# When I joined the SDMB... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686 "2010-08-27T16:46:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686/41 "2010-08-30T15:34:30Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > [QUOTE=Spoons] > Then: Technical writer > Now: Lawyer I’m a tech writer, and can’t imagine becoming a lawyer – not _being_ a lawyer, mind you, just doing the schooling and all of the work to _become_ one. I will stay a writer/editor for as long as I can, but I have a feeling that project management is in my future. Hmm, maybe becoming a lawyer wouldn’t be that bad… [/QUOTE] It was a big decision, and one I was helped in by a number of Dopers, actually. But once made, I went for it. It was a lot of work (and again, my thanks go to a few Dopers who were very patient with questions), but quite satisfying. I will say that I found that a technical writer’s skills are well-suited to the study of law. For example, skills such as the ability to understand the relationships between thoughts and ideas from a variety of sources; the ability to write clearly about abstract concepts; and the ability to collect, analyze, organize, and construct logically-following arguments would be among those that I found to be most valuable. To put the latter point in tech writing terms, for example, you might liken it to collecting, analyzing, organizing, and constructing general-to-specific, logically-following tasks in a user manual. See how the skill translates? Overall, I found that because of my tech writing experience and the skills gained through it, the schooling was a lot of work, but wasn’t as bad as it could have been. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686/42 "2010-08-30T16:05:34Z")
Then: Thought I was smart. Now: Know better. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686/43 "2010-08-30T16:27:25Z")
Joined February 2000 THEN: 18 years old NOW: 29 years old (how did that happen?) THEN: Drove a 1996 Toyota Tercel with about 45000km on it NOW: Drive a 1996 Toyota Tercel with about 311000km on it (some things don’t change much!) THEN: Lived at my parents place NOW: rent an apartment with my husband THEN: Two cats and a dog in the family home NOW: Two other cats in this apartment THEN: Was about to meet my husband NOW: He’s my husband! THEN: Was going off to university in a few months NOW: Finishing university (round two, another Bachelor’s) in the next year! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686/44 "2010-08-30T16:45:43Z")
Then: Two kids in grade school. Now: Two kids in college. Then: No pets. Now: No pets. Then: Married for 18 years. Now: Married for 28 years. Then: Middle-aged. Now: Middle-aged, damnit. Then: Consulting for a firm. Now: Three acquisitions, two spin-offs, and one canceled contract later, I am employed by the same firm. Then: Moderate conservative - compared to the rest of the SDMB, hardline conservative. Now: Moderate conservative - compared to the rest of the SDMB, Nazi. Then AND now: Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686/45 "2010-08-30T17:28:30Z")
Wow, I’ve been a member for five years! Then: 51 Now: 56 Then: happily married Now: even more happily married Then: still pursuing my bachelor’s degree Now: got it Then: two kids on their own, three still in college Now: everyone is done with college and on their own Then: five kids Now: a grand-daughter. I guess the five kids still exist, but I have a grand-daughter! Then: 1999 Accord with 250K miles on it Now: 2009 Honda Civic Then: Takamine 334 and Fender Strat Plus Now: Taylor 710CE and home-built Tele Then: still actively playing rock and roll in bars Now: I play in church and in prison (maybe the prison part will be a thread some day) Then: employed by moderately large tech firm Now: employed by the much larger tech firm that bought my employer Then: commuting 120 miles per day, 5 days per week Now: same commute, 3 days a week Then: I will never be able to afford to retire Now: I will retire comfortably at 65 Then: one dog, one cat Now: same dog, same cat Then: registered republican Now: registered democrat Then: The Pit, GQ Now: CS, MPSIMS, GQ ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686/46 "2010-08-30T17:30:04Z")
