The "Let me get to know you!" thread!

[Pookiablo]

Howdy folks,

 

So I've been a part of this community for some time, posted fairly regularly as of sometime last year and have enjoyed my stay here greatly thus far!

 

I've gotten to know some people a bit better, striking up the odd friendship so to speak but it'd be nice to learn more about all of you! Some people have been here ages and know everything and anything about fellow KNEE users!

 

So, tell me about yourselves! What do you like doing, where are from? Likes/dislikes, interesting or amusing anecdotes, I dunno, tell me about your lobotomy if you want to! Perhaps you have some dark secret to share (Rez, don't go overboard here...)

 

Give it a go!

[Jav_NE]

I hate these sorts of things, but i guess my backstory reads as follows. Name is Javid, grew up in what is considered to be a rich part of Birmingham (its not) where i went to school and worked at Homebase for some cash. Good times there!

 

I got into uni at Manchester and studied Multimedia Computing. Came out of that with a 2:1 along with two years of waiter experience at Pizza Hut and Pizza Express, wahooo! haha. I really like being a waiter actually, its honest work and you get to meet alot of people. I might even do it again one day.

 

I met my current girlfriend while at uni too. We've been together five years since then. Moved in with each other after just 6 months and never looked back. After finnishing uni, i got a job writing for a videogame walkthough magazine called PowerStation at Imagine Publishing, so i had to move down to Bournemouth. My g/f came with me bless her, and we've been here for three years now. Over that time i've contributed to about 35 issues of the magazine, and written freelance reviews for magazines such as PLAY, X360 and N-Revolution.

 

And that's where we are now! I'll be leaving this summer for a long travelling trip with my g/f (called Chrissy) so i'll be giving up my job for that. We're going to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, then we are going to teach English in China as teaching assistants. That will take us well into 2010 when we'll return to England to save some money up back in Birmingham at my parents and start our lives afresh!

[Ashley]

Who returns to Birmingham?

 

I'm from nearish Birmingham (thankfully sans accent...actually sans any local accent. I sound nothing like local folk and im fine with that), have a Bluthian family who are a constant...constant I suppose. Currently at a uni I settled on (and kinda regret) about 30 miles away from Brum and finish in a month and have no frakin' idea what I wish to do. I am doing a postgrad down London (Japanese Cultural Studies at Birkbeck) but need to get a job and a place to live down there during the summer.

 

And now I'll fill the rest of this with filler;

 

I am not a relationship type of person (most of the time, there are times I think it would be nice but they tend to pass) but everyone around me is. Back in my hometown I would stuggle to name a single friend. I knew one day my friends would be married with kids but I didn't think it would happen by the time I was in my 21. Anyway they have some awesome kids who call me uncle so its all good. I just hate that "you still alone" look/vibe some of them give me (and one of their parents recently said "your mum would love grandkids", thanks for that guilt trip love although actually my non-brother is fathering his fiancee's child by another man (although hes playing ignorant to this fact), so close enough eh?)

 

I am an animal person. Im not a crazy PETA person but I would love to one day have a huge house full of all different kinds of pets. At the moment a hamster shall suffice (and even that is against my tenancy agreement so when we start showing the house im going to have to hide her somewhere...) Also means I've not eaten meat for eight and a half years and I do not miss it. I forget what it tastes like and honestly the smell puts me off for now.

 

Oh and I have a criminal record which gets cleared in 18 months. I want to have a big celebration for it (like I've had small celebrations every year because it really is that benign of a conviction) but maybe not if I'm employed and they don't know about it...

 

I think thats enough random facts/im bored of rambling.

[Jav_NE]

Who returns to Birmingham?

 

Oh and I have a criminal record which gets cleared in 18 months. I want to have a big celebration for it (like I've had small celebrations every year because it really is that benign of a conviction) but maybe not if I'm employed and they don't know about it...

 

 

Oi, Brum ain't so bad! Alot of my friends are there, and my familly so, its the logical choice to set up camp and save up money again.

 

What did you do to get a criminal record

[Tigerdust]

I really like this thread, I've often wondered what it would be like to find out about others on here. Well I suppose I'd better make a contribution since I'm quite new here, what better time to start.

 

I grew up in a little place called Bridge Pa just out of Hastings in New Zealand. I have two sisters and a Mum. My father died when I was 17. He was in a plane accident. He built the plane himself as he was an engineer. At least he died doing something he loved. I had a pet goat called Ziggy and she was the funniest creature to ever live. She loved to run sideways and attack peoples legs with her sharp horns. Oh the fond memories I have of her. After highschool (which I hated) I went to drama school for two years and got a diploma in performing arts. I performed in a few plays but nowadays I don't have an interest in it. I lost a lot of confidence in myself and just gave it up. I then moved to the Capital of NZ, Wellington and I love it here, I have made alot of cool friends. I work for internal affairs and have been there far too long. Recently fell in love with a guy here but then he ripped my heart out and bled it dry by sleeping with one of my mates, the bastard. He'll get his. My musical tastes are a bit strange. My mates say I listen to alot of jungle music. Anyway my fave band is a swiss duo by the name of Yello. There music is silly, playful and sometimes real eerie. Needless to say alot of their lyrics don't make any sense. My user name "Tigerdust" is a song off their latest album. Have recently got my flat hooked up to the internet so now I don't just read forums at work, I can join in and contribute in the comfort of my couch. I'd just like to say that this forum is one of the most friendliest and easiest to be a part of. The layout is clean and inviting. I think the staff/moderators do a fantastic job and I really don't know where they fnd the time to provide us with all this gaming information. You can tell that their time dedicated to this site truly comes from the heart. Go hard guys.

