When I joined the Dope...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

Sounds fun (and depressing).

When I joined in November 2000…
Then: I was a mere lad of 28.
Now: I’m that plus 12 + 1 because I had a birthday between my join date and today.

Then: I was living and working for a large US auto company in Mexico.
Now: I am currently living and working for a (different) large US auto company in China.

Then: I was excited about my dual-channel ISDN line for internet.
Now: My 50 Mbps fiber service is frustratingly slow unless I only want Chinese websites.

Then: I was driving a rental car in Mexico, but my own car in Michigan was a 1994 Pontiac Bonneville.
Now: I have a 2004 Ford Expedition garaged in Michigan, but am driven around in a 2011 Ford Mondeo.

Then: I was contemplating marriage to a person I didn’t really love, but I thought it would always be that way.
Now: I’m contemplating divorce because even after all these years, I still don’t really love her.

Then: I smoked a pack a day.
Now: Maybe, sometimes, when at a bar, I might light one up. But I’m declaring myself smoke-free.

Then: I voted Republican.
Now: I don’t vote (but support the Libertarian party).

Then: Was anti gay marriage.
Now: Support gay marriage inasmuch as governments recognize marriage, but don’t agree governments should recognize any marriage.

Then: Banked at the National Bank of Detroit and shopped at Hudson’s.
Now: Bank at Chase and (don’t) shop at Macy’s.

Then: My iMac DV SE had a 400 MHz processor and 128 MB of RAM, ran Mac OS 8.x, and cost a month of my income.
Now: I’ve got more Macs than I can think of without counting them on my fingers, and Windows boxes, too. Computers are no longer special.

Then: My Palm V was the greatest productivity tool in the world. And it had gray scale graphics to boot!
Now: Oh? Another incremental iPhone improvement? My current iPhone sucks and I can’t do my work without the new feature!

Then: Netscape was my browser.
Now: Chrome is my browser, except for stupid ActiveX sites at work.

42

Joined in June 2009

Then: I was seventeen
Now: I’m twenty

Then: In my final year of high school
Now: In my second year of a nursing degree

Then: My mother had breast cancer
Now: After chemo and a mastectomy, we don’t think she has it anymore

Then: I had two living grandparents
Now: I have one

Then: My best friend was named David
Now: My best friend (the same one) is named Samantha

Then: Single, never been kissed
Now: In a happy relationship

Then: Identified as straight
Now: Identify as bisexual

Then: I had a fish
Now: I have a rabbit

Then: No car
Now: A Holden Barina that’s older than I am

Then: My hair reached my shoulder blades
Now: My hair reaches my waist

Then: Rented a crappy violin
Now: Own a pretty good violin

Then: Only played it during lessons
Now: In an orchestra that does 6-10 concerts per year

43

jayjay, you thought right! Your profile has your join date at 11-15-2000.

44

I didn’t even think to include this in mine, but also true for me - except for the maybe at a bar part. Not even then, for me. I am smoke-free. Go us!

45

When I joined the Dope in November 2008…

Then: I was a spry young lad in my twenties
Now: I’m a rotund creaking geriatric in my thirties

Then: The country was basked in the hope and optimism of the nation’s first black president
Now: Half the country thinks he’s an alien/socialist/marxist/facist/communist/muslim/kenyan/anti-christ

Then: We had no pets
Now: We have fish

Then: Tweeting was something birds do
Now: Tweeting is something humans do

Then: The level cap in my MMO was 75
Now: The level cap in my MMO is 99

Then: I used IE almost exclusively
Now: I use Firefox almost exclusively

Then: Gay marriage was a conservative wedge issue
Now: Most of the country supports gay marriage

Then: I only can make good fried rice and soup
Now: I’ve expanded my cooking skills to dozens of dishes

Then: I couldn’t do a pull-up
Now: I can do a pull-up!

Then: My friends were all unmarried and childless
Now: Most of my friends are married, one has a child, another is pregnant

46

This is tough because my memory isn’t what it used to be! :slight_smile:
Join date: 03-14-1999 (but a follower from the AOL Days)

Then: Drove 1990 Chevy Blazer
Now: 2007 Cadillac DTS

Then: 38 Years Old
Now: 50

Then: Working as an ActiveX/Java Web Programmer (ha ha who WASN’T in 1999?)
Now: Database Administrator

Then: 2 years away from going back to school to get finish my undergrad.
Now: 4 years past getting my Masters degree.

Then: Not knowing I’d be laid off 4 more times over the next 2 years.
Now: At the same job for over 8 years. Education, Education, Education.

Then: 4 years away from being a Widower at age 41.
Now: Married to an awesome woman for 6 years now.

Then: Both parents still alive
Now: Not so much.

47

When I joined the Dope in May, 2000

Then: I was a 4th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo
Now : I am a 6th Degree Black Belt and a candidate for Mastership

Then: I was an application developer
Now : I still do some application development, but I’m primarily a database administrator.

