General Chat Thread of Catching Up

[Flame Fried Ent]

Man, I feel old.

I joined the Plaza in 2003/2004...my poking through the Archives hasn't produced a firm start date. At that point I was 25 or 26 depending on when I joined. I had graduated with my masters, and picked up and moved from Canada down to Little Rock, AR for my first REAL JOB. I was alone, with the nearest family member far away. Y'all made me feel welcome. I headed straight to Fangorn, got involved in Lore, became Quickbeam, oversaw an Olympics...and then burned Fangy to the ground. *coughs*SorryNotSorry*coughs*
Now? I spent 3 years in Arkansas, then moved to New Orleans 11 months after Hurricane Katrina. That was interesting, to say the least. I spent 3 years there, then escaped the heat and humidity and the economic collapse of 2008/2009 and moved back to Winnipeg, where I grew up. I had a job there that I got fired from (first time that's ever happened to me!) I've been up in the boreal forest of Manitoba for 10 years, working as an archivist at a university. I'm still single, still short, still fat, still obsessed with Tolkien, Martin, and reading. I lead a very boring life. Same as always.

[Winddancer]

Man, I feel old.

I joined the Plaza in 2003/2004...my poking through the Archives hasn't produced a firm start date. At that point I was 25 or 26 depending on when I joined. I had graduated with my masters, and picked up and moved from Canada down to Little Rock, AR for my first REAL JOB. I was alone, with the nearest family member far away. Y'all made me feel welcome. I headed straight to Fangorn, got involved in Lore, became Quickbeam, oversaw an Olympics...and then burned Fangy to the ground. *coughs*SorryNotSorry*coughs*
Now? I spent 3 years in Arkansas, then moved to New Orleans 11 months after Hurricane Katrina. That was interesting, to say the least. I spent 3 years there, then escaped the heat and humidity and the economic collapse of 2008/2009 and moved back to Winnipeg, where I grew up. I had a job there that I got fired from (first time that's ever happened to me!) I've been up in the boreal forest of Manitoba for 10 years, working as an archivist at a university. I'm still single, still short, still fat, still obsessed with Tolkien, Martin, and reading. I lead a very boring life. Same as always.

Boring isnt all bad! <3 What was your name back then? Still FFE?? Was it MeaghanB?? Cause if so, it's here: http://web.archive.org/web/200403190628 ... Position=1

[Flame Fried Ent]

MeaghanB was how I joined, then changed....and thanks for that!

August 2003....2 months after I graduated with my MLIS and still newly in Little Rock. Still have no idea how I managed to find the plaza.

you're awesome Windy!

[Winddancer]

You're welcome! :D Saw a lot of familiar old names when I went looking <3

[Eldrith]

Does anyone here remember that Plaza-wide RPG that ran, oh gosh, I don’t remember exactly when it was?

I remember: the March against Therion!

[Lailyn]

@Nia - I remember when you had your surgery and I'm so glad it turned out to be such a good thing! Very happy to hear that and good to see you!

Also - to others, I do recall there be a lgbtq thread on the old Plaza at one point. I think there should definitely be one now, if there is not already!

Where have I been? Well... I joined the Plaza in 2003 when I was 13. I was just starting high school and felt really out of place and didn't have many friends. Instead, I found a lot of friends here and I spent a lot of time on/around the Plaza and dabbled in a lot of things til about 2006. Then I realized I sort of needed to focus more on RL and learn how to make some real friends and prioritized that for a while.

I came back to the Plaza again briefly in 2010 and came back again around 2014 I think? When the regions were a thing. It took me a while to find my feet on my second and third goes. I joined the Shire and I found such a wonderful home there with the hobbits. It will always be my second Plaza home and I feel very much that my real self identifies strongly with hobbits and not at all with Rohan actually. (shh - don't tell!)

In real life? Well, lots changed since 2003. But I finished college and moved from NY to New Zealand. I lived there for four years, did my Master's and met my current partner there. I loved it and feel lucky to have experienced it and I am dying to go back! Since then, we moved to Canada where we lived for four years and now we are in the U.S.

In that time, I've been through a lot of job changes - I feel like I've lived 4 or 5 different lives sometimes. I worked in university administration, as a vet assistant at a cat hospital, as a research assistant and in medical records. Right now I am happy to be working as research support staff where I do a lot of QA on data and help research scientists and I really enjoy it. I don't think I'm ever going to "stick" to one thing and I'm finally happy with that after ten years of trying to figure it all out. The last couple of years I've been trying to write my first novel, which is closer to what I actually want to do! but I think ultimately it doesn't matter what you do (though Americans seem to hyperfocus on it) but who you are.