[Slaggis]

I am an animal person. Im not a crazy PETA person but I would love to one day have a huge house full of all different kinds of pets.

 

I just pictured you as one of those crazy people with hundreds and hundreds of cats.

 

Also, *high five* on the criminal record. My (also ridiculous thing) gets removed when I hit 18. 3 months and counting!

[Pookiablo]

I just pictured you as one of those crazy people with hundreds and hundreds of cats.

 

Also, *high five* on the criminal record. My (also ridiculous thing) gets removed when I hit 18. 3 months and counting!

 

Ooooh, Haggis got an Asbo???

 

Also Tigerdust, that was a very nice story! Nice to see folk from outside Europe also contributing here, keep 'em coming folks! I'll post more about myself later - I'm supposed to be doing some work at the moment!

[Slaggis]

Ooooh, Haggis got an Asbo???

 

Haha! Nooooooo (Though, my sister did...complete proof that they don't work, because she's still a tosser).

[Will]

I also grew up near Birmingham, Stourbridge to be exact. Went to school locally and had evening/weekend job in Electronics Boutique. One of my best mates worked there too but we had to leave for posting messages on a forum about how crap our manager was. Shame really as it was good fun, I often think I'd quite like to go back there.

 

Next I moved down to Bournemouth for uni where I studied Business Studies. Really great fun being there for uni, beaches in the summer, lots of bars nice girls etc. Course was a bit of a piss take but you can't have it all.

 

Mid way through I went home for a year to work as an Analyst at Panasonic, great job that no doubt set me up for what I'm doing now.

 

Back to uni and I set up http://www.theigdb.com, which went very well. Only just missed out on a venture capital investment which was a shame. Good fun trying to get it though, lots of Dragons Den style presentations and meetings with some very rich people. Still work on it a little when I get the chance.

 

Missing out on that meant it was time to get a real job which is when I moved down to London to be an Analyst at SEGA. Been here 1 and a half years now and loving every second of it, great company and a great job.

 

Most recent goal was to buy a new car which I've managed, I'm currently playing the stock market with a bit of spare cash and doing quite well. If I can keep going at the rate I have been I should have a decent amount of cash soon.

[Guest Jordan]

Hm. Let me think.

 

My names Jordan (obviously), I originally grew up in a small village outside of Wakefield called West Ardsley. I lived there for around 16 years of my life, it was pretty awful. We lived up the roads from a shitty council estate full of cocking arseholes. When I was a kid, I wasn't the type that ever went out really. I was involved in a couple of school activities but usually I just had friends over to play whatever game was out at the time. I used to get bullied a lot as a kid due to my weight and my scalp cerriosis. Thankfully, i've mostly solved both, but more on that later. I remember having one girlfriend, she was pretty hot but turned into a complete whore/bitch later in life, which i actually blame myself for because i said i never liked her. When i actually did, i was just really scared of our relationship being like.. 8 or something. But we actually used to get on pretty well if i remember rightly.

 

When I was 16 and about to leave high school, which i hated every second of apart from making some amazing friends my parents sprung on me that we were moving to Halifax. Life changed after that, a lot. We went from being pretty rich (my dad owned a huge computer company when there was a massive computer boom in the country) to being damn poor over night. My dad went and bought half a million in property and we had to support ourselves whilst paying for a mortgage on the place(s). So it was tough for a year or so. During this time, I went to college and got my A levels in English, Media, Computing, Psychology, General Studies and Law. College was cool, but i still felt like i was a little kid. After, i went onto a degree course in English and hated every moment of it. The initial spark I had for writing had left me.

 

I needed something to get me out of my shitty life. I was basically stuck in hell at the time. I was eating myself to death, going to an awful course and feeling suicidal half the time. All my friends were miles away and the only comfort i had was this place. As sad as that all is.

 

Then, I met Letty and stuff changed. I left my course and for the next 6 months was unemployed, but the entire time i was changing. I lost a huge amount of weight (around 7 stone), learned how to deal with my scalp condition, tried getting a job (failed miserably due to the awful jobs market at the time) and sorted myself out mentally. I decided, to move to Shetland to be with the only thing giving me direction in life.

 

After moving up, I lived with Letty for a while. It sucked, her mum gave me a "bed time" for the first time in years and I had to pay her money I didn't have. I had to get out, I got myself a job in a shitty take away in the centre of Lerwick and moved into a shared house. It wasn't the best of times, but it meant I could see Letty and have somewhere to live.

