Where were you 10 years ago

[wolram]

I was in Italy for a machine design company, i was there for 6 months

 

[George Jones]

Exactly ten years ago, my (then pregnant) wife and I were living in Brandon, Manitoba. Two months later, we moved to Saint John, New Brunswick.

 

[Mondayman]

Ten years ago I was in junior high. There was a large group of us who used to pal around a lot, and we had just discovered alcohol. We made a great number of poor life choices following this.

Nowadays I'm sober and life is back on track. I sometimes volunteer to speak with adolescents about the dangers of drinking/drug use, when time permits.

 

[jtbell]

Let's see if my photo archive has anything for 10 June 2006... yes! My wife and I attended the wedding of one of her former students that day at http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/st-helenas-church.html in Beaufort SC. The next day we visited the beach and lighthouse at nearby Hunting Island before driving home.

 

[MexChemE]

Ten years ago, I was just finishing 6th grade in my hometown, and was a really good drum player in my school's marching band. I kept playing until 9th grade. Sometimes I do miss those times when I had no real responsibilities.

 

[Pepper Mint]

I was still attending my graduate school 10 years ago until a year later then that I got struck by thunder. I survived though.

 

[StatGuy2000]

10 years ago, I was living in Toronto (same as I do now), having moved back from Hamilton, ON and just starting my new job (at the time) for a large pharmaceutical company, where I worked for 4 good years.

 

[gfd43tg]

I was anxiously waiting for the school year to be over so I could play world of Warcraft almost 24/7 for the summer

 

[CWatters]

May/June 2006 we were still building our house..

Now looks like...

 

[wolram]

May/June 2006 we were still building our house..
View attachment 101944
Now looks like...
View attachment 101945

Wow that is more a mansion than a house how long did it take to build, is it stick fabrication inside?

 

[Kevin McHugh]

Houston, TX, managing a lab in the polymer compounding business. We processed about 250M pounds/year of highly loaded masterbatch.

 

[OmCheeto]

Everywhere!

At a New Years party in Washington state, I learned that a friend had disappeared.
I spent the next two months driving back and forth to the Oregon coast looking for clues as to where he went. Still haven't found him.

April 23rd: Was sitting on the beach in Washington state, when I watched my boat get destroyed.

First week of May: My friend, distraught over the loss of my boat, invited me to his house on Heron Island Washington, for my birthday. Had a most wonderful time. We took his boat out, could see oysters the size of dinner plates under 3 feet of water, so I stripped down to my undies, and collected some. We had a grand feast that night. And then, after nearly everyone went to bed, I noticed that my other friend was trying to burn the house down. Nipped that in the bud: "CRAIG! BOB JUST PULLED TWO LOGS OFF THE FIRE, AND IS TRYING TO BRING THEM INTO THE HOUSE!". Craig kind of ixnayed that idea.

June and July: Spent most of my spare time boating to the Washington side of the river, looking for my keys and wallet. (See April 23rd)

Found my keys on July 3rd. A youngster, about 10 years old, had found my wallet about an hour earlier.
Her father, seeing me from about a mile away, observing that I was looking for something, walked up to me, and asked; "Are you Omcheeto?"
I said yes.
He said his daughter had found my wallet.
So I walked the mile to where their boat was landed, and his daughter was nowhere to be found.
But she eventually arrived back, from her adventures.
When she gave me my wallet, I noticed that all the cash was still in there, so I handed it to her, and said that there was a $200 reward for anyone who found it.
And beings that I'd only given her $80, I asked her mother for her name and address.
Her mother, understandably, was kind of wary, but gave me the information.
And to my delight, the check I sent the little girl, to cover the difference, was cashed.
​

October: Flew to Cabo San Lucas, as my brother had a timeshare there.

8 most interesting days one could imagine.

day 1: watched a 2 foot long http://www.loscabosguide.com/magazine/articles10/bajaseaturtles.htm lay eggs 30 feet from our room.
day 2: saved a woman's life and $700 of the $3000 cash she had in her purse(idiot) when a sneaker wave(somewhat of a misnomer as she was looking right at it) sucked her out to sea. She gave me a $40 reward.
day 3: looked for the other missing $1500 cash from previous day; nada.
day 4: watched a tropical storm go by from our hot tub. the rain was coming down sideways. quite impressive.
day 5: rented scooters

found a fancy pair of sunglasses ( Maui Jim Wailea ) on the beach ($400! Holy Moses! That's what I paid for the plane ticket!)
suspected they belonged to lady from day 2, as she complained that she'd lost her sunglasses. too bad I didn't see her again. gosh. I feel so guilty. not. ARRIBA! (I think that means "YIPPIE!" in Mexican.
took a boat ride to a remote beach - very cool rocks
watched newly hatched baby sea turtles head for the ocean 1000 feet from our room​

