When I joined the SDMB...

Entirely ripped off from…er, I mean inspired by… **OpalCat**'s thread. :slight_smile:

I joined the Dope in July 2004.

THEN: I was almost 33.
NOW: I’m almost 39.

THEN: I had a cat.
NOW: I have a dog. (The cat died a month after I joined. :()

THEN: I was working for a small software company that I loved.
NOW: I’m working for a large defense contractor that I like well enough I guess.

THEN: I’d never had a really serious relationship or lived with a man.
NOW: I moved out of my ex’s house a little over a year ago.

THEN: I was just about to start grad school.
NOW: I’m two years post-MA.

THEN: I was jamming with some co-workers, playing one or two corporate events but mainly having no clue what I wanted to do musically.
NOW: I’m a jazz singer, poised to start performing locally.

Etc., etc. Those are just the big things that come to mind first. How about you? :slight_smile:

Joined May 2003

Then: single, but in a relationship
Now: married to the most beautiful woman in the world

Then: slept alone
Now: sleep with more pussy than you can imagine

Then: taught high school
Now: still teach high school

Then: asshole
Now: bigger asshole

Joined August 2002

Then: Working as a puzzle editor
Now: About to start a job as content editor for a higher education website

Then: One cat, Elvis (R.I.P)
Now: Two cats, Zebulon and Jezebel

Then: Single
Now: Single

Then: Just another teeming millionth
Now: A jackbooted mod

Let’s just say that dinosaurs ruled the earth.

Hmmm.

Then: Lived in an apartment.
Now: Own a mortgage.

Then: One toddler.
Now: A first-grader and a perambulating cloud of angst.

Then: A pair of compact sedans.
Now: A minivan and a compact SUV.

Then: Three cats.
Now: A cat and two dogs.

Then: Consultant.
Now: Wage slave.

Then: Black hair and beard.
Now: More gray than not.

Then: Married.
Now: Happily married (to the same woman).

Then: Clueless jerk.
Now: Jerk with a clue. And less patience.

Yes, same. :slight_smile:

Then: College sophomore (or possibly junior… too lazy to exit this screen and check my profile)
Now: Not a college sophomore. People pay me to show up to an office now, and I have my own place. Flippin’ sweet!

Then: Still in CA
Now: In flyover country

Then: Whined a lot about dating
Now: Whine a lot about other things

Then: Thought I knew everything
Now: Know everything… took a while, but here we are!

Oooh, Tranquilis reminded me of a good one:

THEN: '02 Nissan Sentra
NOW: '08 Mazda RX-8

:cool:

Then: I’d only been 20 for a month or so.
Now: I’ve been 20 for about six months!

Then: I had long hair.
Now: My hair is maybe a quarter-inch longer.

Then: I only had a few hundred posts.
Now: I’ve got a few thousand.

How the time flies!

When I joined in September 2000:

THEN: I was 38
NOW: I am 48

THEN: I had recently started dating my ex-girlfriend
NOW: I have been married (not to my ex-girlfriend, but to another woman) for 4 years.

THEN: I had no expectations of becoming a parent anytime soon.
NOW: I have an eight-month-old son.

THEN: I was working for a software company in Silicon Valley
NOW: I’m working for the SAME company, under the SAME boss! – for much higher pay, and the company has been a part of two mergers since then.

THEN: I was living in a townhouse, and paying a mortgage.
NOW: I’m living in the same townhouse, but the mortgage is paid off.

Then: 40
Now: 50

Then: 1 wife, 3 cats
Now: 1 wife, 3 cats

Then: Beverage distributor delivery driver.
Now: High school track/cross country coach

Then: runner, cyclist
Now: handcyclist

Counting the AOL boards…

THEN: 19 and in college
NOW: 32 and out of law school

THEN: Just broke up with a guy named Patrick
NOW: Married to him (it took us a while)

THEN: 22.
NOW: 32.

THEN: No pets
NOW: A dog and 4 guinea pigs.

THEN: Working as a Junior Programmer
NOW: Working as a Senior Programmer

THEN: I’d never had a really serious relationship or lived with a woman
NOW: Married for seven years now.

THEN: No sons (obviously, see above).
NOW: Six year old boy

THEN: Thin.
NOW: Fat.

