# When I joined the Dope...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [November 24, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987 "2012-11-24T15:31:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/21 "2012-11-24T21:18:59Z")

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I joined in Dec 2002 it says.

Then: I was 53  
Now: You can figure it out

Then: I was happily married with one son.  
Now: Ditto

Then: I was a college professor.  
Now: Ditto

Then: One dog – a standard poodle  
Now: Two dogs – both standard poodles

Then: I drove a 1995 VW Golf  
Now: I drive a 2003 VW Jetta with \< 37,000 miles

Then: Waiting for the Cleveland Indians to win their first World Series in my lifetime.  
Now: Ditto, and prospects looked much better then.  
That’s not to say nothing has happened in between

Then: \< 160 pounds  
Now: \> 185 pounds

Then: Both parents were living  
Now: Only my mother is still alive

Then: My son was single  
Now: He’s divorced

Then: I didn’t have cancer  
Now: I hope I don’t after seven operations and a series of radiation treatments.

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**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/22 "2012-11-24T21:24:47Z")

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THEN: I was 38.  
NOW: I’m 49.

THEN: I was QC supervisor (read: ran QC) for a small pharmaceutical company.  
NOW: I’m a QC specialist (validation) for a very large pharmaceutical company.

THEN: I was married.  
NOW: I’m not.

THEN: I had a young dog and no children.  
NOW: I have two children, and I see them and the old dog about once a week.

THEN: I rode a motorcycle most of the time.  
NOW: I drive an '06 Honda Civic.

THEN: I was at the top of my game, had a growing presence in my field, and had a comfortable future in front of me.  
NOW: I’m restarting my career, have almost no social or professional ties outside of work and family, and I’m scared to death of getting too old to work.

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**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/23 "2012-11-24T22:38:54Z")

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> [@Bear\_Nenno](#):
>
> NOW: US Army Drill Sergeant.

That’s pretty cool. Hopefully the Drill Sergeant School has taught some updated phrases to “motivate the privates”…when I was in Basic in Fort Knox in 1988 the drills were all recycling “Full Metal Jacket” references. If it hadn’t cost me so many damn squat thrusts and pushups, I might have laughed at their lack of creativity a little more often.

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**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/24 "2012-11-25T04:28:04Z")

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> [@Bear\_Nenno](#):
>
> NOW: US Army Drill Sergeant.

Yep, I agree with Mr. **FoieGrasIsEvil** , very cool. Drill Sergeants / Drill Instructors have a huge responsibility to mold, motivate and discipline our young troops. I went through MCRD in San Diego, over 30 years ago now, where I spent plenty of time and sweat learning discipline in “the classroom”.

“Bends and thrusts, _ **BEGIN!!** _”

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**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/25 "2012-11-25T05:39:28Z")

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Joined in 2002

Other than living on my own, my life hasn’t changed at all! (If anything, it’s worse)

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**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/26 "2012-11-25T10:39:45Z")

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I had been lurking on the SDMB for a few months before I decided to join. However I ended up deliberately delaying joining for a few weeks in order to reduce the likelihood of being inadvertently associated with a certain historical event.

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**Author:** ![CatherineZeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@CatherineZeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatherineZeta)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/27 "2012-11-25T13:55:37Z")

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I joined in August 2010, I’d been lurking for about 5 years prior to that though.

Then: Just graduated from college  
Now: Uh…still am a college graduate

Then: Living in a brownstone in Brooklyn that was kind of like a dysfunctional commune  
Now: Living in an apt in Manhattan with two roommates

Then: Had a cat  
Now: Cat lives in Virginia with my mom

Then: Working for a women’s outerwear company, supplementing income with a crappy retail job  
Now: Manager of two bakeries

Then: Ate a lot of meat  
Now: A Vegetarian for over a year now

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**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/28 "2012-11-25T14:43:39Z")

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When I joined the Dope:

You didn’t have to pay, then you could(and I do!) but don’t have to.

Each morning, between 4:00AM and 5:00AM Central US time, the Dope had to shut down. You young whippersnappers don’t know how good you have things. _shakes cane_

There was no Games, IMHO, or Elections forums.

