Be Excellent To Each Other

So, as we enter in the last month of the noughties/aughties/2000s* how has it been for you?

Looking back personally, it's amazing to think that in the last ten years I have had my first girlfriend (2000), moved away from home (2002), moved in with someone (2006), bought a house (2008) and got married (2009).

They say that your formative years are your school years, and that things will never be as good as they were then, but for me that's total bollocks. In the last decade (especially the last five years) I've done more growing up and learning about myself and other people than I ever have done before. I'd say that at this point in time, I'm getting myself to be almost where I want to be. I reckon in another ten years I will have cracked it.

If my happiness/time curve carries on the way it I'm very much looking forward to what the tens/teens/tweens* bring.

*edit* I forgot to mention, the areas I would like to work on for the next ten years are being better with money and clearing off all debts, and becoming creative again. The last five years have been pretty dry music-wise - I need to start playing guitar or another instrument again.

* delete as applicable

When 2000 started I was living in the US. Since then I've moved back to the UK and got married to a woman I met online at the beginning of 2002. And I've got an iPhone. Pretty big decade, really.

That's about it for me.

DavPaz of December 1999:

Single, Lived at home, Geeky, unfit, Bad Hair, TV Obsessed, Played Far too much PC games, Spent too much on DVDs

DavPaz of December 2009:

Married, Living in own house, Geeky, unfit, Losing Hair, TV Obsessed, Plays far too much Xbox, spends too much on blu rays

Sunrise, sunset. Sunrise, sunset

... I got nothing.

Yeah this decade has been pretty good. I can't remember most of it but the highlights have been my Wedding, Honeymoon (and holidays) and watching my little baby girl being born and growing by the day.

And talking shit with you crazy guys (and gals) for half of it

But, I WILL HAZ A 720 IN TEH NXT DECAID!1111!!!!!!

I had a really good stir-fry.

Fuck, it's really been that long, hasn't it?

Yes.

I touched Dimrill and many others.

Then felt sick but pleased in Nerd World 09.

I'll be perfectly frank and say the last ten years have been like a fucking rollercoaster ride of highs and lows, and then I won't say much else at all.

Blimey, I started 2000 single, at University but living with my parents, playing too much on my latest console, the new spanky Dreamcast and spending too much on DVDs (I was left some money in a will that I was able to get a DVD player with, as they cost hundreds then).

Since then I met a girl, dated her for almost six years, got engaged to her, bought a flat with her, ended the relationship, moved back in with my parents, met another girl, broke up with the other girl, had a brief fling with the first girl, got back with the other girl, find out I'd got the first girl pregnant, got dumped by the other girl, got back together with the other girl and became a father. So that was quite eventful.

Also, in that time, the relationship I was having with my Dreamcast didn't last and I've been through a string of messy rebounds since, first with the PS2, then the Xbox, then the Gamecube, then the Xbox 360, then the Wii, then the PS3, then myself and the Wii broke up, then I broke up with the Xbox 360, but we recently got back together. Although I'm having doubts... I think my heart still lies with the PS3.

And I got an iPhone. And a Power Mac G4, which I sold for a Power Book G4, which I sold for an Intel iMac, which I sold so I could build my own damn PC.

Next decade... who knows? After the last year or so and with recent events in particular wearing away at my patience for certain people, I'd now like to settle down properly really and be more of a full-time father for my daughter. Hmmm... read into that what you will I guess.

Bought a house, bought a car, got a girlfriend, exchanged the car against another, sold the house, moved in with girlfriend, lost my job, bought an Xbox and DS, got another job, bought another car, bought a PS3, broke up with girlfriend last week, wondering what to do now.

Quite a busy decade, overall. Not as busy* as Zio's, though.

* Giggity.

Far be it from me to be going around offering advice where it's not wanted, but might I recommend you don't meet someone else and then *accidentally* go and make your ex pregnant? Makes things complicated.

I broke up with a girl. Found another girl. Cut my hair. Got a house. Stopped playing in bands and wrote a fantastic letter to HMV!