[Nia]

@Lailyn - Thank you! And so lovely to see you too! I'm incredibly jealous of your years living in different countries. It's still something I hope to do one day, although it feels a bit far-fetched right now.

[Elarith]

Lovely to read what everyone’s been up to! Hope you’re all doing well.

Think I joined back in 2003/4. Vanished around 2006/7? Dipped in and out since about 2010 I think. Joined when I was at uni, doing a linguistics degree, not entirely sure what I wanted to do with myself. Finished it, did a teacher training course (HATED it with an absolute passion), decided I really didn’t want to do teaching (props to anyone who does). Back to not being sure about what I wanted to do plus being unemployed. I think this is when I first ended up leaving the Plaza, just overwhelmed with things.

Managed to get a job in a public library, LOVED it, still love it, still doing it 12 years later. I try to slip TH and LotR to people whenever I get the chance. I’ve been married about the same length of time to the boyfriend I had all through uni (who is also geeky but more into Star Wars and is mostly bemused by LotR). Now have two small girls who are delicious but hard work. No exciting travel for me! Maybe one day...

[Aethelu]

It's nice to see what everyone has been up to over the past few years. I did a terrible job at staying in contact with people, I had a bad habit of just disappearing after a while. I recognise so many names here from the years I was here, it's kinda comforting to see them all again.

Soooo, first time I was here was when I was a teenager at school/sixth form college. When I reappeared a second time I was at university. I finished my undergraduate degree, had a breakdown. Went back to uni to do a teaching qualification, had a breakdown. Tried to get a teaching job, found out that UK schools are elitist and rude. Spent a couple of years in retail before taking my first job abroad as a teaching intern in southern China for 6 months. Then I moved to Beijing for a year for an actual teaching job, left at the end of my year contract before I got to have my 3rd breakdown in 10 years. Now I'm home in northern England with my parents waiting for the borders and visa offices to reopen so I can find another teaching job abroad.

My personal life is one where I figured out I wasn't straight, still haven't figured out how to tell my parents, haven't figured out dating. I'm a single gal who likes to travel and spends far too much money on skincare and video games.

[Lailyn]

@Nia - I would recommend it as a life experience for sure and I'm grateful and happy and its been exciting, but it certainly has its downsides, too. Being far from family and having to start over again every time I move. It gets tiring. We are hoping our next move can be our last. I have trailing spouse syndrome as our moves have been for my partner's school/work, but I'd rather be with him than focusing on my "career" anyway, so it works. Especially seeing as I don't even know what I want my career to be still!

[Flame Fried Ent]

Managed to get a job in a public library, LOVED it, still love it, still doing it 12 years later. I try to slip TH and LotR to people whenever I get the chance. I’ve been married about the same length of time to the boyfriend I had all through uni (who is also geeky but more into Star Wars and is mostly bemused by LotR). Now have two small girls who are delicious but hard work. No exciting travel for me! Maybe one day...

Yay for fellow library-worker! My masters is in Library Science! I've worked in libraries or archives all my career, mainly in universities. I salute public library workers, they see The Crazy a lot more than I do!

[Tzülien]

Oh my goodness. So many weird (and I think good?) emotions flooding back looking at this website. The last time I was on here, there were no smartphones. That alone is blowing my mind right now.

The Plaza was such a funny thing in my life...I was never a typical nerdy child and even on the Plaza never quite felt that I fit in. I don't dress up or wave weapons around or draw fantasy art (my siblings took care of all of that) but nonetheless found such a lovely community here and something that helped open me up. I was very withdrawn into myself in middle and high school and I loved loved loved to read because it gave me the most beautiful escape into other worlds whether that was Virginia Woolf's London or a fictional place like Middle Earth. Being a Ruler and Admin on here totally solidified my very much still alive desire to rule the world. The Plaza was such a welcoming place and allowed me to connect with others who loved literature as much as I did and who wanted to overlay the world as we saw it with the gold of our imaginations. After I left the Plaza, my twenties proved to be a an incredible time of growth and years where I formed deep, important relationships with those around me in real life. Having those bonds now, I can see very clearly that the bonds on the Plaza were equally real and formative for me. I still live very much in my head to this day and practice using my imagination probably more than I should. Hello to all the other queer kids!! I hope that the Plaza gave you that place of acceptance and freedom that we often couldn't have otherwise. It warms my heart to know you were here too.

I still love umlauts enough that I learned Estonian on top of my degree in Russian, neither of which I use for my current job but they are treasures that I hold close. I live in the Pacific Northwest now, not married and no kids (thank heavens...can't imagine how any of you are managing that in the midst of COVID) except my wire haired fox terrier, Sigrid/Siggy who is a little devil and has all my love.

Thanks to Sil for linking me here! I don't think I'll have much time to lurk around on here but it's lovely to catch up and 'see' your faces.