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**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/29 "2012-11-25T14:45:03Z")

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Joined in Dec 2001.

Then: Was 26  
Now: Am 37

Then: Drove a '98 Ford Ranger  
Now: Drive a '13 Dodge Grand Caravan

Then: Unhappily dating a chick  
Now: Happily married to another chick

Then: No pets  
Now: Cat

Then: No kids  
Now: Two kids

Then: A reporter  
Now: A union rep

Then: Renting a two bedroom apartment  
Now: Own a three-bedroom home (well, paying a mortgage on it)

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**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/30 "2012-11-25T15:08:45Z")

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> [@Baker](#):
>
> When I joined the Dope:
> 
> You didn’t have to pay, then you could(and I do!) but don’t have to.
> 
> Each morning, between 4:00AM and 5:00AM Central US time, the Dope had to shut down. You young whippersnappers don’t know how good you have things. _shakes cane_
> 
> There was no Games, IMHO, or Elections forums.

One I forgot!

When I joined I was just another Doper.

Now I’m the DeathMistress!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/31 "2012-11-25T15:17:05Z")

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When I joined in June 2000:

Then: Had been laid off the month before from the payday loan company, and June 1 I’d started a new job as an internal auditor for an apparel company  
Now: An academic librarian, working at a public university

Then: Living in Atlanta since the previous fall  
Now: Back in Atlanta, having lived in Knoxville, Youngstown and Tucson in the meantime

Then: Wasn’t even considering more school  
Now: I’ve had my master’s for 8 years and am considering a second one.

Then: Driving a 1993 or 1994 Suzuki Swift.  
Now: Driving a 2006 Ford Focus

Then: Was in my born-again Christian phase (which is actually what brought me here)  
Now: Agnostic, leaning strongly toward atheist.

Then: Single  
Now: Still single

Then: 27  
Now: 39

Then: Thought I knew exactly who I was and what I wanted  
Now: Ha! 🙂 Someday I’ll figure it out.

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**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/32 "2012-11-25T15:29:32Z")

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The SD was just about the first thing I came across when we first got a computer - it was on AOL and there was a blinking picture, and I was just thrilled to death because: I already had the books! I was very eagerly awaiting further compilations and now I could read the columns that showed up in the alternative rag in Chicago…

Well, let’s say I joined up in 2000:

Then: Had a great big HP PC that took 5 minutes to fire up, was full of viruses, got stuck all the time, and had to be strapped into the car seat and driven to Computer Outlet for “fixing” about 3 times a year. (We would keep a SD book or Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader at hand, waiting for the computer to un-stick itself, or reluctantly turn on.)

Now: We all of us have our very own Apple MacBook Pros. The difference is like that between a Model T Ford and a Ferrari. And no waiting!

Then: Drove a 1998 red Chevy Blazer with 4 wheel drive.  
Now: Drive a 2011 paprika Subaru. Haven’t driven it in the snow - yet!

Then: SAHM, house in 'burbs.  
Now: SAHW, house in 'burbs.

Then: Snooty Himalayan cat, other cat (big old polydactyl barn cat who caused great damage to house in competition with Himmy.

Now: Laid back and friendly new Himalayan cat (other cats passed on, both had to be put down, one to extreme old age, the other ghastly bladder/kidney problems. Himalayan was cremated and buried in a tin, out by the birdbath.)

Then: daughter going into high school, bright future ahead of her!  
Now: daughter a college graduate with a rather crappy job. There’s nothing out there. Nothing.

That’s about it. Nothing has really changed with us. My worries have increased exponentially, which I feel is unfair because we are in the next-to-the-last-lap of life. But nothing has really changed. In the next 10 years, I’ll check back in.

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**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/33 "2012-11-25T16:18:49Z")

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Joined in July 2000:

Then: 24  
Now: 37

Then: SAHM with a three-year-old  
Now: Customer Service Representative at the company my husband worked for back then, mother of 16-year old

Then: Married  
Now: Nothing’s changed there

Then: Apartment-dweller  
Now: Homeowner

Then: Windows 98  
Now: OSX Snow Leopard and iOS

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**Author:** ![NGC2024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NGC2024](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NGC2024)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/34 "2012-11-25T16:35:49Z")

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I joined in August of 2009.