 

This carried on for a couple of months till I got my job here at Kildrummy Technologies. By far the most demanding thing in my entire life, but honestly? I love working here. The pay is good, the staff are awesome and I get a great challenge from it. Last November, I finally moved out of that shitty shared house after an incident with my landlord going into a drunken idiot spiral for 2 weeks. I couldn't handle that crap again. I asked my parents for help and, they did help. They gave me the money to help me buy a flat and I really like my flat.

 

Still, usually my life doesn't have happy endings. It really never has. A month ago, the thing that gave me direction left my life. I've seen her once since and I haven't been deep down happy for a while now. I've lost that "spark" for the second time in my life and i'm stuck in a rut. I'm getting on with things, but sat here at work now into the third decade of my life I don't know what to do with myself. Do I stay here? Do I move home? Do I try to find someone else?

 

Yes, above is tl;dr, but... in a few paragraphs. That's me.

[bluey]

i was born in oxford, where i lived till i was 4 ~ then my family moved to banbury. my dad went a bit mental and left when i was 6, after that i lived with my mum in banbury where i went to school, college (art and design) and university (BA graphic design and illustration) before getting bored of the place and moving to japan for a year.

now i'm back in the UK living in london (i'm stalking jamba ^_^) and looking for a job, any job ~ while i build up my graphic design portfolio.

in a year or two i hope to have a good enough portfolio to go for some internship positions and get my foot in the door to be a graphic designer...

it's been my lifelong dream for a couple of months now to open and run my own coffee shop though. that's the dream

Edited April 7, 2009 by bluey

[Jimbob]

My real name is James Richards, i am 22 and i was born in Worcester, UK in July 1986. I have one annoying sister and parents who won't let me get away with breathing. I did have 2 gerbils and a goldfish, but alas they are now deceased for 3 years.

 

I grew up in different areas of Europe. Started in Hereford until i was 5 then i moved to Germany in 1992/3 where i went to the local English speaking school where i learned a lot of German so i could get by as it were. Came back to the UK when i was 9 and spent the next 14 years living in Caldicot, South Wales.

 

Went to the local Comprehensive where i met most of my friends i know now. It was ok, and i learned much about computers and Graphics (drawing etc) which set the first stone to where i am now. During my school years, i was an in-betweener which means i was neither a troublemaker or a swot, i just did what i thought was right which meant i avoided many punishments.

 

Left school at 15 (2002), started my first job at the local Garden Centre where i learned much about the different types of plants, how to care for them etc. Basically i learned a lot about plants, gardening and stoneware. During this job i was at a Learning Centre where i learned about Office Admin and CAD, i did get paid for going on this course (£50 p/w + travel expenses). Then i moved onto College and studied a GNVQ in ICT (passed) and resat my Maths GCSE (failed this, due to exam mix-up)

 

Left the Garden Centre job in 2004 because of lack of hours and pay, i did try and get more hours but alas it failed, so i moved onto the local retail store near my house (5 minutes up the road) where i learned how to use a till and how to spot underage people using fake I.D. I spent the next 2 years on a flaming till earning more money. I was also in college as well studying a AVCE ICT course. I learned many skills including Accountancy, Databases, Building Websites etc. This also had a Systems Support course built into the AVCE course. I learned many aspects of ICT maintenance, most of which has come into use over the years. I passed both of these courses in 2006.

 

Got sacked from the shop in 2006 because the manager didn't like me, and i didn't get a chance to appeal against the decision either. Over the course of a year i dotted about on the dole while jumping into several jobs which were doomed to fail.

 

I finally achieved my first full-time job in 2007 as a CNC Programmer at a local bridge firm where i program machinery to cut bridge components (my CAD/Graphics courses came in handy here). Been here for 20 months now and still enjoying it a tremendous lot.

 

That covers the living/employment/education part i think.

 

Most of my free time these days since leaving school has been gaming and browsing the net. I joined 2 forums, Zelda Universe and N-Europe where i have made many more friends and have great memories of both forums. I can't think of any better web forum i've been on except these two. N-Europe does have better members, and i spent most of my current web-time logged onto here and Facebook. When i was 18, i started to play pool on a regular basis and have now joined my local clubs team where i play against many different players and learning new skills along the way.

 

I enjoy my movies and music a lot as well. Movie wise, i like anything by Jackie Chan and Jim Carrey. I am also a fan of Sly Stallone, Will Smith, Bruce Lee and Tim Allen just to name a few others. And i also like the 007 movies as well. Music, well i do like anything in the modern charts, Bon Jovi, Queen, Bryan Adams, R.E.M, Eminem, Will Smith, Europe, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins etc.

 

I have a small group of friends who i can really call true mates. They are there when you need them and i can't ask for a better group of mates really. I am also single after getting rid of my now ex girlfriend because of cheating and not visiting me on her side (i was loyal, she was not (long story))

 

That basically sums up my life so far. If you wish to know more, holla this way.

Edited April 7, 2009 by Jimbob

[Ashley]

it's been my lifelong dream for a couple of months now to open and run my own coffee shop though. that's the dream

 

And I want to open a bakery (which specialises in free from because its still quite untapped) which is full of charm and whimsy (ala The Pie Hole). We should do a joint venture!

[Paj!]

