Darling, “free” is a word I’ve never associated with you. “Expensive,” maybe…
Hi everyone. My name’s Meredith, or Merry for short. I’m 22 and live with my husband (when he’s not on a ship in the middle of the sea). I’m originally from Baltimore but have lived in Scotland for over two years now, and I’m a British permanent resident. I’m a psychology student and am working on my thesis, which is about the perception of emotion in portraits.
My goals for the next 6 months are (apart from my finishing my thesis and essays):
- Decide whether or not to do a postgrad course, and if so, in what and where
- Decide what on earth I want to do with the rest of my life (career-wise)
- Decide which country to live in (US or UK), and if it’s the US, find out what implications that would have on my husband’s immigration and career
Gee, that doesn’t sound too hard, does it…?
{staggers off with weight of her future on her shoulders}
mebbe I forgot some punctuation - I might have meant:
“…dirty, blond hair, etc…”
naah - even here my wholesomeness is damnably overwhelming. But I do make a heck of a redhead - #110 Light Auburn
Oh, another thing I didn’t mention - I play accordion, sorta. Had lessons when I was 7. Almost 40 years later I still play like I did at 7 - except that now my tits get in the way.
I think that’s all the fascinating tidbits I’m going to share today.
Hi, Keith here. I am a computer technician, but my actual field of expertise involves working with people with disabiliites. My other interests include acting etc. with a local community theatre group and birding, so if you want to know about the birds here I am ;). I am single, 37 and I live in Saskatchewan. Wat’s that? You want to know more about my real life? If I had a life I wouldn’t be here 
Oh well I hope you have lots of fun here, any more questions, feel free to ask 'em
Keith
Howdy, Bottle of Smoke – I’m in WI too!
Let’s see – I took my screen name from the fact that I dressed as Carol Burnett as Scarlett O’Hara (complete with curtain rod) at our New Year’s Eve costume party last year; “Scarlett” was taken so I added the year I was born. That makes me age 33, married 10 years to a man 12 years older. (“But it’s OK, Mom, cause he’s really immature!”) No kids, no plans to have any. Three dogs (we’re partial to springers after the late great Miss Emily stole our hearts), six outdoor cats, two birds. I have a degree in graphic design and worked at a printing company for a few years before going into freelance copyediting, which I was born to do. Mr. Scarlett works in printing, too – we met on the job.
Don’t smoke, occasionally have a mixer or wine with dinner. (Goody Two Shoes!) But I do have a sick sense of humor and have been known to cuss like a lumberjack. Known as a computer geek among my friends. I play the piano and am trying to find time to (a) take up the Celtic harp and (b) get my a cappella singing group together more often. Last year I starting making funky glass-bead jewelry and selling it at summer festivals. It’s been a lot of fun, but I’m still working on making a profit. Regular drum-circle participant and wearer of imported ethnic clothing. Becoming more of a hippie every day, quite a change from my former oxford-shirt-and-argyle-sock self.
Oh, yes, and I have a great Billy Joel story that I gladly tell to anyone who’s interested.
Hello all. I’m Rachelle. Here’s my stats…
5’ 9" tall, 112-115 lbs. (depending on what time of the month it is), brown hair, blue eyes, size 9 shoe. I’m divorced but am getting re-married next April in Las Vegas, I have two kids… a 3 year old girl and a 1 year old boy, I live in Kansas and work for an insurance company.
I have a pretty laid back (in other words - boring) job and lots of free time on my hands so I read the board a lot throughout my work day. I also check out the board at home in the evenings if I have time. If anyone would like to chat with me on Yahoo Messenger between the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Central Time, please do! It makes my day go by a lot faster! (Yahoo ID is kahaga)
Well, that’s about it for me. It’s nice to meet all of you.
Yikes! I popped out for some lunch and missed greeting a bunch more guests at the door.
Serendipity – Nice to meet you, Jessica. And i do feel enlightened.
BlackKnight – Incompetent and a Computer Science major? Are you sure you don’t already work here? 
Stranger – If you’re having Bock, you can sit next to me. Heck, you can even have my seat.
Eve – So glad you could come, and so glad to see you around again. I shall dash off a letter post haste to Entertainment Weekly threatening to cancel my subscription if they don’t add you to their staff. Is that dropzone rogue bothering you? I shall have him removed at once. Oh, wait…he may have brought beer…
pluto – Welcome! Glad to have you here! We promise to be on our best behavior.