I'm sure there's a ton of other things that happened but the letter to HMV is a great way of finishing on a high.

I am technically male now!


oh wait.

Ha, yeah, this. And every year I somehow both get better at coping with the past, and find myself feeling a more profound sorrow that time goes by the way it does. Even the people I never want to see again, I wish I could go back and explain things to. It's sad when things go wrong, when people part and when deliberate lies and plain misunderstandings get passed as truth. The worst is when people are lying to themselves - it's bloody agonising when people hide behind deceit. It just spreads so much pointless suffering.

I never expected my teens or early 20s to be the best time of my life (and frankly, I feel kind of sad for people who find this. You could live for sixty years knowing the best is behind you), and the next ten years are going to be great, things are so much better, especially me. But jesus, the last decade has been one bloody nightmare after another for the most part. The only real consolations are that the people I care about are unprecedentedly happy right now, leaving me free to concentrate on myself for the first time ever, and that my conscience is clear. Whatever mistakes I've made, I've overcome bloody tough odds to become a good man. Also I had sex like four times, which is much better than the preceding decade.

My only real regrets are letting a few people - myself included - down last year while super-depressed, and in not being kinder to my dog before she died.

2000 sucked serious amount of hairy arse flavor balls, and I've never really recovered.

Oh, and I met Myp.

So the 90s were better.

It's been a decade I've learned a lot from and don't regret, but I hope I never have another one like it.

Loads of shit's happened since the turn of the century, mostly good too. For starters I got flung out of school in 6th year, bought a load of music gear, met several pretty girls, got paid to travel, drive cranes & do other cool shit, went to Africa half a dozen times, saw countless bands, went to India & nearly stayed, taught kids how to do cool things like archery & climbing, started talking to you lot, became self-employed, I'm not dead yet.

Not much bad shit & none of it was that bad looking back. Went to Dubai, went to Africa half a dozen times, been in 3 fights, was shot at twice, nearly drowned, had hypothermia a few times, worked a few shitty jobs, lost some friends & family, fell out with some pretty girls & that's about it.


As for the next decade I'm planning to get back to proper seamanship/offshore (instead of fannying about with crabs) & ???

Was being my Best Man really that bad?

I went skiing and got a degree.

and a 360.

The last decade has been pretty kind to me; I started it as a fruit machine addict up to his eyeballs in debt, in a very stressful job and a strained relationship with the ever-patient Mrs Caveman. I guess getting my jaw broken in a fight in early 2000 didn't exactly help matters, either.

Then we got married, I started my company, gave up the fruities for good and knuckled down, with a good helping of luck too, along the way. Now well into middle age (42), I'm strangely far happier and much more serene than I've ever been; I'm about to become a grandad in a matter of weeks now and really appreciate the gentler, finer side of life. At last, the fires have been laid low and I'm just happy being a kindly old fart with absolutely nothing to prove, in any sense, to anyone.

FTFY

I probably didn't make enough of how awful 2001-2003 were. Skinty McSkint didn't cover it, and I had some really bad relationships. It all started picking up at the end of 2004 and with one notable wobble in 2005/6, it's been an upward curve since then.

How long have you gone without fruit machines for? And what measures did you take? (If you don't mind me asking.. I'm in much the same boat - I'm not shagging your wife though).

I'm not sure I could really put things into any kind of order to be honest... I haven't a clue what happened in what order between about 2002 and 2006/7

I'd say that the past ten years have been my happiest but only relatively speaking. I need to make the most of the next ten years and see if I can reach some level of contentment.

Sorry to hear that mate, I know how you must be feeling.

For me, it was a combination of factors, but the most important of these was an unprecedented £800 beating at the hands of a mighty Bell Fruit Grandslam (Scorpion 4 tech, 50p/play, £1000 jackpot variant). Previously, even a terrible session on the fruits might 'only' have incurred a £150 loss.