Then: Single.  
Now: Dating someone exponentially busier than I am. As a result, largely single.

Then: Two cats.  
Now: One cat, one dog (miss you, Bee!)

Then: Unaware that my mom would become ill.  
Now: Acutely aware of and exhausted by my mom’s illness.

Then: Height/weight proportionate.  
Now: Height/weight proportionate.

Then: Thirty-five (35) years old  
Now: Thirty-eight (38) years old

Then: Owned a home and was beginning my third year of law school.  
Now: Renting a beautiful carriage house and am a corporate lawyer.

Then: Shitty HP laptop.  
Now: MacBook Air.

Then: Pink razor phone (What was wrong with me?)  
Now: iPhone4.

Then: Strictly Coors Light.  
Now: Anything of quality that you place in front of me.

Then: Intensely irritated by words like “veggie” and “tummy”.  
Now: Irritation intensifies with age.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/35 "2012-11-25T17:13:03Z")

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Joined in June of 2000.

Then: 27  
Now: 39

Then: married  
Now: divorced, for a second time.

Then: no kids  
Now: two girls

Then: working for a private company  
Now: working for the feds, I started two months after joining here

Then: going to concerts all the time  
Now: haven’t been to a concert in two or more years

Then: 2000 Kawasaki Concours, motorcycle  
Now: 2012 Suzuki V-Strom, I only just sold the Concours

Then: not swimming, or any kind of exercising  
Now: swimming two or so times a week

A lot of things changed the fall of 2000 for me. Maybe it was this place. :eek:

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/36 "2012-11-25T19:35:18Z")

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Joined in March 1999

Then: 29 years old  
Now: 43 years old

Then: Refugee from the AOL boards  
Now: Still have my 15 year old AOL email address

Then: Picked up dead bodies for a living  
Now: Embalm dead bodies for a living

Then: No college  
Now: 3 weeks short of an AS in Mortuary Science

Then: 1996 Chevy Corsica  
Now: 1993 Toyota Camry

Then: Rented an apartment in North Hollywood  
Now: Renting an apartment in Whittier

Then: 2 cats (Miss Furley and Pauz)  
Now: 1 cat (Go-go)

Then: Single and out there  
Now: Single and staying indoors.

Then: Had cable  
Now: Have rabbit ears

Then: Had a Walkman  
Now: Have an iPod

Then: Wondering if I would go bald  
Now: Not wondering anymore

Then: “I don’t need a cellphone”  
Now: “How the hell did I survive without a cellphone?”

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/37 "2012-11-25T19:51:11Z")

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> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#):
>
> Then: No college  
> Now: 3 weeks short of an AS in Mortuary Science

There really is such a degree? That’s long been the one I’ve used when I needed an example department to use at work and didn’t want it to be one my workplace actually had. I never bothered to see if there was such a thing, though it makes sense that there is. Interesting.

Also, congrats!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/38 "2012-11-25T21:53:35Z")

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I THINK I joined at the tail end of Clinton’s second term, so sometime in November 2000.

Then: I had two legs.  
Now: I have one.

Then: I was a clerical temp working for random clients.  
Now: I’m an 8-year employee of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Then: I was miserably single.  
Now: I’m happily partnered for 9 years.

Then: No pets.  
Now: 3 cats, a dog and a rabbit.

Then: I had two parents.  
Now: I’m an orphan.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/39 "2012-11-25T23:49:17Z")

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> [@Sternvogel](#):
>
> The Usenet newsgroup [alt.fan.cecil-adams](http://alt.fan.cecil-adams.narkive.com/).

Oh! Thanks (I know what Usenet is, but never did it).

> [@OldGuy](#):
>
> Then: I didn’t have cancer  
> Now: I hope I don’t after seven operations and a series of radiation treatments.

Fingers crossed!!

> [@etv78](#):
>
> Other than living on my own, my life hasn’t changed at all!

Does that mean you were living on your own then, or that you’re living on your own now?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-dope/641987/40 "2012-11-26T07:22:28Z")

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**Misnomer** -I live on my own now. (Lived with parents in 2002)

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