Nimue – Greetings Merry! Or is it Merry Greetings? Oh, well. Glad to meet you in any case!
(I am getting the sinking feeling that I am not going to be able to keep up much longer…)
Hi! I got my name from Office Space (wonderful line by Milton). I’m also really bored at work. 
I’ve been living in Manhattan for four years now… I went to Columbia ‘n’ all: still working on finishing my MA in music.
Great idea for a thread… Hi everybody!
<waves>
Arrgh, I was right. I can’t keep up.
Welcome, Odieman, Rachelle, and Scarlett! So let’s hear that Billy Joel story now.
Hi MerrySquirrels!
Hello, all. My real name is Eric (Robot Arm is a play on my last name). I grew up near Seattle (Hello, pluto), studied Physics in college, and I’ve been living in the Boston area (Hello, Serendipity) for about two years now. Software Engineer, 35, single. Lately I’ve been developing a taste for David Foster Wallace books and silent movies with live music. And I finally had a chance to travel to Europe about seven months ago and had one of the best times of my life.
Hello, Silo here (also known as Michael Masterson). I’m 21, 5’11" tall, have dirty blonde hair, and hazel eyes. I am an only child, and currently live in my parents house near Richmond, Va. I am working on a BS in Computer Science, aside from college, I am a musician and part-time construction worker.
My SD story:
I used to be under the handle: Michael Masterson. I am well known here because I trolled the board for reactions when I first discovered the SD (in February). A few weeks later I secretly changed me name to Silo (and have posted myself ever since). A few months after the change I revealed my past :eek: and still manage to get crap about it. Oh well, everyone makes mistakes.
Hey there! I’m Mike, I’m 30, live in Chicago, divorced w/ 2 kids 4+6. I have joint custody so I see them every other day (if not more). I am, like dropzone, employed by catering to the stupefyingly wealthy. I design kitchens for people to have their staff work in or even more likely, to show off w/o ever using
Picture a tall Drew Carey with glasses and a beard and you’ve pretty much got it.
I’m Irish and I love the Pogues too. I’m listening to “Summer in Siam” right now!
I chose the name ‘cause I was too tired to think of anything wittier when I signed up.
I’ll gladly take suggestions tho’…
Howdy, I’m Heather, 27, single mom to Isaac, 10 months. I work as a technical writer within the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS). (My father is tickled to death that I am an Aggie by association.) I work under some pretty hectic deadlines, so I don’t get much time to check the board. My evenings are devoted to spending time with my son. He goes to bed around 9, but we get up at 5:30, so I’m usually in bed by 10. Real exciting life I have, huh? It’s a big change from my prechild life, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
I am in the process of fixing up a little house right now. So on my off days I’m cleaning, painting, caulking, trimming, etc. I hope to be moved in before Halloween. Right now my son and I live with my parents, so I am really looking forward to living on my own again. Especially since my younger sister is home and she and my mom fight constantly about her upcoming wedding.
I enjoy music, reading, writing, visiting with y’all when a have a few moments, hiking, camping, swimming, learning new things, and traveling. My son thinks the car is his home - we are always on the road.
Glad to meet y’all.
And Happy Birthday, Pluto
Sorry about that, iampunha. The limericks thread is here. Hope that works…
oh, I’m 45 minutes too late.
:
:
Hello! screech-owl here. Picked my name because I, like they, am small, kind of cute, and give you that weird look when they are torqued off at you. Plus I was bitten by one. (Long story.) No beer yet, I’m at the office (ssssshhhhhhhhh!), but maybe later. Not much to tell about me. Born in and educated in upstate NY (BMusic and MMusic), musician, former teacher (burnout is a bad thing, ask me about the 217 warning signs you should watch for), travelling carny for a awhile, learning costuming, work for an environmental organization, rescue injured raptors on the weekend whenever the rehabbers call me, and I like to look at the stars at night. I try to get over to the Kennedy Space Center as often as possible (severe space nut).
Tend to be a bit overbearing and a know-a-lot, but I do have a good heart.
I live in central Florida with Roommate, HyperKitty, and Bird (cockatiel). And a frog that has somehow gotten into the house and kept me up all night with a strange croaking noise. Better than the cricket, though.
Eventually I will get a scanner and send in a picture.