day 6: saw 360 pound, 13 foot long marlin, in a fishin' contest. (won the guy who caught it $1.4 million USD)
day 7: went snorkeling,

shopped
inventoried [junk] collected from the beach: 2 coconuts, one Mexican fishing pole(block of wood wrapped in fishing line with one hook), 4 types of seed pods, 1 cactus bit, 2 holey wood sticks, 1 barnacle encrusted eggs shaped thingy, 12 rocks, toy sandwich, 1 odd shaped piece of wood and 1 suspected human bone. Viva Dies Del Mortes! (Whatever... No habla!)​

day 8: made myself mixed drinks: pina colada(booze included), tequila, and triple sec

got a picture of my new hat.
plane left a few hours later.
what I came home with that I didn't take there:

2 pairs of pants
7 shirts
2 sarongs
2 pairs of sandals
1 shot glass
3 knick knacks
76 pesos
16 rocks
3 pieces of coral
1 shell
1 hat
and 12 packets of chiclets​

Om
warning: dates, times, distances, weights, lengths and values may be off by a magnitude of 10 or more due to consumption of various types of mass quantities.
ps. never let the facts get in the way of telling a good story
​

ps. @wolram , please don't ever again mention 2006, ever, ever, ever again, as I've left out 99% of the details.

 

[CWatters]

Wow that is more a mansion than a house how long did it take to build, is it stick fabrication inside?

Took us around 12 months to get permission from the council and 18 to build it. Walls are brick-insulation-block. Has a concrete beam and block top floor as well as the ground floor.

 

[wolram]

Everywhere!

At a New Years party in Washington state, I learned that a friend had disappeared.
I spent the next two months driving back and forth to the Oregon coast looking for clues as to where he went. Still haven't found him.

April 23rd: Was sitting on the beach in Washington state, when I watched my boat get destroyed.

First week of May: My friend, distraught over the loss of my boat, invited me to his house on Heron Island Washington, for my birthday. Had a most wonderful time. We took his boat out, could see oysters the size of dinner plates under 3 feet of water, so I stripped down to my undies, and collected some. We had a grand feast that night. And then, after nearly everyone went to bed, I noticed that my other friend was trying to burn the house down. Nipped that in the bud: "CRAIG! BOB JUST PULLED TWO LOGS OFF THE FIRE, AND IS TRYING TO BRING THEM INTO THE HOUSE!". Craig kind of ixnayed that idea.

June and July: Spent most of my spare time boating to the Washington side of the river, looking for my keys and wallet. (See April 23rd)

Found my keys on July 3rd. A youngster, about 10 years old, had found my wallet about an hour earlier.
Her father, seeing me from about a mile away, observing that I was looking for something, walked up to me, and asked; "Are you Omcheeto?"
I said yes.
He said his daughter had found my wallet.
So I walked the mile to where their boat was landed, and his daughter was nowhere to be found.
But she eventually arrived back, from her adventures.
When she gave me my wallet, I noticed that all the cash was still in there, so I handed it to her, and said that there was a $200 reward for anyone who found it.
And beings that I'd only given her $80, I asked her mother for her name and address.
Her mother, understandably, was kind of wary, but gave me the information.
And to my delight, the check I sent the little girl, to cover the difference, was cashed.
​

October: Flew to Cabo San Lucas, as my brother had a timeshare there.

8 most interesting days one could imagine.

day 1: watched a 2 foot long http://www.loscabosguide.com/magazine/articles10/bajaseaturtles.htm lay eggs 30 feet from our room.
day 2: saved a woman's life and $700 of the $3000 cash she had in her purse(idiot) when a sneaker wave(somewhat of a misnomer as she was looking right at it) sucked her out to sea. She gave me a $40 reward.
day 3: looked for the other missing $1500 cash from previous day; nada.
day 4: watched a tropical storm go by from our hot tub. the rain was coming down sideways. quite impressive.
day 5: rented scooters

found a fancy pair of sunglasses ( Maui Jim Wailea ) on the beach ($400! Holy Moses! That's what I paid for the plane ticket!)
suspected they belonged to lady from day 2, as she complained that she'd lost her sunglasses. too bad I didn't see her again. gosh. I feel so guilty. not. ARRIBA! (I think that means "YIPPIE!" in Mexican.
took a boat ride to a remote beach - very cool rocks
watched newly hatched baby sea turtles head for the ocean 1000 feet from our room​

day 6: saw 360 pound, 13 foot long marlin, in a fishin' contest. (won the guy who caught it $1.4 million USD)
day 7: went snorkeling,

shopped
inventoried [junk] collected from the beach: 2 coconuts, one Mexican fishing pole(block of wood wrapped in fishing line with one hook), 4 types of seed pods, 1 cactus bit, 2 holey wood sticks, 1 barnacle encrusted eggs shaped thingy, 12 rocks, toy sandwich, 1 odd shaped piece of wood and 1 suspected human bone. Viva Dies Del Mortes! (Whatever... No habla!)​

day 8: made myself mixed drinks: pina colada(booze included), tequila, and triple sec

got a picture of my new hat.
plane left a few hours later.
what I came home with that I didn't take there:

2 pairs of pants
7 shirts
2 sarongs
2 pairs of sandals
1 shot glass
3 knick knacks
76 pesos
16 rocks
3 pieces of coral
1 shell
1 hat
and 12 packets of chiclets​

Om
warning: dates, times, distances, weights, lengths and values may be off by a magnitude of 10 or more due to consumption of various types of mass quantities.
ps. never let the facts get in the way of telling a good story​

ps. @wolram , please don't ever again mention 2006, ever, ever, ever again, as I've left out 99% of the details.

Hells bells Om you sure do have a busy life

 

[OmCheeto]

Hells bells Om you sure do have a busy life

"Had" a busy life.
If you ask the same question in 10 years, I'll say; "Same place as I am now, laying on the couch".

2006 was somewhat extraordinary.

That was also the year that my friends left me at the fair, and I ended up walking back to our campground.
23 miles. 10 pm to 10 am. Quite an interesting walk.
The only people that offered me a ride were the police.
They said if they saw me again, they would arrest me.
That was the first and last time I got pulled over for walking like a hippie.

The police stop was kind of funny, as it took them 15 minutes to find out I had no criminal record.
And 10 seconds after they drove off, I noticed my friend's truck driving by, in the direction of the campground.
He had apparently been looking for me for about an hour. But I had been told by fair staff that I had to be out of the gate by 10 pm.
So he was looking where I wasn't.
But if the police hadn't stopped me, I would have been on the road exactly where he would have spotted me.
And he would not have missed the outfit I had on.
Unfortunately, the police pulled me over at a truck weigh station, where I was attempting to use a payphone, so I was 40 meters away from the freeway when he passed.

I may have muttered some expletives at that moment.

Anyways, as I said, it was an interesting walk.
Although there was a full moon out, it seemed to set rather early.
It may have been all of the mountains and trees, and at times I was walking in near total darkness, and could barely see the white line that marks the side of the road.
I had picked up a walking stick at the beginning of the trek, and it turned out to be a very useful blind man's cane, on several occasions.
I also attempted to sharpen the stick as I walked, by dragging it heavily on the pavement, as there are bears and cougars in the area.
Fortunately, I ran into no wild beasts.

And then when I got back to the campground, I soaked my feet in the creek for an hour.
I was surprised I had no blisters, as flip-flops are not the best walking apparel.
My hips though, ached for several years afterwards.

I still carpool with my friends, and as punishment, I recount the trek, every year, as we drive to and from the fair.
"That's where the cops pulled me over!"
"That's where I took a nap."
"This is another place I took a nap."
"This is where I took a nap on the lawn, and the automatic sprinklers came on at 4 am"
"This is where I saw the watermelon looking vegetables with spines."
"This was the worst hill."
"This was the second worst hill."
"Slow down to 2 mph, I want to relive the past."
"This is where the hippies played music very loud at 5 am in the morning."
"Did you know there's a creek right here? You can't see it when you're in a car, because of all the vegetation"
"This is where I thought about getting water."
"Did you know that after walking 10 miles around the fair, and 15 miles on the road, at about 4 am, you start hallucinating?"
"This restaurant is not open at 6 am."
"The people in this house wake up very early."

Of course, on a 23 mile DEATH march, over 12 hours, this is just a sprinkling of what I saw.

I always refer to it as my DEATH march.

I even made a t-shirt, with the trail highlighted in red, representing my blood...

A tad faded over the years, so I wear it now, only on special occasions.

 

[collinsmark]

@OmCheeto, those stories are great! I'm still laughing.

I have a story or two about walking. I used to do a lot of walking myself.

This was about thirteen or fourteen or so years ago, roughly, but I figure: close enough.

I was at my local pub (I didn't drive -- I walked there, but it's a stone's throw from where I live). There I met with a couple acquaintances whom I didn't really know very well, but we were all having a fun time. A girl (one of the acquaintances) insisted that I go with them to an after-hours party. I accepted, feeling that it was probably a good thing that I get out of the pub once in awhile.

The drive to the house was longer than I expected, definitely way outside the neighborhood. The "party" was at one of the acquaintances' parents' house, who's parents were not there. I was not very familiar with that part of town.

