posted 05-27-99 04:02 PM ET        

Then a little while later I posted again.

Listen to me brother, it felt soooo good.

I posted a few more times and then something magical happened. Somebody took notice of my post and actually responded to it, calling me by name. Actually he asked if he could call me "Goob". (excuse me, *sniff, sniff* Ok...) More amazing than just that, the one who noticed me was the one and only Yin26!
That was like having the head Cheerleader say "Hello" to you in the High School Cafeteria.

Brother, the rush was amazing.

From then on I posted at will, 418 posts so far, nothing could stop me. Not even when Darkstar told me he had lost all respect for me... at least he had it at one point right?

I posted to Yin's Patch 4 (do you know that when you hit Shift 4 you get $, interesting...)

There was the Social Engineering thread, my first true love here.

I lived through the Forum Crashes, and MoSe's angered response to them.

Then there was the opening of a whole new world for me, I responded to the revered cousLee in his Challenge thread. Of course at this point I was a brand spankin' "wet behind the ears" newbie so I was not included as a recipient of the Challenge to a multiplayer game, but that was to be expected. Thus I volunteered to help set up and create the game, along with someone called Aredhran (BTW the other day a workmate exclaimed "Cool I just got an email from Switzerland" I sneered and thought I get email from Switzerland everyday, not to mention Italy, England, The Netherlands, even Rowlett, Texas. ) Thus the beginnings of the heady days of CMNing.

The wine, the women, the song, the Blahs, and the thrill of creating Multiplayer games for the best and brightest the forum had to offer. Even if meant dealing with SMAC's scenario editor. I joined in on several multiplayer games, and then more, and more, my head was ready to burst.

May Madness, the SMAC N man himself tfs99 started his tourney, and I thought I can't, I don't have the time. But this demon voice on my shoulder sat there and said "Yes, you can do it. PBEM game will take forever, here is your chance to prove your ability here and now. Do it Goob, Do it." In a moment of weakness I succumbed.

Forgive me please Bolbol, I was weak and I truly didn't have the time. ( **Sob...Sniff, sniff***)
I'm sorry.

I go home and my wife asked me how my day was and I tell her more about what happened on the Forum than I do about work. (yes, work is that boring right now )

I post on two differant Boards here and Apolyton, I have even visited the Off Topic Forum, (shudder) yes it is true.

In a moment of satirical giddiness in the midst of the salad days I even registered with a second name to tease another who needed the teasing.

And now, I am writing my tell all post because there just isn't anything else worth doing.
(And because Freddz has left me completely confuse by what he was trying to say in some other threads.)

I will take my pathetic existence and do some work now. Or maybe I will start a new Blah thread.

Goob, I am a SMACoholic

posted 05-27-99 04:19 PM ET            

I know it sounds terrible, but I suffer too. I just wanted to be loved, but all the time these questions ring in my mind. Questions like: Shall I flame Imran? Shall I confuse Goob? Shall I go to the toilet? Who shall I direct my next attack on? In what frequency shall I chew my gum? Is it my fart that smell so bad or did I leave the owen on?

I get terrible headaches...

posted 05-27-99 05:23 PM ET            

Loved your post. You planning on retiring, or just miss the Blah's that much?

posted 05-27-99 07:06 PM ET            

I feel your pain, brother. And, it is a delicious pain. Sort of like when you've went one too many rounds in the ring with Santiago, Deirdre's your corner nurse and you know even Miriam is praying for your soul.

What would we do with ourselves if not for SMAC? Be productive? Hah! You all know you'd miss that sleep deprived feeling. You know, the one where you can "feel" the skin shrinking back around your eyeballs, the prolonged urethral clenching, drymouth and tingling in your toes because your feet are falling asleep since your butt hasn't budged from the chair in the 7 hours since you got your wife and kids into bed. Besides, if you did something around the house you'd wake everyone up. Yeh, that's right, rationalize it so that you're doing "them" the favor. You could actually be sleeping, but then you'd miss out on JOMT.

Old Warrior,

Freddz is the forum's officially designated member of the dark side and you should read all of his posts in that light. He serves some, as yet, undetermined purpose in the grand scheme of things and should be accepted as such. After all, anyone who is so fanatical about "Pirates!" can't be all bad.

posted 05-27-99 08:21 PM ET            

The only reason I quit was because it was beginning to effect my social and academic life. I'd like to thank Mountain Dew and my Trek 370 from breaking this addiction.

Thanks you

posted 05-28-99 05:39 AM ET            

My addiction is bad, to the point that last week-end, which was a holiday, I had the opportunity to go up in the mountains with my brother for three days but I declined because I had my PBEM turns to take...

