Heh. I probably should de-lurk, at this point. But I don't even remember a lot of my own history with this board, only that it started when I was a teenager and has dramatically affected the course of my life in so very many ways.

I think you should de-lurk as well!

Heh. I probably should de-lurk, at this point. But I don't even remember a lot of my own history with this board, only that it started when I was a teenager and has dramatically affected the course of my life in so very many ways.

You and I started posting around the same time on WX. You were... 17! A senior in high school! Now you've got, like, multiple degrees and stuff.

When you first came to visit in Seattle, I think you hadn't yet been out of the US? And then you made up for it by, like, going EVERYWHERE and moving to the UK for a while.

...you know the song is slightly wrong, yeah?

Yep. Doesn't matter, you can insert a Grand Pause and then keep going.

No, I had been out of the US. I'd been to Rome for a month that January, and then I moved to Chicago for the summer, and then I went to Wales. But it was the start of a very long period of travel for me.

So, okay. Hi. My name SA, yes that's my real name. When I was a senior in high school I had a lot of self-generated time on my hands, and stumbled into WX from someone else's link. I went to college, and met my first Buffistas in the flesh, Steph L and Katefate, who drove down to my college to see me. Still kind of blows my mind that you all did that! Steph was one of my lifelines in college. If I was freaking out, or needed to get the hell away, she'd say "Come up and see me!" and for a weekend I could escape the epic fail.

Um. I posted on the board a lot more when I was in high school and college than I do now, but I think only Meara and Drew rival me in Buffistas-who-see-other-Buffistas-whilst-travelling. (I will probably be proved wrong in the subsequent posts.) After I finished college, I moved to Ireland and had a Jars for awhile, and then I moved to England and had a Fay occasionally; I was a very lucky person. And last year, around this time, I submitted my MA thesis, packed up all my things, and moved to Portland, where I now seem to be biding my time while itching to move again. It's a sickness, I tell you.

Most people on the board remember me as a kid, I think, and have had the dubious pleasure of watching me grow up via the internet. I learned a lot from the remarkable group of people that populate this board, not the least of which was that any dream I had, there was support and advice and encouragement there. I don't know that I would have spent so much time abroad if people here hadn't told me I could do it; I'm not sure I would have completed my MA if people didn't tell me the idea had merit; and I know for a fact that I wouldn't be as open to the many experiences life has to offer without people saying, "Oh my god, SA, just do it!"

I don't want to be all soppy or whatever, but for me, having the 'ffistas as a personal resource has given me some of the most important tools and skills I have, and I lay that at the feet of those who were kind enough to let a teenager spaz all over their internet. I've said thank you before, but it's never enough.

dubious pleasure

What means this "dubious"?

::makes out with amych, who still owes me a fencing story set in Smallville from 2002::

No, I had been out of the US. I'd been to Rome for a month that January, and then I moved to Chicago for the summer, and then I went to Wales. But it was the start of a very long period of travel for me.

I know you hadn't been to Canada, because that's why we went! To Lush. Ah, life pre-child. (We'd been talking about Portland, and changed our minds!)

DUDE, I GOT DISTRACTED BY THE RESEARCH.

DUDE, I GOT DISTRACTED BY THE RESEARCH.

AHAHAHA. Yeah, you really, really did.