I'm Henry, I'm 17. I plan to go to art college/school after the summer. I feel that I haven't got a proper passion for art though, as though a lack of confidence in my own abilities takes away from my passion. Then I question If I even like art at all. Which I do. But the questioning really annoys me.

 

I'm pretty crapat other subjects. I enjoy english, just not doing the essays.

 

Been to the same school in Edinburgh, my hometown (brilliant) my whole life, The Edinburgh Academy, same as chair and Ganepark. I'm an extremely thoughtful and moral person (it's true), and so have had very few run ins with authority, except when I refused to cut my hair for RAF (which I also refused to join at the start).

 

But yeah. I hate that I can't see myself in the future. I don't know what my passion is. I think it's stories and movies and books. But I'm not a good enough writer to write books (better than some people. but not great), and I don't know if making films would be right for me. Despite it being the only thing I love doing really. And listening to music, but I can't write songs or play any instruments.

 

I don't believe in god, I used to. As such, I have an overwhelming fear of what happens after death. Or, to quote Damien Hirst, "The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living". Scares the shit out me and I just want to hide a room where death isn't possible. I want children to carry on my existance in some form in the universe. I can't die.

 

[/trauma!]

 

But I'm fairly content atm. It's just...the future.

[Jon]

My name is Jon (shock) I was born and raised in West Phil... erm Aberdeen in bonny Scotland. I've not long turned 21 and life is pretty good. I always did pretty well in school growing up, yet I was kinda like a freak in that I was fairly popular but was always very well behaved. I skirted well between social circles.

 

Life got considerably shitter when I moved up to secondary school. A few bad things happened to me and I kinda got left behind from all my mates as they got the whole drinking and partying culture down. I decided to leave school after 5th year with Standard Grades and 3 Highers, more than enough to get into Uni. I'm the kinda person who like to do different things, so having been in school for the past 10 years, I didn't fancy going back to more learning. So after applying for a few jobs, I finally landed one in retail, that was 3 years ago.

 

The pay is ain't great but it could be a lot worse. The greatest thing though is the people I get to work with, they're awesome. Since starting work I've become a lot more confident and finally found myself a damn social life. My plans for the next few years are to get my own place and do a bit of travelling, and progress a little further up the ladder at work.

 

What interests me? anytype of extreme sports. Music, I love it - where ever I go my iPod does too, it's almost surgically attached to me. I'm also a big Sports nut, i'll watch and play anything, even bowls. I like my Gadgets and Computers as much as the next bloke and i'm also a bit of a car and bike nut.

 

That's all, tune in for next weeks Podcast.

Edited April 7, 2009 by Jon

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

This oughta be fun.

 

My name's Daniel, I'm 17 years old and from Denmark. My online name is a nickname I got in 4th grade after we had been listening to the Irish song of the same name. Going into the cyber world, I added "the Dane" as to stand out from the loads of other Dannyboys out there. So far I'm the only Dannyboy the Dane out there.

 

My life was pretty difficult from the get-go, as I was diagnosed with a serious case of autism. I was scared of everything, couldn't handle pressure or big changes, and constantly needed guidance. Summed up, I didn't quite function in everyday life. Already before school I had psychologists and mentors,and I kept them all the way till 6th grade. In that time I evolved surprisingly much (and continue to do so), almost completety phasing out all my handicaps.

 

Today I attend a gymnasium, which is roughly a Danish equivalent of high school. During my now one and half year here, I have evolved perhaps the most in my whole life, almost ridding myself completely of my autism diagnosis. I still regularly attend a psychologist/psychiatrist to evaluate my condition, and at the moment they're reconsidering my diagnosis from autism to schizotypical disorder, which sounds bad but really isn't. As I like to describe it, I have gotten rid of all the negative sides of my autism and retained the positive sides. It means I have a relatively good intelligence and a knack for analytical thinking, but my social skills and ability to function in everyday life have been brought to a "normal person" level. The reason I am now diagnosed as having schizotypical disorder is because I still (and probably always will) have slightly different thought patterns than most people.

 

This history of mine has given me (ironically enough) a strong sense of empathy towards other people and especially minority groups, as I have always had the benefit of being around people who understood me, accepted me, and helped me through the tough times, despite my being different. I am likewise a pacifist and can thank my diagnosis for one thing: I don't need to join the army which is otherwise compulsive for 2 years (I think, not entirely sure, never bothered to check).

 

Before the gymnasium I never knew exactly what I wanted to do, but once I joined I fell in love with classical philology, that is, the Latin and Ancient Greek languages and culture. I plan to study those subjects at university after I'm done with the gymnasium. But first I'm gonna need a free year to do what I want, as I am pretty loaded with work at the moment. And by pretty, I mean extremely.

 

People call me a geek. Pretty much because I tell them to. My theory is that autists are the natural geeks of nature, so naturally I am one. I love fantasy and sci-fi, and I am in love with The Matrix and The X-Files. I am also a Japanophile and especially interested in Asian martial arts and philosophy not to mention philosophy in general). I did karate for half a year - the largest amount of physical activity in my life - but unfortunately I had to stop due to the earlier mentioned time constraints. I still miss it and plan to resume it when I get the time. Or perhaps try out different martial arts.