Then: I was 51
Now : I turn 64 next month

Then: We were battling my stepson’s drug addiction
Now : He is clean and sober and becoming successful in his career

Then: My stepdaughter was still in jr. high
Now : She’s finishing college and has been out on her own for several years

Then: I was deliriously happy that SWMBO chose to spend her life with me
Now : Even more so

48

Joined May 2003

Then: 48
Now: 57

Then: High School Teacher - APEuro, AmGovt, Forensics
Now: High School Teacher - APEuro, AmGovt, Forensics

Then: In love with a woman I met on a Buffy site
Now: Married to the above and still madly in love with her

Then: no pets
Now: Owned by 4 cats

Then: Drove a 2000 Nissan Frontier pickup
Now: Drive the same truck

Then: Disenchanted Independent ex-Republican
Now: Frothing at the mouth Lefty Pinko Communist Democrat

Then: fat
Now: fatter

49

When I joined the Dope in October 2000…

THEN: I was 38
NOW: I’m 50

THEN: Was a Webmaster
NOW: Am a Web Director

THEN: Had a BS
NOW: Have my MPA

THEN: Had a two year old.
NOW: My soon to be 15 year old is graduating high school in the spring and taking college courses next fall.

THEN: Happily married.
NOW: Even more happily married.

THEN: Had a desktop and a laptop
NOW: Have three desktops, two laptops, one netbook, two android tablets, two Rokus and an iPhone

THEN: I drove a 1998 Oldsmobile 98.
NOW: 2010 Nissan Versa, but it gets great mileage.

50

When I joined in June 2009, I wasn’t really feeling the whole forum thing.

When I came back three years after that, I was 33. Now I’m 34.

I was working part-time as a paid blogger. Now I’m working part-time as a paid blogger, but I just had a job interview, and I’m waiting to hear back (there’s an actual reason I’m going to have to wait a while).

I was in an eight-year relationship. Still am.

I lived in Brooklyn, near the cemetery. Still do.

Yeah, it’s like that pretty much all the way down.

(I think I was a member before that, under a different handle, but I the username/password combo I would have used doesn’t work and I suspect I’m can no longer access that e-mail address)

51

Join date: May 1999

THEN:
Age 35
NOW
cough49cough

THEN:
Married to first husband, mother of an infant and toddler
NOW:
Married to second husband, mother of daughter about to turn 18, 15-year-old son with feet bigger than my head :smiley: … AND an 8-year-old son (see second husband).

THEN:
Drove a minivan
NOW
Drive a Prius

THEN:
Writer for television programs :cool:
NOW
Marketer for television programs :mad:

THEN:
Wore birkinstocks
NOW
Wear cowboy boots

52

Sept 2000, though I had lurked for a bit beforehand.

Then: 25
Now: 37

Then: Computer Operator
Now: Accepted a Jr. Server Administrator position today, after 16 years of working as a Computer Operator.

Then: No license, no car.
Now: legally drive a 2004 Dodge Neon

Then: Open Marriage, 2 kids
Now: Closed 2nd marriage, 3 kids, happier mostly

Then: Pagan
Now: Athiest (but a friendly one)

Then: Rancho Cordova, CA
Now: Vandergrift, PA

Then: pudgy
Now: Fat

Then: Accepting I wouldn’t belt in Kuk Sool
Now: will test for Orange belt in some TKD next month

Then: Outwardly happy, inwardly miserable
Now: Outwardly mostly happy, inwardly only kinda unhappy

53

July 1999

Then: Married 10 years
Now: Married 23 years

Then: No children
Now: Two children

Then: Looked younger than my age.
Now: Look my age, visibly graying. (See above).

Then: Optician in small O.D. office.
Now: Technology assistant for small school district.

Then: 4 dogs.
Now: 3 different dogs and one cat.

Then: About 9 years since I’d played in a band.
Now: About 9 years since I’ve played in a band.

54

Those two made me smile. :slight_smile:

55

When I joined the Dope in May of 2005…

THEN: I was married to my first wife, who introduced me to the Dope.
NOW: I am married to my second wife, whom I met on the Dope. :cool:

THEN: I was working for a law firm that had 11 attorneys.
NOW: I am working for the law firm that absorbed the first law firm, which has roughly 500 attorneys.

THEN: I drove an 1999 Ford Thunderbird, white, automatic, rear-wheel drive.
NOW: I drive a 2005 Nissan Sentra, silver, stick, front-wheel drive.

THEN: I hated the Valley, and swore I’d never live there.
NOW: I hate the Valley (albeit slightly less than before), and now I live there.

THEN: I had never bowled a 300 game.
NOW: I…oh, right. Nevermind. :mad:

THEN: I owned a fish.
NOW: Two cats own me.

THEN: I had seen Major League baseball games in 5 different stadiums.
NOW: I have seen Major League baseball games in 11 different stadiums.

THEN: I had never had facial hair.
NOW: I have begun sprouting the first grey hairs on my facial hair.

56

Missed the edit window – by a good 20 hours or so – but I somehow wrote 2009 when I meant 2010. Except for age at the time, most of it’s the same anyway, though I guess that means I joined after I worked the census.

That supports my theory that I’ve been a member under a different handle, though a search for handles I would have used came up blank.

57

Yeah? It makes me weep.

58

Sorry…blame the smilies!