[Winddancer]

Welcome back, Tzu!! :D

[Uruva]

TZU

[Baphởmet]

Tzu!! It's so good to "see" you here!

[KingODuckingham]

Tzu you are cool and I like you.

[Tzülien]

What a trip to realize my brain kept all your names stored away! And so many memories associated with them.

You’re pretty cool too, Ducky. <3 <3

[Elarith]

@Flame Fried Ent I saw you were an archivist! Sounds very serious and like ‘proper’ library-ing with books chained to shelves and whatnot (which would actually solve a few problems in our workplace, come to think of it...). Would like to do a Masters some day. We see a lot of interesting people - there is definitely at least one book’s worth of workplace tales, possibly a trilogy...

I think I also saw @Menolly is a library worker too?

Also also I am totally fine with it if Tzü wants to go ahead with world domination.

[Lirimaer]

Tzü, there's a name I recall fondly with fear and trembling ... ;)

[Dimcairien Luiniel]

Tzü, that name seems to ring a bell. Welcome back to the Plaza!

[Flame Fried Ent]

@Elarith ...na....those are rare book librarians. And yes, there are books and DVDs that go missing here too. I mainly work with records management and privacy/access to information, and with cataloguing.

If your stories are anything like what I've heard from people at the local public library, yea, that's a lot of weird stories. Let's just say there was a span of a couple of years where nobody could use their public libraries cause of someone's decoration of the walls....

If you decide to do a Masters, let me know if I can help.

[Moriel]

Tzü!! Welcome! :smiley8:

[Menolly]

Hi @Tzülien! I remember you. I live in the PNW too.

@Flame Fried Ent @Elarith heyooooo fellow library folks! I am brand new to the library world, just started at my local public library about seven months ago after being a zookeeper for years. Honestly I feel like I've dealt with all manner of crazy in the zoo world and there are definitely some interesting library patrons, but nothing too crazy yet. Give it time though, I'm a newbie! I've also thought about pursuing a master's in library science but I already had to do two extra years of schooling to break into the zoo world and I'm not quite ready to go back to school yet again.

[Flame Fried Ent]

@Menolly just wait....you'll find someone getting off to porn next to a kid at some point. And someone will decorate bathroom walls with waste. Not too different from some animals, I guess??
At least think about it! There are several programs that let you do it online!

[Tzülien]

@Menolly I remember you too and yay for the PNW! I’m a transplant and haven’t yet picked my jaw up off the ground after living here for ten years and soaking (sometimes literally) in its beauty.


That said, I think Flame Fried Ent and I are going to the same library. The joys of urban living.

[Boromir88]

I'm not sure if too many folks will remember me from my days on the Plaza. I joined right around 2004 and was very active (mostly in the lore and movie forums - so I do recall you Eldy and a handful of others) through college and up until about 2010. I spent all that time and money for an education degree only to promptly decide to join the world of business management. I was with one restaurant for 8 years, and eventually taking a position with corporate as their food safety and customer service inspector. That meant me traveling quite a bit and taking up a lot of time.

From time to time I attempted to come back, but couldn't remember my account information. I tried to create a new account a few times but that never seemed to work. Then in April of last year I was able to see the Tolkien Maker of Middle-earth Exhibit at the Morgan Library in NYC. I had to come here to try to share that experience, only to find out the Plaza was no more.

My 3+ years as a corporate inspector burned me out, and I was getting an itch to re-involve myself in education. So, I left in January 2020 and became a liaison for International Cultural Exchange Services, a program to assist foreign exchange students to the US. I was getting acclimated there, when whammo...pandemic shuts down the schools and puts a hold on my job. That kind of hurt at first, but things are looking up, especially when you see some fine people have brought the Plaza back on line. And it's just a great place to return to, as a bit of a safe haven.

[Dimcairien Luiniel]

Boromir88: I remember seeing your username around, though I tended to lurk more than post in Lore and Movies. Glad to see you back here.

[Elarith]

@Flame Fried Ent Ah, the mystical art of cataloguing! Never had to deal with that. I have sent a few choice donations down to our HQ for cataloguing, including some self published items that defy description.

@Menolly I suspect there is more overlap between public library work and zookeeping than at first appears! Honestly, I think everyone should do at least a year working in a job dealing with the general public to learn just how nuts they can be. Mostly lovely, but a fair proportion of bonkers too.

[Boromir88]

Thank you Dimcairien, "I am pleased to find you remember something about me." :smiley10:

I recall the lurkers too, seem to even recall you saying almost the exact same thing before.

[Winddancer]

@Boromir88 your name definitely rings a bell, dont know why though :P Welcome back all the same! :)

[Boromir88]

Thank you Winddancer. Welcome back to you, as well.