Joined September 1999 Then: 43 Now: 54 Then: Electronics Technician, manufacturer of diagnostic instrumentation Now: Electronics Technician, US Postal Service Then: Driving 1992 Nissan Sentra Now: Driving 2002 Ford Windstar Then: Living in 2Br, 2Ba garden apartment in Anaheim, CA Now: Living in 2Br, 2Ba garden apartment in Anaheim, CA _with new carpeting_ Then: Red hair, beard came in red when I didn’t shave Now: Red hair, beard comes in grey when I don’t shave Then: Dial-up internet with Earthlink Now: DSL with DSLExtreme Then: wife’s guide dog was female Golden Retriever Now: wife’s guide dog is male black Labrador Retriever ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686/47 "2010-08-30T17:42:15Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > [QUOTE=AHunter3] > THEN: **MattBernst** > NOW: **Carol Stream** People you want to throw things at? Your only friends? Your sock puppets? 😕 [/QUOTE] Recent but not current trolls. **MattBernst** had just been TOS’d (banned by AOL terms of service) by the time I joined, although it was speculated that another troll, **AmplSample** , or something of that ilk with a candy-colored username like that, was a Matt sockpuppet. **CarolStream** is also recent but not current. I can’t exactly go around identifying anyone I think is a _current_ troll, that would be politically incorrect at least in this forum. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686/48 "2010-08-30T18:43:26Z")
Then: 27 Now: 38 Then: Newly married Now: Getting ready to celebrate our 11th anniversary Then: Working in telecomm Now: finishing up my stay-at-home-with-the-kids phase - kids are 4 & 7 and when the youngest goes to kindergarten, I’ll go back to work Then: getting ready to buy our 1st house Now: after selling that house, living in Australia, coming back to the U.S., renting again…we’re getting ready to buy our 2nd house Then: logged on when I had a break at work - we didn’t have a home computer Now: log on whenever I feel like it, from my laptop - now we all have our own home computers Then: getting ready to adopt a puppy from the local shelter Now: our first dog died of cancer and this year, we adopted another puppy from a shelter ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686/49 "2010-09-17T09:15:05Z")
Joined in Jan 2010, but hey, a lot’s changed since then, so I’ll use this as an introductory post… 🙂 Then: Living in Cumbria, England Now: Staying in Glasgow, Scotland Then: Married, living with husband Now: Separated (_cough_ kicked out), staying with sister Then: Proud owner of a collie dog and two cats (one Maine Coon, one rescue kitten!) Now: Occasional access to my parent’s geriatric cat. Then: Lovely three bedroom townhouse Now: Sleeping on mattress in sisters spare attic room Then: Homemaker supported by spouse Now: Benefit-claimer Then: Childless Now: 7 months pregnant Still, it’s not all bad… Then: Social recluse who barely left the house/answered the phone/interacted online Now: Out of the house socialising multiple times a week, posting here and various other places, interacting with people online daily! ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686/50 "2010-09-17T09:44:38Z")
Joined in October 2001 Then: 41, divorced mum with four teenaged kids (and many of their itinerant friends) living in inner-urban Melbourne Now: Just turned 50, kids have all grown up and (sort of) left home, and I did a ‘treechange’ to a small country town in NSW, living with a new partner. And I’m the proudest Nanna in the world! Then: Studying part-time for a BA and working as a telefundraiser, commuted 4 hours per day via public transport. Now: Working as a telefundraiser from home, commute time \<3 seconds Then: One cat as pet Now: No cat, one dog and five chooks. Then: Had a monstera deliciosa in a pot on the front verandah. Now: From a cutting, still have the SAME plant going great guns on the BACK verandah (and a couple of staghorn babies from that era too). Then: Dial-up with Telstra Now: ADSL, still with fucken Telstra unfortunately. Then: Wondered if I’d ever make it to 50 Now: Hope I don’t get old enough to get Alzheimers like my mum. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686/51 "2010-09-18T10:10:50Z")
Joined 31 August 2001. Then: 27 Now: 36 Then: Engaged to a beautiful outgoing woman. Now: Married to a bitter and twisted shrew ;). Kidding, married to the same beautiful woman. Then: Thought children was something of a disease that inflicted unfortunate people. Now: Happy father of two awesome girls. Then: No dogs named after a sound in the South Island of New Zealand. Now: One dog named after a sound in the South Island of New Zealand which is coincidently also the name of a street around the corner from my house. Then: Renting a two bedroom apartment in the tropics. Now: Living in my own house in a more moderate climate. Then: Sitting in the back of an aeroplane telling pilots where to go. Now: Sitting in the front of an aeroplane being told where to go. Then: Pre-midlife crisis. Happy to watch the world go past at a great rate of knots. Now: Going through something of an early midlife crisis. Fortunately for the family I’m directing my energies into exercise and playing music rather than motorbikes and loose women. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-joined-the-sdmb/551686.md?page=2)