This wasn't the only reason, though. Through fruit machine emulation and its associated 'scene' of many far more knowledgable and experienced players - some of them within the fruit machine industry itself - I ascertained the existence of 'pro' fruit machine players with special knowledge of so-called 'emptiers', illicit techniques for winning on machines. In many cases, once deployed, these 'emptiers' left the target machine completely dead, effectively a guaranteed lose all of the time. I never minded losing some, or even most of the time if I'm honest, but losing all of the time was too great a cost to pay, even allowing for my addiction. I eventually saw sense and have been 'clean' since 2002, bar one single lapse around 5 years back.

You've got to really want to stop and no-one can do it for you. Get your missus to take full control of the finances. Don't take credit cards with you anywhere. Set up a deposit account that you can fill, by direct debit, with the money you would've spent on fruities and book a holiday. Don't let these people take your money!

Cheers Cavey, er, Mr Tory.

I've put a few extra measures in place lately so hopefully I can sort myself out once and for all. My problem is boredom - as much as I like my gaming and other hobbies, they only fill the gap for so long, so it's a case of filling in that spare time.

I'll let you know tomorrow.

<3

since 2000:
finished my degree, started a business, closed a business.
been a graphic designer, barman, retail manager, chef, IT thingy
been to barcelona, new york (twice), baltimore, thailand, dubai, brugge, france and liverpool on a stagnight
broke up with a girl, moved out, lived alone, met a girl, moved in with a mate, the girl moved in too, we moved out, had a baby
met myp, the 08001111Kid and ange, subsequently met riles, curiosity and some other beexers at a wedding i went to
grown as a man, became a father and grew some more
met some glorious people, let some not so glorious people go
laughed, cried, poo'ed and puked
lived long and prospered

Why do you keep farting at people?

It's a bum with a hat on.

She meant !=3

Ah, it's you in that bin man's hat, then.

Had ramsea move in with me, had a baby, went to college, got some qualifications, got a part time job, had a baby, went back to college, got a fulltime job, got married, got some more qualifications, raised children, quit job and went to uni, got a degree, got a job.

I also grew up, lived through a lot of the shit life throws at you yet had lots of good times. Learnt that children need you for more important things than money and possessions and all the qualifications in the world can't prepare you for that. Somehow have 2 little boys halfway to adulthood and they're still alive!
The next 10 years will bring us teenage boys and all their problems, freedom to see the things we want to see and possibly some kind of pension plan....

In your 2000th year, I was known as Benny One-Leg. I hope to beat my current record of having legs next time.

Stick to your own thread!

In December 1999 I was between my parents' rented house in London and my university residence in Cardiff, wondering why the fuck I'd come to the UK (a year and a half earlier). I had no friends, hardly any money, didn't drink or smoke, no girlfriend and no car. My life consisted entirely of playing Team Fortress Classic and Gran Turismo. Life was shit.

In December 2009 I'm living in my own house in Caerphilly, still wondering why the fuck I've come to the UK and plotting my escape. I finally have some money thanks to a decent job, have come to enjoy a drink, have a lovely missus and both a car AND a motorcycle. My life consists entirely of playing Xbox 360 while drunk, talking to the missus while drunk and working while wishing I was drunk. Life isn't bad.

I could be tempted to dust off the Bass at some point?

Well, you did inspire that guy at the Dorchester to start playing - you must be legendary.

I too need to become more creative musically.. I play the drums and I'm damn good (even if I do say so myself) I just wish I had the chance to apply myself.

Edit- Long shot but... Was that The Dorchester in Wolverhampton by any chance?

No, the Dorchester Arms in southampton. I got accosted by a lad who saw me play in a band about 16 years ago. Apparently i inspired him to start playing. he was fairly hammered......

No, Southampton. We're suvvern bruvvers, you see (even though we met in Nottingham).

Got ya... told you it was a long shot.. anyway, yeah.. playing drums! That's what I'll do more of next year!

Rock Band has actually made me mega tempted to get my own drumkit. I don't have anywhere to play it, though, and it'll be too loud.

Freeemantal an' fornill, innit bruv?!

Oh Jeezus no, poor Ange...........