I am old.

[D]

I'm so old that I remember when it was Paul, none of this fancy pawl stuff. In fact, I'm so old I remember when it was pollo!

[pawl]

Dec 18, 2023 8:24:43 GMT -8 D said:

I'm so old that I remember when it was Paul, none of this fancy pawl stuff. In fact, I'm so old I remember when it was pollo!

A true sage!
How's it going mate? Long time no see =]

[James [a_leon]]

Dec 17, 2023 9:25:29 GMT -8 pawl said:

Nov 25, 2023 16:03:24 GMT -8 Artemis said:

Yooo good to see you. <3 It's been ages since I saw you on Facebook so I'm glad you're still around and things are going pretty well.

Your list of names got me thinking that with as many people as I've managed to stay in touch with, there's still a bunch I've not managed to keep up with. Those were really the days. It was wild knowing so many people from all over the world, there hasn't been anything quite like it for me since even though things have gotten so much more accessible. I'm glad I was around for that time and the regular crowd. There's still a lot of people from GT in my life now, some who are now good IRL friends. Someone oughta set up a class reunion one of these days.

Hope to see you around a little more often in some form! Best of luck with all you've got going on, keep being positive. <3

Arty! <3 it's been forever! I see that you've popped out a few more books since we last spoke =D
I had to get away from Facebook though - aside from missing out on a few book groups (I now have so many signed/numbered collections that are unfinished! 😢) I'm much happier for it!

I know right? I feel very much the same. I'm in a few discord groups that have some cool people in, and a fella I talk to nearly daily I met on eBay (of all places!), but there's never been anything like early-2000's GT. I couldn't do it again though - I simply wouldn't have the time! As it is I barely speak to my own family, never mind internet people 😅

And I'll pop by from time to time, but I seem to be much more of a lurker these 

Dec 10, 2023 20:06:02 GMT -8 James [a_leon] said:

Hey old man. Long time. 

There's a name I've not seen for a while! Have the years been kind?

And now I have to go on an SSD history binge! 🙈
(anybody old enough to know SSD will surely understand. Those too young? Sorry, but you weren't there!)

SSD and OTW, of course.
The years have been kind, but also with some struggle. Am married now, but my wife has a stroke back in June at the age of 33. Thankfully, she's almost fully recovered and the only long lasting effect is some weirdness for sensation in her left side.

[Robyn]

I vaguely remember you. You and a bunch of other veterans of GT. Time sure has gone by. The community has changed a lot even ten years ago. I love looking back at my old threads and bookmarks and seeing the fun times we had and the pranks and shenanigans we seemed to get away with. I'm grateful (and lucky) I didn't get banned for some of the crazy things I did when I was a teenager on here. Now I just hit 30 and am really feeling it. Seeing generation Z and Alpha roaming the world and internet.

It's nice to see you again. I browse GT mostly these days. Things are a lot more quiet.

[BEAST]

Dec 17, 2023 9:25:29 GMT -8 pawl said:

Nov 28, 2023 8:38:45 GMT -8 BEAST said:

That's a name right back from the early days.

Still throwing yourself down mountains, or is age starting to catch up yet beast? =D



Having recently bought a Trek Slash I can confirm that I am riding up mountains and then throwing myself down them 

Nov 28, 2023 15:45:18 GMT -8 Graham said:

[Brian]

Dec 17, 2023 9:25:29 GMT -8 pawl said:

Dec 4, 2023 21:00:09 GMT -8 Brian said:

You always were a cool dude, pawl. Didn't even have to hover over your name to recall your username. That's how cool you are.

We're all out here fighting the good fight. Millennial life rules, man.

Damn, that's a real statement! 😅
I just tried to load up your old guitar covers website, but unfortunately the wayback machine doesn't capture it very well =[

Eh, you don't want any of them old crusty things. I don't think I even have them anymore.

Hit me up and I'll send you stuff from the modern era.

[eulaliavox]

Nice to see you! I was a regular in the early part of the 2000s, (As angiealight, I think.) Nice to see some oldtimers still around.

[shadyvsesham]

We all get older.

[Shady]

Hi Paul! If you’re still living in the same place, then although I don’t work for that NHS trust, my trust does provide a service for it. Not being specific as I like to be a bit more low profile with personal details online these days. The NHS will take your soul eventually, but the pension, holiday allowance and job security is decent so stick with it.

I hadn’t really thought about it until this post, but I’ve actually been here more than 20 years too. Although I do have good memories and there was a time when GT and the AIM chat really meant a lot to me and was a real crutch in difficult times, I do sometimes look back and wonder if it was wasted. I would say that my active phase here was 2004-2009 (maybe 2010-11 too) but for all the time I spent here back then, I don’t think I’ve come away with any lasting friendships. Renegade is the only person I still have contact with really, and we speak maybe once every year or two. I think the awkward teens and young adults I was friends with back then gradually pulled away as they found their tribes offline and online friendships became less important. I guess I was the same in the end, and I’m just a lurker now who maybe checks in once every couple of months and posts maybe twice a year, if that. Still, the positive I do take away from my time here is that I think I learned how to be myself. The endless debates we had here helped me to form opinions and say what I think, and although if I was to look back I’d probably massively cringe, I wouldn’t be who I am now without the freedom that hiding behind a username gave me when I didn’t know how to really be myself offline.

Summary of where I’m at now: married 10 years, no kids, own a house (don’t give up on this!), same job as when I was last active.

[GilHacks]

haha aren't we all getting old

[naomi.]