 

That's the most important things to say about me. If that was tl;dr for you, here's the summed up version:

 

I had autism, but now a schizotypical disorder. I got rid of my social handicaps, but still retain my special thought pattern. I have great empathy and do good in school. I study classical philology, am a geek in most aspects, and I love all things Asian.

[chairdriver]

I always thought you were older, Dannyboy, for some reason. Like 23 or something.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

I always thought you were older, Dannyboy, for some reason. Like 23 or something.

I get that a lot. I think it's the beard.

[The Bard]

I don't like shit eaters.

 

Other things: I'm 20 years old as of last Sunday, of course, that in no way should be taken as a measure of my maturity, I'm prone to doing all sorts of stupid things.

 

I've been known to suffer from mild cases of wrath, although this seems to have died down since I got to university, where you occasionally get to deal with intelligent people. Uni is also where I met my...well...spouse, seeing as we did drunkenly get married in front of witnesses =p. The legal documentation is curiously absent though.

 

Anyway, I'm at QMUL uni in London doing an English degree which I'm enjoying very much, even though I'm a lazy fuck and barely do any work. Funnily enough, I moved to this country when I was 7 and barely knew a word of English, lived in various shit towns until I was 11, when I moved to Manchester, and went to Manchester Grammar. I took English, Biology and Chemistry for A level (as well as Art, which I dropped because it was too much fucking work), and got pretty good grades (AAA).

 

I like knowing things. I like to have a fairly broad knowledge of subjects, even though I'm a student of the arts, I take a big interest in Sciences. The fact remains that I'm fairly ignorant of most things though, which I hope to change.

 

Oh yeah! I've been playing guitar for about...6 years now. I like to imagine that I'm a fairly good player, when in actuality I'm a talentless douche .

 

Ok, I'm bored.

[Nintendohnut]

I get that a lot. I think it's the beard.

 

I don't know why but I love this quote!

 

Anyway, mine:

 

I'm Stephen, I'm 20, and I live in a small town near Bournemouth but was originally born in Chester hospital. We moved down here form Runcorn when I was 1, so I only remember the south as my home. My mum and dad are both awesome, and although they were very protective of me as a kid (not letting me out to play on streets etc) I'm actually very glad they didn't because I wouldn't be who I am today if they hadn't brought me up the way they did.

 

I went to three schools, a first school, a middle school and an all boys grammar school. I was always near the top of the class in my first two schools but grammar gave me a challenge, and I was usually in the middle/top half in most things. I got AABB in my A-levels (English Lit, Maths Mechanics, Chemistry and General Studies) and now I go to Lancaster University waaaaaay up north.

 

I have some amazing friends from Grammar school who I see as much as possible when home from uni. They're great and I can have a great laugh with them. It wasn't all bad being an all boys school either - there were less distractions, and the girls school was just down the road so when puberty hit we were within walking distance of the opposite sex. So no, we didn't all turn gay :P

 

That school is where my girlfriend went. I had one long term girlfriend before her, at 16, and that was my first gf (I was really geeky with bad hair/fashion sense, and big glasses and freckles, until I got to year 10 - contact lenses, hair gel and an ability to buy nice clothes happened!). She was nice for the first year or so, and because she was my first real relationship, in my eyes she could do nothing wrong. Still, after another 6 months things were going badly, she was being a bitch and cheated on me, so I walked away. A good experience, and it made me realise my mistakes

 

So now I have a beautiful and wonderful girlfriend called Lyndsey, who I've been with for just over 2 years now. She's amazing and she also goes to Lancaster Uni with me (she moved here after a bad first year at another Uni, long story). The Uni's great and I have even more great friends here now. I'm in my second year studying English Literature and Creative Writing, and its fantastic fun but hard work. I'm really enjoying the experience of living away from my parents although I miss them a lot, but with so many good friends and Lyndsey around me, I can't help but love it there. The whole place is amazing. We have a flat sorted for next year with friends and I really can't wait, I just don't want it to end.

 

Work wise I've worked at the local Library for almost 5 years now, first as a saturday job and now in Uni holidays. It's great pay, a great job, and I have great coworkers (who are almost all over 40!) Plus I get free DVD and CD rentals Really happy I have the job there. In the future I want to go into journalism, whether it be for a magazine or a newspaper, and I'm planning to do an extra year at uni to get a journalism qualification.

 

So yeah, that's pretty much it I think. I have probably missed some stuff out but never mind. I can't sum this up really, there's a lot, but if I summed it up there are no really major things to put in, it would just sound dull!

[ReZourceman]

Oh Hay.

 

Learn what shaped me into the man I am.

 

I was born and raised in Bognor Regis, February 1987. My dad was/is an independant financial advisor, and my mum sold greetings cards from home/was a house wife. I have a sister, Emma who is....erm...25. She is cool. School wise I went to North Mundham. I had a French kiss at a very early age. I thought she was very forward.

 

Our house was big, with a nice garden and cool stuff. We weren't exactly rich, but we certainly weren't poor, and I had a decent life. Specific Memories - Build your own climbing frames, Tom & Jerry Ice Lollies, Ghostbusters and Turtles toys.

