapers for the past two and a half years along with kids accessories and men’s ties and selling them online along with making custom fabric for customers before I make their items. And another new thing would be the two and a half year old named Adelaide who’s ornery as heck but super cute. We also have 7 chickens who lay eggs for us and they’re fun to hang out with lol.

[HMTKSteve]

The last time I saw you, Adriana was still on the inside!

Does anyone remember why the forums went into decline all those years ago? I know I was busy with my divorce and associated real life drama.

[Viperizer]

The last time I saw you, Adriana was still on the inside!

Does anyone remember why the forums went into decline all those years ago? I know I was busy with my divorce and associated real life drama.

Honestly it really seemed like overnight the activity just dropped. I don’t remember if there was a specific reason it just seemed so sudden

[BugCatcher6]

From what I remember there was a lot of arguing on the forum, in PMs, on CP, on YouTube, and well just about everywhere.

I’m not reopening that can of worms though.

I went to college and studied some sociology, so I’m kind of an expert on human emotions. Haha

[Sorgatani]

The decline in activity in the forum coincided with a depressive episode for me, so I wasn't really noticing so much interpersonal stuff - most of my friends were borderline inactive, and I didn't know more recent members.

[Killerjeff88]

The last time I saw you, Adriana was still on the inside!

Does anyone remember why the forums went into decline all those years ago? I know I was busy with my divorce and associated real life drama.

Personal life troubles for me.

Having issues with injuries and mishaps (6 months crutches due to knee injury from rock climbing training, huge boulder landed on my foot during hiking which caused pools of blood around me, 5 car accidents that hit me or my car, lost my glasses twice during camps, relationship and friendship break ups, work resignations, few family hospitalized for medical issues, list goes on...)

Yeah im super lucky guy...

[Ryan493]

The avatars, badges, and the amount of GREEN has got me so happy all of a sudden! I've missed logging on here. Life definitely hasn't been the same since the last time I've been here.
I've been present on facebook (on and off), was part of our skype group at first before activity dropped there as well, and dabbled in Discord. I've recently left retail after nearly four years, graduated with a bachelor's in graphic design, and have yet to find a career but that's okay for now. Healthwise, I got diabeetus but other than that I'm fine. I don't write as often as I used to but I got better at drawing. Would love to get better at digital drawing to practice animation or start a webcomic.
I also streamed on Twitch with Koty and Crymz and a few others for a while but that was back when XY were out, and a little bit during ORAS. Wouldn't mind it again if I had the proper equipment, though working on art and graphics is my main priority outside of work.
I'm glad you all are doing well, and hope things only get better for you!

P.S. Koty please don't ground me!

[HMTKSteve]

I would love to get a weekly streaming group together. I can do PC or PS4 (not XBone) or even Switch.

Right now I am working on a YouTube channel for my daughter. She is about to turn 9 and we did a test shot last night where she played against herself using Battleship. It was fun and we used a costume change and some camera tricks to switch back and fourth. The final video is only about four minutes but she did pretty good.

[BugCatcher6]

I have been talking about streaming for a year or so now, just haven’t started. I purchased an ElGato so I can Stream on PS4 and Switch as well.

Shawn and I have been talking about making a game for the last 6 years. It is hard for us to settle on a concept. I thought maybe with the talent on this forum we could maybe get a game into production.