Yes, today marks the first day of my second year with the SDMB. One whole year already. It seems more like seven, maybe eight months, but it really has been a whole year. Amazing. The thing I find the most amusing is that the site that linked me to The Dope, well, I haven’t check that one in months. I used to have a bevy of sites I’d look in on daily, now, a mere handful. The balance of my time is spent Doping. I finally broke down and got a connection at home because of the Board, and then came #straightdope…but I’m getting ahead of myself.
A year ago I was living in North Carolina, running a quality lab and performing ISO/QS-9000 audits for one of the worlds largest glass companies. The town I lived in held somewhere between 10-15,000 people, though for all I saw, it may have held a total of 30. Not 30,000. 30. Small town, it was, and not much going on within a 30-mile drive. So, I was interviewing at the time I found the Board. I was interviewing and looking forward to getting myself somewhere I could have a life. Specifically, I was looking forward to moving back to my home state. More specifically, I was looking very much forward to moving back to the home town of my adult life. Ahhh, Columbus, Ohio [sub](GO BUCKS!)[/sub], I love that town. Friends within a few minutes drive. Activities, bars, clubs, theatre, concerts, sport, the University…home.
By October, I was in a crunch with three job offers in two weeks, two in my field with significant increases in salary and one in tech, something I’d not had any real experience in, with a lateral move, money-wise and decreased beni’s. Guess which one was in Columbus. I had been on the Board for a few months by then so I posted my dilemma, aware that some folks would have been ecstatic to have one offer, no matter where, but the key to my quandary was location, location, location.
Anyway, enough with the drama of my move. I took the tech job, moved home and started to unpack. Three weeks later I was sent to Kentucky to work for a client, for I was a consultant and that was part of the job. Yesterday marked nine months I’ve been here. It’s okay, though, I fudge my expense reports and get some extra cash (it’s only 11 miles each way, but I charge them for 12.)
Anyway, in my time on the board I’ve learned a lot, which is good, I guess, considering the intent and focus, the objective, if you will. I’ve learned a lot and I hope I’ve answered, or assisted in answering, some questions helping others learn a thing or two or helped lend some support when someone was feeling a little too much pressure. I’ve asked a few questions myself and found the answers compelling. 'Course, I’ve posted so much more mindless drivel, random flirting, movie
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(http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=81061), shaving news, rochambo attacks and counters and a few rants. I even received a post-party for my 2000[sup]th[/sup] post.
I talk to more than a dozen of y’all almost every night over mIRC, I’ve been to 6 actual DopeFests (Ann Arbor, a Chi Dope, Spiffled II, a mini-ChiDope, FlintDope and SLO-Fest/ NorCal meets SoCal) and am hosting one this fall. I’ve met a number of Dopers IRL, that number is 64 (14 more than once and 1, well…)
So, here I am, one year older, a few days wiser. I’m in a city and state other than the one I wish to be in, I’m bored with my job and I’m still single. As far as that goes, I’ve changed geography, but not much else. I’m thinking of quitting so that I can move back to Columbus, Ohio…that or chucking it all and starting a seasonal snow-skiing and SCUBA shop.
Whadaya think?
Say, if you spread maple syrup on me, you can get taffy. [sub]Ginger knows what I’m talking about.[/sub]