I logged into PB for the first time since 2017 and how nice to see a lil mention in this thread. I've missed this place, life is a bit too busy to return - and I probably never will fully - but this place set me up with friendships for life, and PBGT will always have a special place in my heart <3

pawl Sad that we've drifted into strangers, but you're never far from my thoughts! I'm gonna drop you a line on FB, let's catch up soon pal x

[pawl]

Dec 19, 2023 17:28:34 GMT -8 James [a_leon] said:

SSD and OTW, of course.
The years have been kind, but also with some struggle. Am married now, but my wife has a stroke back in June at the age of 33. Thankfully, she's almost fully recovered and the only long lasting effect is some weirdness for sensation in her left side.

Oof, that's rough! My mum had one a little while back, and she didn't describe it as being particularly fun! Fingers crossed that the rest of the after-effects settle down!

Dec 24, 2023 23:00:47 GMT -8 BEAST said:

Dec 17, 2023 9:25:29 GMT -8 pawl said:

Having recently bought a Trek Slash I can confirm that I am riding up mountains and then throwing myself down them 

Good to see that some things don't change, at least! 😁

Dec 29, 2023 15:41:37 GMT -8 Brian said:

Eh, you don't want any of them old crusty things. I don't think I even have them anymore.

Hit me up and I'll send you stuff from the modern era.

Not even for nostalgia value? 😁
Sounds good to me though, I'll drop you a line.

Jan 4, 2024 4:39:41 GMT -8 Shady said:

Hi Paul! If you’re still living in the same place, then although I don’t work for that NHS trust, my trust does provide a service for it. Not being specific as I like to be a bit more low profile with personal details online these days. The NHS will take your soul eventually, but the pension, holiday allowance and job security is decent so stick with it.

I hadn’t really thought about it until this post, but I’ve actually been here more than 20 years too. Although I do have good memories and there was a time when GT and the AIM chat really meant a lot to me and was a real crutch in difficult times, I do sometimes look back and wonder if it was wasted. I would say that my active phase here was 2004-2009 (maybe 2010-11 too) but for all the time I spent here back then, I don’t think I’ve come away with any lasting friendships. Renegade is the only person I still have contact with really, and we speak maybe once every year or two. I think the awkward teens and young adults I was friends with back then gradually pulled away as they found their tribes offline and online friendships became less important. I guess I was the same in the end, and I’m just a lurker now who maybe checks in once every couple of months and posts maybe twice a year, if that. Still, the positive I do take away from my time here is that I think I learned how to be myself. The endless debates we had here helped me to form opinions and say what I think, and although if I was to look back I’d probably massively cringe, I wouldn’t be who I am now without the freedom that hiding behind a username gave me when I didn’t know how to really be myself offline.

Summary of where I’m at now: married 10 years, no kids, own a house (don’t give up on this!), same job as when I was last active.

Shady! 😁
I'm in the same area, yeah. I'm the community side rather than hospital side. If you're still in the department that I think you were in years back then I get calls from your lot on nights with concerns. I've absolutely no doubt that they will, but it's a lot better than what I was doing before! There's a chance of a new role coming up in the near future that I could take a stab at too, which would jump me up a couple of bands - essentially getting me my night pay whilst working more 'normal' hours. =]

I wouldn't say wasted at all. I don't speak to anybody from back then these days (or many people generally, if I'm being honest!) but that doesn't mean that the friendships I had back then weren't worth anything. There's plenty enough that I feel I should have made more effort to keep in touch with - life just doesn't always quite work that way I suppose. Nothing good lasts forever 🙃

I completely agree though - while I'm sure I was an opinionated little sod at times, the number of debates that came up here gave me ample opportunity to learn how to question myself and figure out what it was that I actually thought.

Glad to see you're still about and okay though. And one day I'll make it to an SLF gig! 😂

[pawl]

Jan 29, 2024 8:33:57 GMT -8 naomi. said:

I logged into PB for the first time since 2017 and how nice to see a lil mention in this thread. I've missed this place, life is a bit too busy to return - and I probably never will fully - but this place set me up with friendships for life, and PBGT will always have a special place in my heart <3

pawl Sad that we've drifted into strangers, but you're never far from my thoughts! I'm gonna drop you a line on FB, let's catch up soon pal x

Hey you! ❤️ It's been far too long!

Can't lie, every so often I get all nostalgic and daft about life back when I was here, and you were a huge part of my life for so long back then. ='] I've not used FB in years, but I'll go have a look and drop you my number.

[Meryl]

Nov 26, 2023 15:22:24 GMT -8 wildmaven said:

Nov 25, 2023 12:36:15 GMT -8 pawl said:

I'm almost 34 now - a number that still doesn't make sense to me!  

Wow, now you're a blast from the past, for sure! It's always heartwarming to see members return, letting us know what's happening in their lives.

In case you were unaware, ~»tobi«~ passed away and we all still feel the void left behind.

I'll be 60 next year, so you're still a spring chicken.  

Hey, congrats on becoming an Uncle! That's awesome!

I'm 60 in less than 3 weeks, so I concur 🥰 Congrats! Growing old is easy...although mind blowing when you think how quickly time passes. I embrace growing older, you learn so much and appreciate what you have and what you've achieved. There are also regrets. Although some will tell you that they have no regrets... they're fibbing.

We can't avoid growing older, but we can be grateful that we've been given the opportunity to do so.....many haven't ❤️

When we learn to embrace old age, the fear goes away somewhat.