I love research, so if you have a question (especially on wild birds and habitat), contact me! Probably more to tell (without the boss walking by), but I don’t want to hog the whole board.
Hi. I’m Sarah. I’m a single 19 year old. I have no kids but I sure would like a couple someday. Some of my interests include reading, writing, singing, and playing guitar. I’m a pretty boring person. Ummm, yeah. Nice to meet you. Feel free to ask questions.
“I also think Minnesotan women are the sexiest around.” -BlackKnight
Well, that’s me!
Hey all,
Bottle–I kept meaning to post and commend you on your name… love the Pogues! I have “network issues” posting from work; I try and try and nothing happens, and by the time I get home I don’t wanna look at my computer.
Anyway, hey everyone, nice to meet you. I’m Rasa. Not my real name, but I’ve gone by it on the Web for so long that I tend to get called it IRL. I’m 24, have a degree in archaeology, but work as a technical writer, because (surprise!) archaeology doesn’t pay well enough for me to make a living. Stay tuned though; I’m applying for a job with a consulting firm that does archaeology very soon. Oh, and I’m from Rhode Island.
I have to let you all know–my work “outsourced” me and sent me to another company to do some work for them for a couple months. I’ve been stranded here with nothing to do really for about a month, and reading this board is the only thing that’s keeping me sane! So thank you all for being so entertaining.
Cheers!
Warning - I mis-posted this in another thread (sorry UncleBeer and Euty!) So you may have already read this.
Well, my name is Zyada, and I don’t care for beer, but if you have a glass of wine, I’d love that. I’m 38 years old and divorced just over a year after being married for eight years. I don’t have any children, although I always wanted them and still do. Sometimes I get depressed because it doesn’t look like I’ll ever have a chance to have kids. 
But I refuse to settle for less than a wonderful man just so that I can have kids.
The leitmotif of my life is dancing, and especially belly-dancing (see sig). I also love to snorkel and usually enjoy my programming job. I’m the DFW social director (I’m the one who puts the local IRL parties together) If you’re coming to the Dallas-Fort Worth area email me and I’ll try to get a party together for you. I haven’t done one recently because I’ve been real busy.
I bought a house in May, and I’m almost finished redecorating the master bathroom, which will be the last redecorating I do for a long time!
I have two beautiful, sweet [rest of description deleted to avoid nausea] kitties name Shilla and Moody. Those are actually short for Karshillamar and Masmoudi, which are arabic musical styles (I get a little obsessed with the belly dancing stuff) Shilla is pure black with dark greenish-grey eyes - sometimes he looks like a cat-shaped hole in the universe. Moody is a siamese-calico mix with the cutest face.
You can find out a lot more about my using the search engine - I’ve said the damndest things on this board!
And unlike some people around here, I love smilies. 
Howdy folk…
I’m Kent and I’m an alcoholic.
Errrr sorry – wrong thread. But my name is Kent, I’m of Danish ancestry, my parents were both born and raised in Minnesota (lots of kinfolk still live there), but as you should deduce from my signature and greeting, I’m pure southern redneck.
I’ve acquired the handle “SouthernStyle” some years back when I travelled a lot and had a CB radio. I kept the name out of habit and even though I’ve considered changing it, I’m loyal, if nothing else. This’ll touch off a political debate, but the name came from the pro death penalty slogan regarding Florida’s electric chair, “Bar-b-qued Southern Style – Old Sparky”. I bought the T-Shirt, and assumed the handle.
I’m married, no kids and none planned, and two fish. My wife and I are renovating a huge house with the expectation that her mom and/or my dad could be living with us one day real soon. (If you’ve never done a complete renovation, save your marriage the stress and DON’T DO IT!!!)
I enjoy a good beer now and then (thanks, don’t mind if I do) but prefer to sip a bit of Jack Daniels. White wine is out, but a good Cabernet with steak is quite enjoyable.
I’m a compute geek by trade and by choice. My freshman year in college I was an applied math major. Due to some really bad guidance my sophomore year I was a music education major. My junior year I was again in applied math and computer science. I dropped out after completing all but one computer science class when I had a major falling out with one of the professors. (I was something of a hothead back then.)
It’s good to meet all of you fine folks. Without this thread I may NEVER have learned that BratMan007 is now Crunchy Frog!
And a special howdy to “Bottle of Smoke” for starting this fine thread. (Now get back to posting limericks. )