24_0037 u24 suddenly, you hear a shout from above you, nervously looking upwards, you see a man hanging uot of a suburban window, he yells "Hey, it's User24, come up here". Relieved, you quickly find your way to his house, he invites you upstairs to the room he's living in, and you drink and talk and are merry. 040616 ... u24 24_0036 will take you into the wilderness surrounding you. 040616 ... dosquatch You pick the lovliest neighborhoods to live in. One of those bikers back there suggested ... well, I'm not quite sure what, but I think it involved duct tape and some loss of my dignity. Am I too early for tea? 040616 ... u24 tea is available here, along with even more Port than in my last pad, Jamesons, possibly some apricot brandy, rum, various fruit juices, and of course, Mary Warna. You look around the messy little room. A double bed by the window takes up most of the space, next to it a very cluttered bookshelf (some random titles: "A history of the soviet union", "The Alien Trilogy", "The Owl who was afraid of the dark", "Teach yourself C in 21 days", and "The Encyclopaedia of Mythology" - yes yes, we have diverse reading tastes.) next to that is the computer desk (complete with one monitor, keyboard and mouse... and two computers) On top of one of the computers is a large wooden box. Another desk houses a large amount of useless material, ranging from candles and incense to a penny-pig to various letters and paperwork. Two large colourful throws decorate the walls. there are various other bits of furniture crammed in here, too, such as the wardrobe, with boxes atop it, a bedside table with a bodhran on it, a chair with clothes all over and under it, and a wash bin. (for dirty clothes) User24 is probably half sitting on the bed playing with the computer, or he might be hanging out of the window with Mary. (50/50, really...) 040616 ... u24 Hello! (wrote the above before I noticed you) glad you could make it! Yes, plenty of tea, what do you fancy? 040616 ... dosquatch Ah, tea! Orange Pekoe if you have it, or Earl Grey. Thanks so much for the hospitality :) 040616 ... u24 yeah, I've got earl grey. (I would ask if you want it loose or from a teabag, but I'll go with loose, it's much better) *runs downstairs and returns some time later with 2 steaming cups* *sip* so how are you doing? 040616 ... dosquatch *sips* I'm doing fairly well. At the moment I'm overwhelmed with an abundance of free time and a severe lack of fiscal flow, stemming from being laid off. I'm looking for gainful employment in pretty much any field that'll take me right now, seeing as my career field is saturated. So many instant MCSE's running around (just add water [tm]) who'd be lucky to diagnose an unplugged computer, but they go cheaper than I do. Such is life. How about yourself? 040616 ... u24 similarly frustrated, waiting until september when I'm off to uni in Wales to study Philosophy and Computer Science (joint honours). What was your previous job? 040616 ... dosquatch I was a Network Administrator for a company called Taylor Made Environmental. Actually, we had an office in Dorset. When we were bought out by Dometic last August, they started consolidating all of the computer operations to their central office. Once that was done, they didn't need me anymore. When I say Network Administrator, what I really mean is "anything that has wires and scares people". Servers, PCs, helpdesk, PBX, whatever, it was mine. I'm good at it, too. I'm not nearly as good with web pages and programming as you seem to be, though. 040616 ... u24 kewl. I'd like to do sysadmin stuff one day (when I've learned a lot more about networking and servers). Yeah, I've been building webpages for ages, it's what_i_do_at_work. Some of the stuff I do is really good fun. Most is mind numbingly tedious, though. Where do you live? 040616 ... correction * what_do_i_do_at_work * 040616 ... dosquatch Richmond, Virginia, USA. I've lived in this area since the day I was born. I'm so past ready to live somewhere else. Almost anywhere else. If for no other reasons than I'm tired of the scenery and the God awful humidity here. Mostly, though, to see what life is like in other places. People keep telling me it's the same wherever you go, but I don't believe them. 040616 ... u24 ah! Dorset, USA. i.c. Yeah, I've only ever lived in this town.. but not for long! Soon to be living the life of leisure in a tiny Welsh village. w00t. 040616 ... dosquatch No no, *I* am in RichVA USA, and we have an office here. We also had an office in Dorset, UK. We were international, you see... I designed and implemented the network and all of the routing between the offices (four locations). And then the farking owners sold the company, and the new Corporate Masters took my toy away. *snif* I mentioned Dorset 'cause, well, it's on your continent :) 040616 ... dosquatch coolness for you! I'll trade ya. A lovely Welsh village for a right wing puritanical US city? What say? I'll even toss in a set of steak knives, absolutely free... 040616 ... u24 hehe, no way, man, I've been waiting to move since before christmas. No amount of steak knives can tempt me now! 040621 ... u24 most of the aforementioned artefacts are no longer within a 200 mile radius. a thick layer of dust covers everything in sight. the house is quiet. a note informs you that user24 has had to stay one step ahead of the law again, and is now no longer in england. it goes on to suggest that you take a well deserved holiday out west. 041121 ... u24 you can sense something in the air that suggests the room will be occupied if you just wait for a few days.. you clear a spot on the floor and settle down for the night.. 050604 ... u24 user24 is living here again, the dust has moved, many things have changed. His floor is covered with rugs. There are fresh flowers on his windowsill. A giant printout (5 sheets by 4) of Hokusai's Great Wave off Tanagawa is blutac'ed to the wall above a bookcase stuffed with scifi and childrens books. There is an olivewood chess set, a shoebox filled with knives and many shoes on the floor. He is happy to entertain guests. 080114 ... u24 Teas available include fennel, decaf earl grey, apple and ginger, misc breakfast, orange and cinnamon, peppermint. Decaf coffee (nescafe) is also available, alongside Bramble wine of unknown age, southern comfort (downstairs), and dirty plant water if you so desire. 080114 ... u24 also 4 miniature vodkas all from different countries you wouldn't want to be stranded in. 080114 what's it to you? who go blather from