 

In approximately 1996 my parents split up which was pretty shitty. I remember sitting on the stairs with my parents in the kitchen and my mum said to my dad "I just don't love you anymore" hmmm.

 

So my dad moved out to Bognor, and I don't even remember exactly where we stayed, but my mum found someone else fairly quickly and my sister and I moved away from Bognor, to North Baddesly in Hampshire, nearish Southampton. We moved in with Ian who my sister and I called "Bian" (pronounec Bee-an). I met some good friends there, and a girlfriend called Lauren Highley. She wore a Geri Halliwell Union Jack dress once, and we "fooled around" in the garage. Specific Memories - Batman TAS figures in trees, Cadburys Astros, DKC2-3, Mortal Kombat, The Beano, Bikes, LEGO Western

 

I didn't fully understand at the time, but Bian cheated on my mum. I found out recently that when we left she did much stuff including rubbing his toothbrush around the toilet. We moved to Romsey, near Southampton not far away at all. I started making friends at school and Romsey was a really nice town and I was enjoying life. I played with toys a lot and started reading Sonic The Comic and Spider-Man. Specific Memories - Small Soldiers, Power Rangers Zeo Megazord for Christmas, Egypt toys in bushes.

 

My dad moved to Steyning, West Sussex, a small villiage, and married someone called Brenda. She is a bitch and treats my dad like UTTER shit, always has and always will until she dies, which I hope is soon. I do wish death on this person, she is genuinely evil. You should know I wouldn't say this lightly, but she has done some truely horrible things and she is a pathetic old woman. Anyway specific memories from my childhood staying at my dads, I went to his every six weeks, he took us/me out every six weeks (overlapping so I'd see him once every three weeks) I remember, bakery, getting nice croissants for breakfast, cashew nuts, pistachio nuts, L'attaque, UFO LEGO, Brighton, arcade machines.

 

I continued to live at Romsey, and I moved up to the secondary school. I made the best friend I ever made thus far in life, Phil. I was enjoying the school it wasn't too rough, was quite nice, liked my sisters sexy friends, and they liked me including a chick who let me sit on her lap heh heh heh. Life was good. At the end of year 8 we moved away however. I was very upset because I really really really didn't want to leave, but my mum wanted to be closer to her parents in Bucks. Specific memories - A hot chick I fancied that introduced me to going out after school/fooling around in a playground etc. Pokemon cards, Pokemon Red, Porn, Fucking about being cheeky and daring to strangers.

 

We moved to Chesham, Bucks. We lived in actually a fairly big flat above a Cancer Research shop, on the high street. My new school was absolutely shit, however there were some very welcoming people who befriended me. I was bullied a lot at the school, due to being a fat nerd. At one point loads of people used to punch me every so often all day. My mum saw my arm once and told the head of year, which was pretty embarassing as the head of year came in my class and told everyone off/made an example etc but it stopped some of it so good in the end.

 

I met my best friend Mike in English one day, where he had a graphic novel and we used this as a common interest, and became very good friends. My mum started working in an ornaments shop. I went out a lot with Mike and he was the most outgoing friend I had, playing football and pissing around outside a lot, with him, his bro and a few other people. I also had some anger management issues at home, and would lose my temper and like...kick up a crazy fuss, and be ridiculous, which contributed to my mum splitting up with a nice man. Specific memories - Sleepovers, bike rides, playing in the woods, building a theme park in the woods, falling off my scooter and pissing my head open.

 

Towards the end of my school life, there was a comic shop built in the town, and this is when I began to get heavily into all things comic-y. It also exposed me to new people and I made some great friends. Mike and we both interested in art, and we decided to attend Aylesbury college together. I moved house from the town, to a shitty awful council estate and flat, that was instead of 10 second walk to town, a 30 minute hike up a hill/down a hill to town. It sucked. Made seeing Mike more difficult, made everything more difficult.

 

College was the best time of my life. I made particularly one good friend, but friendly with everyone in my class, and we had a right laugh. Also started going out with Mikes brothers friends, and was introduced to the world of alcohol. I didn't work very hard in college, which is my main regret in life, but I had a good time and I think thats the most important thing. I got a Saturday job at the comic shop, and a part time job for two nights at Waitrose on the deli and patisserie. Specific memories - Driving a mates car for the first time, music, drawing penises everywhere, tagging (with stickers as opposed to spray cans) parties, random 3am walks, getting involved with internet forums, heroclix etc.

 

College entered its second year, and I met Claire. We got talking online, and we started going out soon after. College was still fun, but I was being restricted with my work, and not finding the actual work itself enjoyable. In about March/April/May ish they "kicked me out" because I had "failed the most important unit" and they wouldn't let me retake it as they also felt I was disruptive to the class cos I made everyone laugh so god damn much. I continued working at Waitrose for a bit, just chilling along. My mum then found a lump on her tongue. Results came back that it was cancer, which sucked but I was naively thinking she would be fine and just thought "Yeah chemo etc, it will be fine".

 

I got a job at....a bank, in the contact centre, and moved in with Claires parents as this was in Aylesbury as opposed to Chesham. I would go back at the weekends to see my mum. She had an operation to remove the lump and I remember going into the hospital for the first time to see her, and she had tubes in her and such and it really hit home. As it was on her tongue she could not eat, and had to have nutri-shake things, injected into her stomach. She was not in a good shape at all really, but she was getting better gradually. Being able to move more, and go out and such.

