OK so I'm not a "new" member, but this seemed good place to say hello. Can't really call myself a gamer anymore either, I have been MMO free for a pretty long time. I've actually been game free for year or two, but the past few weeks has been a blur of ElderScroll V - Skyrim. Cool game, solo only unfortuately and also very crash-happy on my older PC. Cool game though and something very satisfying about slaying the dragon(s). Graphics pretty amazing even on the low end that I'm running.
Life-wise the past year has seem some dramatic changes for me - last January I got outsourced and had my easy & high paying job shipped oversees. After 20 years I find myself starting anew. Few months of searching showed me there weren't any good operations jobs in the US so I've been going back to school, for of all things, Television Studio Operations. Quick 1 year diploma program, if I'm lucky I'll be able to do 2 more semesters and get an associates degree. Not having a degree didn't mean much when I already had a job that required one, but good luck in getting a new one (job) without the degree!
Anyway, I decided I'm burnt out on IT so maybe a change would be in order. So far so good, I'm about halfway through the program and doing well, but I understand the market for TV guys sucks right now too.
Funny being the old man on campus (I'm 44 now) but the added maturity is helping in ways I couldn't imagine when I was 20. I actually was elected by classmates as student body representitive. I was selected by college to meet with State Rep's (SC) about State funded education, and also selected out of that group to have meet with a senator or some such! Not that I was too impressed with the video but I was also interviewed (which aired) by the Charlotte FOX News station for their "Fox News Rising" program when they did a piece on Technical Colleges. Course none of that means cash, but only the top few of the program seem to end up getting jobs, so I'm trying everything!!! Sadly, I've been collecting unemployment now for about a year and it's due to run out any day.
On the bright side (gamer-wise) I may actually be able to justify spending some of my rapidly dwindling savings on either upgrading my old game machine (a dated Alienware box - AMD Athalon, PCI 1.0 (NOT PCIe) NVIDIA 6800GT and an underwhelming power supply) and/or getting a new MAC. Depends if I get a "real" job or end up trying to freelance in which case I'll need a good machine for editing video. Idea is to buy machine(s) and related software BEFORE I graduate so I can get the student discounts of course. Sorry I'm so long winded :-) but what this means is at least within the next year I should be capable hardware wise of being a gamer again. Then its as time allows, and of course I, like GoA, am still searching for the next great MMORPG game to grab my attention.
Silly question I'm sure but - did you folks see the episode of Big Bang Theory where Penny gets hooked on Age of Conan? I thought it was pretty funny.
So where's all the catch up postings?!? It's been years now and I'd love to hear how life's treating each and every one of you!
Barely ever hear from Zarcon these days - but I can tell you the crazy guy went and had a kid, a son named Ronan, so he's been busy these past couple years.
Feylan, thank you so much for keeping GoA alive over the years and reaching out every once in a while. Website looks great, as usual you've done a great job. Thanks.
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I'm hooked on BBT. That episode with Penny was funny... reminds me alittle when I first started playing my first on-line game Neverwinter Nights, I'd bug Dale with questions lol.
. I've been keeping very busy with several artshows, commissioned work and such. 
