Growing old together

[Phinehas]

I shouldn't start threads, I know this from past experience, however, I've started perhaps a whole five threads in the last two years... maybe. Therefore I find myself justified.

The "return" of Efflixi and his consequential posting of a pic in the Faces Behind the Players thread started a thought trend in my mind. We're growing old together. The first picture I saw of Efflixi he was a very small fifteen-year old, I believe. Now he's not. When I first met Annah, he was seventeen and still in school. When I first joined I had turned 18 recently and was just finishing up high school. Now look where we're at. Sure, the passage of three years isn't that big in the long run, but it's still interesting to see how people have developed. The other week I commented to Cyl on how much his English has improved since I knew him. So has his roleplaying. People have come and gone, become developers or gm's, become pillars of the community, or decided that they needed to spend more time in real life. Peaople have gotten jobs or started college, finished school... or not. All this time, we meet here fairly regularly, hanging out. It's really interesting to think about.

Yes, this is an "oldbie" thread. So sue me.

[bilbous]

Don't feel bad, you are all spring chickens to me. 

[zanzibar]

Don't feel bad, you are all spring chickens to me. 

This is not about merely counting the years.  This is about sharing a spiritual journey with another soul.


Personally, I reserve such language for real life relationships, but Phinehas's experiences are perfectly valid because they're his.



Edit:  You were probably just reacting to the use of the word "oldbie".  It's just slang for a person who has been around the PS project for a long time, it's not an indicator of age.

[Phinehas]

I wouldn't know about a spiritual journey so much, at least that's not what I equated it with in my mind, but I suppose you could call it that. You're right however, that this isn't about who is how old...

As for reserving such language for real life relationships, it's not that I feel so deeply connected with my PS friends that they're better than real life friends, but the fact of the matter is that out of ALL the friends I've had in the last three years my PS friends are the ONLY friends I'm still in touch with. I move all the time, and I just moved again recently, so I have no friends irl. Literally. Therefore I have more time to spend thinking about my PS friends.

[bilbous]

It was a joke, people. In the words of the ancient philosophers Led Zepplin "Does anyone remember laughter?"
Now those guys are old, the ones that are left...
If you don't find things to laugh about the next 60 years are going to be horrible.

More in the philosophical vein, three years out of twenty-one is a big deal it is one seventh of your life. It is somewhat different for me as the same period is one sixteenth of my life. It seems that the longer you live the shorter time is or rather the quicker time elapses. I have always thought that it is because each hour that passes is a smaller fraction of the whole of experience you have had. It is a marginal effect and it creeps up on you.

In a way you are luckier now than we were way back when because there was no internet, if we didn't like the people around us we didn't have much choice. Now you can make immediate connections with people far away.

Ahh Enough rambling. I'm becoming one of them. BOF. Who'da thunkit.

[zanzibar]

Depends on your definition of connection.

[bilbous]

True enough, the internet is fraught with dangers I never had to deal with. There is no real evidence that picture with you and the two young ladies was actually you or that they were actually there,  not that I am disputing either of those two things. It is just an example. But you can videochat and interact and if you are lucky you can make connections that will stand you in good stead. Someday a job may take you to a city and there will be a friendly face there. You never know.

[zanzibar]

I think the problem with the internet is that it's too safe, not that it's too dangerous.  People do things on the internet that they would never do in the "real world" - human interactions here have different rules and consequences, and I think people are philosophically protected and isolated from one another here in such a way that makes these interactions less meaningful, more temporary and disposable, and overall more "safe".  Safety is the danger.

[Kixie]

Although I have been here for a while, I don't think I've gone through a spiritual journey with anyone. I've never really tested anyone's personality, only their patience.  Alot of people have changed, and through 3 years in a world where physical is a 32 bit rendition of a cat lady, it's hard to imagine other human beings in this universe changing as a dynamic force. Maybe I've just never paid attention due to my MOSTLY reclusive nature. I will say that I don't regret spending 3 years here. It's been a nice community, even if it is the only real community I've ever cared to join.

I don't know if I've changed, but reading past posts, my diction certainly has. Sometimes I wonder if people see me for who I think I truly am, or if they still see little n00bl37 Kixie (or Whemy for those initiated into my insanity) spamming the chat channel, giving moderators grey hairs. All of it doesn't really matter though. Time changes everything, and after realizing this you begin to realize that this community is just stop on a big railway of life.

Here's to not hitting any bovine on the way!

~Kixie

[Phinehas]

* Phinehas smacks Zanzi and Bilbous around for doing this every time he starts a thread and thanks Kixie for the contribution to the topic.

[Kiern]

It is interesting to watch people change and see their opinions sometimes completely do a 180 over time.  Especially since most people around here are in a "growing up" stage.  It's easy to see what they were/what they've become in a short time.  It's also interesting to watch yourself, some of my first posts have been pointed out to me and I'm surprised to find my name in the upper-left hand corner.

[Kezzik]

I've been to sketchy and Irratic to feel any of this, I've only looked up to people, or helped those who asked nicely.

nothin' else to say really

[Phinehas]

@Kiern: Yeah, I was looking at some of my earlier posts a few weeks ago, and was laughing at some of the things I said. I was pretty cheeky, but I guess I haven't changed in that area.

[neko kyouran]

I'd simply sugeest Karyuu gets tough and starts mass deleting everything not pertaining to the subject being talked about rather than lock a perfectly good topic.

And speaking of looking at old posts and how they have changed, and since we mentioned Karyuu, lets play "look at what her very first post was".  Becuase we can:

This was done in something like 15 minutes in my art history class, when I decided not to pay attention, in my Planeshift-obsessed mode. Which has now become permanent. It\'s a silly little sketch, but once finals are over (next week) I\'m going to start making some serious art Because I\'m inspired... and such. Markers = fun.

Ah, isn't that piccy teh cutest!

[Karyuu]

I'd simply sugeest Karyuu gets tough and starts mass deleting everything not pertaining to the subject being talked about rather than lock a perfectly good topic.

Done. I keep hoping people moderate themselves and keep finding myself wrong.

I've read through too many post histories when I had the time - you find some interesting gems (Kiva's changes are especially amusing). But these things are rarely apparent from within the box.

I came in here feeling like a n00b, and I think I'll leave just the same