 

This continued for about nine months, but then she deteriated a bit and was in and out of hospital. She finally got admitted to a hospice and passed away in March 2007. I was staying at the flat in Chesham for the weekend, having visited her on the Saturday. I was asleep that night when I got a call from my sister, in a terrible state, crying etc. "Mike I'm coming to pick you up, they don't think mum is going to make it through the night." I was shell shocked, the thought that she was going to die never crossed my mind. We were told she was going into the hospice for the facilities and comfort only etc.

 

I let out a whimper/cry and then snapped myself out of it, and got ready to go (this was in the middle of the night). My sister arrived and we drove off to the hospice. By the time we got there, a nurse took us into a room, and I will always remember what she said. ~whew have a tear just writing this~ "Your mother was very sick" I remember thinking to myself "was?".....she continued and went on to say the words that will stick in my mind forever "but I'm afraid she has since passed away". It sounds so ignorant but it just came out of nowhere for me.

 

Thats really the only significant thing that has happened in the passed three years. In the past 18 months I have made some very good friends at work, which I really didn't think would happen as I didn't think I would find anyone that I would like or would find me too much to handle etc, anyone with the same interests kinda thing, but apart from that, nothing happens. I do not enjoy the job whatsoever, I don't sit near anyone I can talk to, so work itself is tedious, boring, stressful, and not fun. I am now writing a comic with the aim of it being my hookline out of this shit hole. If that doesn't happen I'll look elsewhere. I plan to move out soon also, currently saving up for it. (or trying)

 

Nothing happens in life when you get a full time job. Specific memories - Super hero shindigs, being an idiot and filming a company drunk evening and putting it on YouTube with the logo, NE!!!111, holidays with Claire. How crap life is being an adult compared to a youth.

 

My dad now lives in Worthing, and spends a lot of time in Italy where Brenda now lives, as they cashed in pensions and bought a house there, but my dad doesn't live there...yet. Hes still an independant financial advisor. Fun fact; one day he rang up my company and of all the people he could get through to, he got through to me. (I am amazing at my job though, and take loadz of calls though....so...)

 

 

 

In summary ;

 

I moved around a lot, and am a massive nerd who likes to laugh, and hates being an adult.

 

Congrats if you read it all.

Edited April 7, 2009 by ReZourceman

[Nicktendo]

I'm Nick, born in York Hospital in September 1986 with an 'upside-down heart.' Appernetly for the 1st year and a half of my life it was touch and go. But I don't remember it... I just have a scar down my chest and have to go for check-ups every 18 months which I don't mind. I lived in a Suburb of York with my parents and 2 brothers, one 3 years younger and one 4 years younger. We fought a lot. It was fun being the oldest/cleverest/strongest/meanest until I realised 5 foot 3 was all I would amount too. Left school at 16 with pretty good grades a few A's and B's. Went to college for 2 years and slacked off, messed around and ended up with a B in Media Studies and a C in Geography. Failed ICT and English Language, re-took English and got a C at AS level.

 

Started working at Pizza Hut once I could drive where I met my girlfriend after about a year we went out. She was 2 school years older than me but only 13 months in reality. She'd had 2 years out and convined me to take one so we went travelling to Thailand (Amazing), Australia (Equally so), Fiji (Very scary, but beautiful) and West Coast USA (A mix of incredible and shit). Was excellent overall though and I learnt a hell of a lot about myself and the world. Did it all on our own as well with no prior planning except the flights. I was only 18 at the time and it's by far the bravest thing I've ever done. After 2 months we came into Heathrow and it was very emotional to see everyone but it was the best experience of my life! Also showed me that England is by no means that great, but I find it strangely endearing.

 

Stupidly, aged 19 (and 20 for her) we decided to try and buy a house and go to uni in Leeds which was close to home (for the missus' horse) and our families but far enough away to get the 'uni experience.' The reason we could afford a house (albeit in what turned out to be a VERY nasty council estate, hence it was very cheap) was her Granny died and left her £13,000 from her estate. Added on to a bit we had saved up that was our deposit. I started a Media course at Leeds Met and it was awful, full of horrible, trendy c**ts. Dropped out after 3 months. In this time I worked full time and hated it (I transferred to a new pizza hut). I applied to do a Human Geography course and got accepted which was a massive relief as full time was very dull...

 

Before I started my course again we rescued a dog from the dog's trust who is AMAZING! He's become my best friend in a geeky kind of way because I was so far away from home, and incidently the city centre of Leeds. So I very rarely saw my friends, home or course mates. I'm currently in the second year of my course and I love it, it's exteremly interesting and has re-ignited my desire to explore every inch of the world. I'm going to Russia 2 weeks today .