Perhaps for my obsessive Boromir adoration? Although, at the time that was more of a Sean Bean fanboy and I thought the movies portrayed a softer Boromir than the books. It got so bad, I even became a Sheffield United fan! Here I reside in US heartland...someone who loves the EPL (not all that uncommon) but a Blades fan and in complete awe of what Chris Wilder's been able to do.

[Eldy Dunami]

OMG, Tzü! It's wonderful to see you here!

@Boromir88, I saw your name at the bottom of the forum index when I logged on today and was excited to recognize another old Lore/Movies fora mainstay! I'm tickled you remember me as well.

[Boromir88]

Eldy, I remember you having a username (I think...Eldorion?). The font, text color and your Lore/movie forums contributions were unforgettable though.

[Tzülien]

I remember you @Boromir88!!

[Boromir88]

Hi Tzu! Same, I couldn't be happier to discover the return of this site. The saying you don't realize how much you miss something until it's gone is very true. I joined the Facebook group when I saw that the Plaza was broken, and waited for any sign of an update to possibly come back. Then randomly yesterday I did a search and found someone posted a link on Reddit. Thinking "can this be true!?" And yes, yes it is :)

[Almarëa Mordollwen]

@Flame Fried Ent @Menolly @Elarith It is so cool to see how many real-life librarians there are floating around on plaza - although somehow I am not entirely surprised :) Librarians are definitely some of my favourite people right now - even with the libraries closed. (Aka: how I am getting work done!)

I joined the plaza in (I think?) 2010, as a seventeen-year-old who loved languages, medieval literature, creative writing, and theatre, but didn't really have the faintest clue what she was going to do with her life, and had definitely been told far too often by far too many people that she should be studying STEM or something that 'would actually earn money' (aka: not academia, and definitely not theatre). Had also never really travelled outside of Canada, and Oxford was an impossibly expensive fairy-tale castle in the sky.

Ten years and nearly three degrees on, I made to Oxford for the doctorate, and have spent most of the last eight years working in professional theatre as a stage manager and lighting technician alongside my studies. Studied English/theatre in undergrad, then more Old English/Old Norse for an MA, and then have spent the last five years writing about women's voices in Old Norse-Icelandic poetry. (And studying lots of languages, and travelling Europe as much as possible.) So COVID-19 hiccups aside, I'm in a much happier place!

[Flame Fried Ent]

Oooohhhh another Canadian!! Where in Canada are you? I’m in Manitoba.

[Almarëa Mordollwen]

*waves* I grew up in New Brunswick, but my family's based in Ontario now! Will be headed back there this summer once the thesis is finished.

[Flame Fried Ent]

Cool! I did my masters in Ontario, at Western. I have distant family in NS and the Gaspé.

[geordie]

gosh, hi, everybody. I'm geordie, and I'm getting on now - I retired three years ago - and I'm afraid I don't remember now when I joined the Plaza. I was almost exclusively in Lore; I've been obsessed, you could say, with Tolkien and his works for over forty years now, ever since I first read TH and LotR in the mid-70s.

Me and mrs geordie are still at geordie towers, with its mewlip-infested moat and the mummerkill stables. And Spot the dragon is the same as ever; he's a daft old thing. One thing about retirement is that I can spend more time in the geordie library, but these days I find myself napping in there as often as not.

It's good to see so many names from the past. It's good to see you all.

[Winddancer]

Good to see you too @geordie ! Lore forums wouldnt be the same without you guys :)

[Boromir88]

Hi geordie, I know it's been a while since anyone here had last seen me, but just wanted to let you know, way back then you were a big inspiration. Thank you and I'm glad we have this new plaza to return to.

[Túrin]

Oh wow, lots of familiar faces here! Joined in 2003 as something like Eldar King 12, iterated through a few names and wound up as Turin.

I don't even remember when the Plaza went down. For the short-short version: I finished grad school in Statistics, moved to another state for a post-doc, met a girl, stole the affection of her dog, moved to another state to become a professor, married the girl, moved to another state for a different job.

[KingODuckingham]

Welcome, it's excellent to see you again! :smiley8:

[Eldy Dunami]

Congrats on the degree / wife / dog / job!

[Uruva]

When are you marrying the dog?

[Túrin]

Likewise my old friend!

Let's see if we can recreate the magic.

And my magic, I mean typing with creativity.

And in saying that, I realize I'm screwed, since I haven't written creatively in years.

Uruva - I think that he thinks we're already married. He's very progressive like that.

[KingODuckingham]

oh man, right? The plaza is exposing my complete mental incoherence like never before.

[Nerwen Nuke-queen]

@Almarëa Mordollwen I feel use Old Norse fiends should all club together. I studied it at York. Wishing you all the best with your thesis.