THEN: Hair beginning to fall.
NOW: Bald.

THEN: Ate with utensils.
NOW: STILL eat with utensils.

Join date: April 1999.

Then and now: same spouse, same employer (different responsibilities, though), same house. Probably within a few pounds of the same weight, too. Same hair, a little grayer than it used to be. I’m probably about as annoying, irritating, and pedantic as I was back then, too.

Then: no kids.
Now: the Firebug just turned 3.

Then: beard was dark brown with red highlights.
Now: beard is mostly gray.

Then: one 16 year old cat.
Now: three cats between the ages of 10 and 12.

Then: 45.
Now: 56.

Then: 34
Now: 44

Then: Condo I could easily afford
Now: House with a killer mortgage (see below - needed the room)

Then: One 3 YO
Now: A teenager and 5 YO twins

Then: Married to a nutcase
Now: Same but I cope better

Then: New Honda Civic
Now: 10 YO Volvo (got my wifes hand-me down)

Then: DBA - nice low stess position
Now: Projecrt Manager - slowly killing me

Then: In really good shape
Now: One foot in the grave

Then: 90 min drive to work
Now: 40 min door to door via the “L”

First posted to the AOL SDMB board almost exactly 13 years ago: August 31, 1997. (Don’t ask me how I know that, but I do).

THEN: Age 38
NOW: Age 51

THEN: In the final weeks of my 1st and last stint as a professional social worker
NOW: FileMaker developer for 12 years (currently consulting)

THEN: Recently broken up with Sue, on my own again
NOW: Recently broken up with Dot, on my own again

THEN: Running System 7.6 on my 80 MHz 7100
NOW: Running OSX 10.4.11 on my 1.67 GHz PoweBook 17"

THEN: Netscape Navigator 3.0
NOW: At the moment, Opera 10.10

THEN: Arguing theology with HpstrDufuz
NOW: Arguing theology with Diogenes the Cynic

THEN: Arguing abortion rights with RevJimTull
NOW: Arguing abortion rights with Curtis LeMay

THEN: MattBernst
NOW: Carol Stream

I don’t remember exactly when I joined the AOL board… early 1997 at least, but maybe 1996? Anyway it was while Dominic was still a baby and he was born in 1995.

Then: stay at home new mom
Now: freelancer and mother of a teenager

Then: in my early 20s
Now: almost 40 (38)

Then: married to UndeadDude
Now: married to JugglerDan

Then: psychologically extremely unstable
Now: well treated with proper medication and thus more or less sane

Then: 1987 Toyota Camry
Now: 2000 Toyota Camry

Then: 4 cats and some rats
Now: 3 different cats

I joined in April of 2002.

THEN: Age 38
NOW: Age 46

THEN: Married, no kids
NOW: Divorced, two kids, not seeing anyone

THEN: Owned a house in Outer Suburbia
NOW: Rent an apartment in San Francisco

THEN: In my 7th year with the same employer
NOW: In my 3rd year of under-/unemployment

THEN: Averaging 4 posts per day
NOW: Averaging 2 posts per day, including the above.

THEN: Nobody on my ignore list
NOW: Seven people on my ignore list

THEN: Feelin’ on top of the world
NOW: Feelin’ on the bottom of Og’s loafers

Joined in June 2003. I had zero posts. Now I have 14,000+. I’ve wasted so many people’s time.

Then: 56
Now: 63

Then: worked for a public housing agency.
Now: retired.

Then: lived in Alaska in a condo
Now: live in Portland in a Craftsman bungalow

Then: had an 11-year old cat
Now: have an 18-year old cat

Then: had a 21-foot RV
Now: have a 27-foot RV

Then: drove a Jeep Wrangler
Now: drive a Saturn Vue

About 6 months/220 posts ago:

Same house, child, spouse, friends, car, cat, and job.
I have a new cutaway tenor ukulele with shadow electronics.
My mother died last month.
That is all.

Well, on here or AOL?

On AOL, I was D8thGuest and it was 1997 or so.

Then: 19 and just out of high school

Now: 32 and married with one daughter

Then: No internet worth much; AOL was supreme

Now: AOL??? Internet is far supreme.

Then: Young and foolish

Now: Older and, well, foolish still. :slight_smile: