Hi guys! My name is Jesse, and I first came to the citadel forum (and website) back in late 1998 when Ambigore was running the site and the forum was hosted on InsideTheWeb (RIP). I went by various names and handles over the years (I was either 11 or 12 when I first stumbled upon the place in 98), but the few people I recognize would probably know me best as DeathScythe, for better or for worse, which I went by from late 99 through 2001. When I was in 9th grade, approx. 14 years old, I was banned from the forum. I'd assume that's most oldbie's only memory of me. I don't feel motivated to go into any details but just know that I'm certainly sorry to everyone who I wronged, and I took one of the most enjoyable parts of my life in that era - this board - and ruined it for myself. So believe me, it was a lesson learned. I no longer remember how long I was banned for, but I do know that when I came back, I went through screen names like socks. If you think you might know me by another name, shoot me a PM and I'll do my best to compile a list.
As I got older, and (big secret here) I actually began making real life friends, my participation began eroding. High School allowed a kid with nerdy interests like me find other nerdy kids to be nerdy with. And that's pretty much what I did. By the time I graduated (Class of 04, Woo!), I only visited a few times a year, for nostalgia. Although, these nostalgic visits did continue to present day.
Speaking of present day, while I was once a socially awkward 12 year old kid, I'm now a 26 year old man. I still live in the Dallas area of Texas, and I'm employed by GameStop - I work in their Refurbishment Center here in North Texas. I was originally a hardware tech and worked on Xbox 360s. I'm now what they call a "Lead" in Consumer Electronics (Gamestop's iPhone/Android/Phones/Tablets division, not yet a year old) and am pretty content there for now. I would like to aspire for bigger and better things in life (never got the college bug), but when I do I begin second-guessing myself, and feeling like I'm too old to switch career paths, and I essentially never get a plan of action going. So it's a work in progress.
So what brings me here today? The re-release of PC FFVII, which I'm currently alt-tabbed out of. I just downloaded it today and am ready for a replay. So of course I went to the citadel to read up on things, and check out the forum. So here I am
To be very clear, this place, website and board alike, represent a time in my life when I was happier, had more fun, was carefree, and just generally saw the world in a way I could only WISH to see the world today. It was a big part of my growing up, and I loved all of the friends I made and had here. I loved EVERYONE here. Soldier, Seph, Keefy, Cyrus, Kevin...I love you guys. Seeing you still posting on this board really makes me smile. Reeve, you've done awesome. Thank you for keeping this place alive, I hope it always remains so. I wish so bad that I could go back to those days, re-live them, re-do certain aspects of them and remain in contact with and friends with so many people, now lost from my life forever...but I can't. I can only remember. But this place will always be more than just a memory
This was longer than I expected it to be. So back to FF7 now
but I'll be back, now that I'm working, putting 40-50 hours into this game is going to be a long project, one I will most likely want to discuss with like-minded people.
...
Where many were, how few remain
...
But seeing these to mind again
The lost and absent brings.
The friends I left that parting day -
How changed, as time has sped!
Moved your post here to the Introductions Thread