It was better described as a small get-together rather than a party. The get-together was really just a bunch of kids (I say "kids," but they were in their early 20s) who all knew each other and were sort of cliquish. They were just drinking a little bit of their parents alcohol and talking amongst themselves about whatever it is that these kids talk about. I also noticed that I was the oldest person there. It was the first time, I think, that I felt old -- old enough to be too old for this sort of thing anyway. I wasn't in the mood to pretend to be younger than I was. Rather I was feeling a bit melancholy, contemplating my existence. I most certainly felt out of place, to say the least.

I decided that this scene wasn't for me. So I said my goodbys and decided to walk home. Well, my plan was to walk to the nearest commercial area where I would wait for a cab. As soon as I stepped out of the house it dawned on me that I had no idea where I was going. Fortunately, the sky was clear enough to see a few stars and give me sense of direction. So with that, I just picked a direction and started walking.

After about an hour I made it to road who's name I recognized. I picked the most likely direction home and continued walking. Eventually I saw a 24-hour convenience store on the road, but said to myself, "I'm really enjoying this walk. I'll keep going and stop at the next one." Another hour after that I came by a Denny's. Likewise, I passed it up and kept walking. The walk and I had become friends. Little by little, the road was becoming more familiar.

After the sun had risen I realized that I was only an hour walk from the mall, which was sort of on the way, so I decided to stop by the mall on my way and pick up a new, comfortable pair of shoes. I could feel blisters starting to form on my feet. My present shoes, the ones on my feet, were falling apart. A nice, new pair of (comfortable) shoes would be invaluable for tomorrow. Plus, the mall would be a great place to catch a taxi.

After I purchased my new shoes I decided to keep walking. I had made it this far, after all; 'might as well keep going.

After walking for another couple of hours in the morning sun I realized that I was going to get a sunburn if I didn't do something about it. So I stopped by a convenience store, not to call a taxi, but to buy a hat -- anything to keep the sun off my face. I bought a baseball cap (St. Louis Cardinals?). It was all they had.

A few hours later I reached my neighborhood. As much as had wanted sleep, I wanted a cool pint of Guinness more, after that trek. It was afternoon now and the pub was open.

So I hobbled into the pub with my new blisters, baseball cap and box of shoes and ordered a Guinness. It was, perhaps the best pint of Guinness that I've ever had.

The next day I awoke to find that the blisters on my feet were fully formed. Thank goodness for that new box of shoes! So I opened up the box while getting dressed for work, only to find that the pub owner had surreptitiously replaced the shoes -- as a joke -- with empty whisky bottles.

I laughed all the way to the mall (I was driving this time) where I bought a second pair of shoes* in as many days.

*(I did get my shoes back from the pub owner eventually.)

 

[Mark44]

I was still attending my graduate school 10 years ago until a year later then that I got struck by thunder. I survived though.

How do you get struck by thunder? Lightning, maybe, but thunder is the sound that lightning makes.

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

@collinsmark What a great story! I wish I could do that, too, but alas, it's not possible. PQ wouldn't you want to go to a party instead? No thanks! Walks (especially in the dark) are fun and people who make other people feel too old or left out are obnoxious anyways

 

[1oldman2]

May/June 2006 we were still building our house..
View attachment 101944
Now looks like...
View attachment 101945

Architecture = Very nice!

 

[Lisa!]

I was struggling with my new job! I didn't like the job that much but I was finally financially independent and that was great...

 

[Pepper Mint]

How do you get struck by thunder? Lightning, maybe, but thunder is the sound that lightning makes.

Yes, the lightning struck the tree under which I was standing and the thunder scared the pee out of me. I was half burnt when some very handsome firemen came to the rescue.

 

[MarneMath]

It's crazy to think about but 10 years ago I was in a SSGT in Iraq.

 

[bluemoonKY]

10 years ago, I lived in a homeless shelter in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and I had just started living in the shelter. I commuted to work in New Orleans via bus. The bus commute was free. FEMA paid for it back then. I was very happy to find this homeless shelter in Baton Rouge as before that I lived on the streets of New Orleans.

Now I make about $70,000 per year as a trucker and live in an area where a dollar goes significantly further than the average place in America. In the city I live in, $70,000 is three times the median income.

How is that for a rags to riches story? Can anyone top that?

 

[MarneMath]

Short answer yes. I grew up in a third world country homeless and as a refugee. Hopped the boarder on my own when I was 10. 20 some odd years later I ended up with a masters degree and a director for some large company here. Not bad for some kid who couldn't speak English :).

 

[bluemoonKY]

Short answer yes. I grew up in a third world country homeless and as a refugee. Hopped the boarder on my own when I was 10. 20 some odd years later I ended up with a masters degree and a director for some large company here. Not bad for some kid who couldn't speak English :).

Looking at our entire lives, you have me beat. But where were you ten years ago? You said that the third world country life was 20 years ago. You might not have me beat for rags tens years ago to riches now.