So since it has been so long since I was properly active on these boards, what's everyone up to these days?

Things are mostly the same with me, still with Niall, still playing too many MMOs and failing to finish most singleplayer games I start. Still working at a communications company for shit pay and not really enjoying it. Though having said that I've been on sick leave for 7 months (developed a rare disease called Cushing's Disease - no point having a common one!) and have surgery next month hopefully which will mean staying off work for a while to recover. Planning on getting out of there when I'm better but not really sure what I want to get into instead. It was getting stressful as I was the only one in my department that anyone ever came to with questions so I was overrun but they've had a new system in since I've been off so when I go back I get to be the dumb newbie for a while. I do have an online store selling nail polish but that isn't exactly raking in the money so can't live off that unfortunately. Still reading a lot as well, mostly fantasy and still geeking out when possible going to Discworld conventions. I keep intending to get back into drawing and painting but keep putting it off. I was back into walking, yoga and aerobics too but can't do that with my illness. Oh and of course like so many British people trying and failing miserably to understand wtf is going on with Brexit and what it's going to mean for us.

Gaming wise as I say I'm still on a few MMOs, keep bouncing back and forth on them. Guild Wars 2 failed to keep me very interested, same with Elder Scrolls Online. I keep bouncing back to WoW, Ultima Online, Realm Reborn and one called Istaria where you can play a dragon. Single player I've been totally obsessed with Red Dead Redemption 2 since it was released and am doing "replays" (i.e. might finish them one day) of Baldur's Gate and Final Fantasy 7. I've started but not finished (surprise) The Witcher 3 though that was mainly due to my save game being lost and Dragon Age Inquisition which was because The Witcher 3 came out and was just a better game overall.

Nearly forgot! We have a couple of pet rodents now called degus. They're utterly bonkers, very intelligent but in the way intelligent people are. In other words they can learn things but are generally stupid when it comes to common sense. Not many people have heard of them, they come from Chile and have huge personalities. I think they're illegal through a lot of the US and aren't very common over here in the UK though Germany seems to have tons of them and leads the way in breeding new colours. They're called Scrat and Diego and we've had them 3.5 years now. They can live 6 - 8 years on average which is why I chose them over mice or rats and can even get into double figures.

That probably covers most of it at the moment, can't do a lot bar reading and gaming right now so it's not a thrilling life to update on! I am still annoying Ox via email though, got to keep up the old practices.

No MMo's. IWD:EE second playthrough on highest difficulty. State of Decay 2. And Pathfinder Kingmaker.

I work for an ISP. We provide wireless connection mainly on Ubiquiti and Mikrotik equipment. We also have IT support and management. We're currently going through some rough time but things should pick up soon.

Good thread Pev - I already know about your situation, but interesting to hear about Peltz and the rest for sure.

I'm still in Malta. I've mostly focused on making money in the past few years to compensate for all the time I spent being single and paying rent in my twenties + early thirties, basically being an idiot and not saving much at all. Didn't realize back then that being on your own and renting (and not being in a highly paid field) would result in me not really being able to buy a house/flat or build up any other sort of reserve. Not something I'm proud of, but I can't change the past. So I haven't gotten much in terms of stories, holidays and gfs in the past few years, it mostly was work and money. /lame

Anyway, things are going relatively well. I may have to move to France soon but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Hey Pevil & co. Good to hear from you. Good luck with the surgery. The best statistical model for understanding the brexit outcomes is to flip a coin. I’m playing very little these days and I seem to be drawn to small studio survivalist titles. The last 5 years for me have been mental. 4 jobs, a gf, 2 dogs, a baby, a house. In terms of future plans, we’re a bit shortsighted at the moment. Most of the priority, focus, and energy is on raising the baby which to be fair is incredibly rewarding. Any spare money we find is spent on the house.

Hello people. Nice to hear from all of you.

I still work for the same company, though I bounced from a testing job into a developer position almost 3 years ago now. In that position I write a variety of code... sometimes web pages, sometimes back-end services in Node.js. I've done network and infrastructure design using Amazon Web Services, I've learned a lot about Linux in general and Ubuntu specifically. I've also learned how to write desktop applications using Electron. Plus database work. Overall I've learned a freaking lot. The negative is I work a freaking lot. 45+ hours a week every week, and as much as 14 hours in a day, plus nights, weekends, holidays... it's exhausting.

Still with Shiny. We have 2 corgi mixes for pets. My pay has had some nice upticks, so I'm finally actually saving money more like I ought to, though I'm nowhere near where I need to be, nor do I own a house yet. That'll come eventually. Still taking vacations when I can. We recently bought an SUV so I can stop putting miles on my SS (which I still love). We're getting a roof rack and a trailer hitch on it soon... it'll server as our vacation vehicle and we also plan on getting kayaks so we can paddle around some nearby lakes.

Game-wise, I'm playing a lot of Division 2 with Shiny and some friends we made years ago via SWTOR. Single player I've been slogging my way through Watch Dogs 2. I still have a pretty big backlog of games, so I haven't really been looking at new games so much. I guess that pretty much covers everything.

Good to hear how everyone is doing, it's so weird to think how we're all getting so grown up now I feel a pet thread is needed. Will start one when I can be bothered.

I wouldn't call myself a grown up, but I'm definitely old.

No pets here btw - when you live alone and travel a lot that's not really an option, unfortunately. Because I love me some cats.

ermagerd, cat people are weirdos. Got me two Corgi mixes still. Love the little fuckers. Unconditional love is amazing.

While I can see the appeal, I also find it hard to respect dogs for exactly that reason. They're just so....needy.

Don't get me wrong though, I like dogs. Just not nearly as much as I like cats.

I grew up with dogs, cats and birds. As a kid I would've said I was a dog person. Now I'm not so sure. I've looked after a dog for a friend and actually having to look after it myself instead of the way a kid does, they're way more work. But they want more fusses generally so much nicer as a companion. Cats it entirely depends on the cat. They're easy to look after (we look after one for a friend when she goes on holiday) but are also less inclined to want to come and say hi. Plus they like to try and jump on everything whereas dogs are happy on the floor and sofa. Our friends let their cat on every surface imaginable, something we never did even at my parents so she gets yelled at when she jumps on kitchen counters here. Definitely have to start that thread up though and tell you about one cat my parents had, Minnie, who was just the best.

Update: Sudden slot came up so having surgery on 22nd, a week today! Provided my assessment on Thursday goes well at least, typically despite Cushing's giving you a weak immune system I've avoided colds etc for the last 2 years even when Niall has been dead in bed with them and of course the past few days I've had a bit of a cough... fingers crossed that goes.

I hope everything goes ok and wish you the best of luck.

Yea, good luck. Let us know how things go.

Good luck Pev!!

Quick update - I'm home. 6 days post op and my Cushing's is in remission. Now it's check ups and weaning off the replacement steroids they had to put me on as and when the half of my gland that's left wakes back up.