The Forum addiction is even worse, it prevents me from doing my job. Here I am, typing this, instead of working.

posted 05-28-99 06:11 AM ET            

If you got the impression that I was angry (from my post in the "Civ3 underestimate" thread), then I advise you to re-read my post's last line backwards.

BTW, I was referring to Freddz's good-bye post from maybe a month or two ago, where we had good fun writing some kind of "Return of the living dead" story... An Undead Freddz crawled out of his grave and ripped the annoying newbies of the time to pieces (you may have heard of them... Kalahari, Chrisk and Domk) Mwahahaha...

The thread is gone now, though

Aredhran

posted 05-28-99 06:25 AM ET            

Aredhran

posted 05-28-99 11:41 AM ET            

Who are you trying to fool? Passed up a chance to go to the mountains? LOL! Switzerland is ALL mountains! I've seen "Heidi" and "The Sound of Music" and I know what I'm talking about.

posted 05-28-99 02:02 PM ET            

What can I say? I'm so afraid of heights, I get nervous standing on a chair!

posted 05-28-99 04:07 PM ET            

I have been really angry with you . NOT. Quite the opposite in fact. You flamed me with finesse. I'm honored, your honor

posted 05-28-99 04:46 PM ET            

Cool

posted 06-01-99 12:09 PM ET            

It was so moving reading your so well reported steps into SMAChood, and mirroring myself in them.
I remember when I saw your first posts I thought "who's that square guy dropping by?".

You made those moments look so bright and glowing but so desperately and irreversibly gone by with their innocence.

Things change, we've to grow and go forth...

My SMAC layer of conscience (the thickest now) is torn between two attracting poles: I could have done so much more for SMAC cause, but then I could also have skipped and overlooked this all, after all I did leave some marks, even if minor.

Now, my addiction has worsened and I entered the PBEMaholic phase. And I can't shake off the feel of guilt and betrayal from me having denied jimmytrick my services of CMN cuz I was a little busy at the moment.

Being a sort of free-lance (even if working permanently by the same customer), I got the habit to skip a day work from time to time, when i just didn't felt it at waking up.
Now having still my only connection at work, the sole thought of abandoning SMAC community for a day is.. unthinkable to me.

I thnk I recognize some signs of current Goob's mood. I saw it in some fathers_next_to_be friends of mine, feeling pointless considering that their woman did make a new life grow in her womb and was about to give him/her birth, while they were "just" engineers and they could just build bridges, highways, big dams, huge but inanimated things, and started long rants looking back at their lives and deeds, full of melancholy and a sense of uncompleteness, in spite of all.

posted 06-01-99 12:59 PM ET            

Now that you all know that I am a sarcastic, self deprecating idiot things are much easier for me.

I'm sure the posts went something like this.

"Uh first time poster, long time lurker. Mr YIN26 sir, don't you think that you are just being a little too hard on everyone else. uh, err, I'll take your comments of the air, out."
(A little Jim Rome thrown in for any of you "Jungle fans")

posted 06-01-99 02:44 PM ET            

I had been assuming it was 32 megs of memory, but now I know it was really human interaction.

I had been wandering what function, other than occaisionally inputing food, my mouth was good for, now I remember that I can use it for talking to other people.

But I still have a question. How do you make those little smilie faces without the UBB software in real life conversations?

posted 06-01-99 09:36 PM ET            

Sorry my friend, but it was either that, or I'd have had to send Miriam's most earnest Jehovah's Witnesses round to Twelfth-Step you... and all of the rest of you who've obviously fallen off the wagon and strayed from the righteous path of SMACaholism <evil cackle>

posted 06-02-99 05:55 AM ET            

sneaky. welcome back Nell.

posted 06-02-99 07:48 PM ET            

MoSe: Nah, surely no self-respecting Sikh would be seen dead in a piece of millinery as ludicrous as Lal's titfer?

posted 06-02-99 09:55 PM ET            

PS: Grrr I know that quote but I can't remember where it's from!! I can only think of it being Irvine Welsh... Trainspotting or The Acid House? I bet I'm wrong though

Jimmytrick:
Errrr actually we're in a PBEM game together... it's the MASTOR game (or has it died again?!?)... you're the Spartans and I'm the UoP... so if the game ever gets going again, I guess we'll meet on Chiron!

posted 06-03-99 03:37 PM ET            

And less of the "lil"... at 5'11" I bet I'm less lil than you are... hehe

Oh and surely there's nothing more deserving of respect than a BRITISH rave girl... seeing as we've got one of the best rave scenes in the world... apart from Holland and Germany, I have to grudgingly admit

posted 06-03-99 03:47 PM ET            

The problem that newbies have in using "the Force" is that they too often try to force it. Like my first wife said to me, "If it don't fit, don't force it." Not that THAT has ever been my problem.