 

Last July me and the missus broke up after a very difficult period of dishonesty and arguements and considered it best to go our separate ways. Of course with the house we still live together which has been a huge pain in the arse even though we've maintained a friendship we still rip each other to pieces sometimes. So kindly her dad has offered to buy my half (not a lot) of the house and she's renting our 2 spare rooms to her mates when I'm gone. I'll be glad to get out of this isolated shit hole to be honest and get back home (which kinda sucks, but it's so much cheaper!) with my friends and commute to uni next year. Then as soon as I'm done I'm hitting the road again, hopefully to South America, Northern Africa and the Med provided I have enough cash.

 

So while this past year has been difficult I've got out of a rut I was in after 2 disasterous attempts at new relationships, I've decided I'm happy single at the moment and I'm content on waiting on the right girl, hopefully after an intense 3 and a half year relationship I'll be in a better position to make it work. After promising myself I'd concentrate on me, I've lost 2 stone, spent a hell of a lot less on things I really don't need (home cinema stuff and gaming ) and become hugely interested in politics and punk rawk so I'm on the up again and enjoying life. In six weeks I'll move back home which will be strange but I'm slightly looking forward to a massive change but I'll miss my dog like crazy!

 

Life advice: Don't buy a house with someone until you've lived with them.

 

I'm aged 22 now and my major interests are music - punk, ska, reggae and a bit of old school rap, travelling and politics, my dog and animals in general and of course gaming. Although I only own a Wii now and dedicate much less of my time to it. I like to watch Red Dwarf, Scrubs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer , American Dad, South Park and LOTS of doucmentries. As I kid I loved football, now I hate it as it's become too much about the money. The only sport I love is Formula One have done since 1992 (hypocrite? ). I like to think of myself a bit of an anti-establishment kid, I don't have any clothes with a high street label on, I despise fashion and wear things that symbalise what I stand for ("this aint a T-shirt man, this is me heart" - King Blues). I enjoy Marxist theory so I'm a bit of an anti-capitalist. I do believe Communism can work, people despise me for it. Maybe I'm naive?? I hate everything that Britain stands for as a nation. Thus I call myself a world citizen and not British. Despite this I'm half Scottish/English and I LOVE visiting Scotland. I think it's beautiful. I hate the BNP and will do anything to stop them I hate wasting anything and I am a massive environmentalist. I suppose I'm really just a hippy, but i don't have long hair and I shower every morning :p

Edited April 7, 2009 by Nicktendo

[Raining_again]

I used to get bullied a lot as a kid due to my weight and my scalp cerriosis.

 

I got bullied a lot too You got it cleared though, that's pretty awesome!

 

Sorry jordo but that's terrible spelling (psoriasis)

 

I've got Psoriatic Arthritis (psoriasis and arthritis derived from an overexcited immune system) 60% covered in Psoriasis - I've been through lists of different treatments/therapies, including topicals, UVB therapy (tanning beds that blast you with EXTREME rays), cancer treatment, and biologicals. The biologicals have me in remission now, so its all good. ^__^

 

My arthritis is pretty bad at the mo, but I can cope with one of the problems. Its manageable. I've had a lot of bad days with it - but don't pity me! I feel like a better person for the suffering ^__^

 

On a lighter note - I like colouring my hair extreme colours and piercing/tattooing myself. Gaming, anime and taking apart computers are some of my other hobbies. Geek to the end. =)

 

Pretty much me in a nutshell! I'm awesome I know

[Pyxis]

14/f/Brazil

[Chris the great]

hum, im chris, im 22 and i pretty much consider myself as constantly running uphill.

 

I have a condition called dyspraxia (and some dyslexia to keep it company). Dyspraxia is a condtion that affects fine motor skills, which makes like kinda frustrating for a lot of sufferes, especialy in school. theres a statistic that says 9/10 dyspraxics end up in jail, due to rebeling against the system, though thankfully i remain free. I also have pretty bad eye sight, and had to wear huge thick glasses for most of my life. they made my eyes look huge which made people disslike me.

 

i guess ive always had problems fitting in, sports bores me and i suck at most sports, so boys tended not to like me, and i was always a geeky shy sort, so girls were never my strong suite. that said ive always had friends, usualy a small group, but the older i get, the more people tend to like me.

 

i performed average at school (well, above the 5 GCSE average, but hardly spectacular) and upon leaving school, i finaly made the switch to contact lenses. the difference was pretty amazine. no longer was i a geeky specky freak, i was a normal person, and treated as such.

 

university is where i really found my feet, moving out to study psychology, i was terrified to move away from home, most of my friends stayed in the area, which made it feel even more scary. but by the second day, id made such good friends, had so many laughs and found myself so accepted that life was suddenly so much better.

 

I became more confident, more social, less worried about what could go wrong. i bassicly shook free the shackles of my family life and i guess i finaly found myself.

 

university was a good time for me, though it was always bittersweet, the frindships forged were very close very quickly, gets like that when you live together, but they were never going to last forever, an end always in sight.

 

after leaving university, life has taken a bad turn. can't find a job, any job. after 3 years studying psychology, applying for shop work seems like a waste of my tallents, but what can ya do? my relationship with my parents is also strained, mostly because im not a little push over and will stand up for my rights.

 

on a possitive though, im closer to my friends from home then ever before, we may act like kids, but theres alot of love there.

 

oh, i collect swords, my most favoretest is a samurai sword, i would grab that first if my house was on fire.