Forums are weird

I somehow ended up looking at a pub from many years ago and seeing so many names I considered friends even though we've never met. And they're just gone. They don't post here anymore, I don't post here anymore, and I never connected with them on other sites or anything.

I don't really see myself posting here much moving forward either. It's been 5 months since my most recent post apparently. Life moves on you know? Had over a decade of frequenting this place, but it just feels like I'm done with it now.

Anyhow I guess what I'm saying is thanks. You guys were (are?) my friends and provided me with great entertainment and memories. I know a lot of the people I was closest to won't see this anymore. I hope they, and all of you, are doing well.

I'll probably pop in from time to time, but who knows!

One last for the road.

-Dave

thanks for popping in kaze!

it's sad to see pog dying. this place and the people here have really helped me get through some tough times, just blabbing and playing, and joking around and stuff.

yeah friends. i hope this place keeps going, but it's not looking good

I have no idea if this place can generate enough revenue for the people that bought it to keep it alive or not. Hopefully it will, but I freely acknowledge it won't be coming out of my pocket because LOL poker.

Even though the size of the community is shrinking, it's still here. There may not be as many posts to read but it's still worth coming around. I would be sad if it went away.

jeff

Hi Jeff!

Last Friday, we dropped my daughter at college. This evening my son drove off for school. Now, it's just my wife and me at home alone. The first time in 20 years. It feels so weird.

Six years ago, I remember dropping for the first time my son off at High School and the memory is as fresh as yesterday.

Enjoy the new life. Not because it wasn't enjoyable before, but because you should always enjoy the new opportunities and options that life brings your way as things change. Don't mourn the life that was, embrace the life that will be.

As a corollary to this, my job at the airport has me seeing people blubbering over each other as someone is set to fly off somewhere. It actually upsets me. Assuming that someone isn't off to prison or a funeral, for example.

If you are the one who is staying, you should be happy that this person you love is off on some kind of adventure, expanding their life in some way. Probably will be back sometime to share their experiences with you. If you are the one flying, you should be facing your voyage joyfully, knowing that someone is going to be welcoming you back when you are ready. Any other reaction means that you are not your own person, and cannot exist without this other person, even temporarily. It's selfish.

My wife has had to travel on union business (with free time for enjoying the trip). I'm hoping she had a good time. When my daughter went to Europe, or my son went to L.A., I was happy that they were having these adventures. What was there to be sad about?

Sorry for the rant. None of this is meant to apply to you, Mark. I just got to thinking about these people at the airport.

Marks kids are very close in age or twins?

Thanks Eric! I guess I think back to when I left home for college. It was basically the end of living at home and I never looked back.

The birds are flying away from the nest. One plus is that my son is 1 hour south and my daughter is 1 hour north of us (nearish to Filthy!). Not that far away.

pwns, they're two years apart. My son is a 3rd year and my daughter is a freshman. I also think back to my engineering classes. 3rd year is brutal.

Eric, I always laugh when TV shows like Survivor and Big Brother have family visits or family letters. In some of the situations, they haven't seen person for 2-3 weeks but tears are flowing everywhere.

My wife gets so mad at me. lolol

crying goodbyes at airports

there is a good and bad about leaving one city behind for a new adventure in another city. imo, it's good to experience both, the good and the bad. the crying goodbye at the airport is the time to experience the sorrow and the loss for what you are leaving behind.

im sure that usually theses people spend plenty of time appreciating and enjoying the new adventure and thinking happily of their friends/family who are off to something new

just think of all the money you'll be saving when they are done with school though!!!

I understand a little wistfullness, but bawling like the world is ending is uncalled for. And the thing is that 99.99% of the people flying will be coming back, so it isn't even the last time you ever see them.

People deal with and cope with separation in different ways, and in many households hugs and tears are common in a lot of situations, both sad and joyful ones. So, it is not surprising that this would also occur at airports. Also, one could argue that some cultures are more prone to displays of emotion than others.

Perhaps you have just been overexposed due to your work.

Anyway, looking at the above objectively, what jumps out at me is not that people may be being overly emotional at airports, but that it actually upsets you.

Many people get upset when they see other people crying

Probably more annoying if you see it a ton and are a heartless canuck

There are no heartless canucks. We are all overly nice and humble

Damn right. Nobody is nicer & more humble than Canadians

Oh, I know. A lot of it is me. I just can't understand such extremes.

But in all seriousness, I did not consider the presence of a feedback loop. That does help me.

eric
heartless canuck

I watch Survivor and Big Brother. The emotions at the Survivor visits make sense. I remember going to a camp when I was 15 years old. The camp only lasted 2 weeks, but the bonds you make are intense when you're spending every moment with the same small group of people.

Imagine this, but now in addition to bonding with people in adverse circumstances (building shelter, finding food, surviving the extreme weather changes) you're also competing against these same people. You've learned to trust them to an extent, but in some part of your mind you're hyper-aware that your friends are thinking about how to use you and get rid of you.

Then after a month of this, you get to see and hold your spouse, or significant other, or sibling. You don't have to question their intentions. I'd probably bawl like a baby.

Perhaps but I see it as mostly cringy TV.

Longest time I did not see my family was like four months. When I came back then we just said "Hi" showed no emotions and carried on life as it was before.

Bestonian