I'll put this here, since I don't need to start a new topic for my own self-whatever. Here's the story of me and TSC~
Nestled deep in the fabric of the internet is a place where most people will never come to in their lives. What brings most people to soniccenter.org is a love of a little blue hedgehog, and even more, perhaps, the love of competition.
My first view into the world of TSC was through Sonic Radio. Shortly after I met Rolken, he had me listen to him host Sonic Radio, and it was a hoot, and he was really fun to listen to. That is how I came to know of the existence of TSC. Rolken would tell us strange things he knew about people from his website, such as some people getting busted for breaking an elevator. It wasn't until after that school year was over, and we were both back at our respective homes (Texas and Maryland) that I first came into chat.
The first people I saw were CosmicFalcon and CherryMay. They were in the middle of a discussion, so I just observed. I don't know if I even talked the first time I came in. I remember thinking the people seemed cool, though, and that it could be a place I might like, if I could feel comfortable talking. The next time I came in, Taco was very friendly to me, and he was the first person that I made friends with. Shortly later, CF also started talking to me. And they were my first two friends in TSC. So I would come in, and talk to them, and gradually, the circled widened a bit, and I got to know some other people as well. When the summer was over, though, and I got back to college, I spent more time with my irl friends, and would just get on the computer (usually just AIM, but occasionally TSC) to talk to Rolken.
It kind of skirted to the edge of consciousness, and it went down, and so I kind of forgot about it. When Rolken came back to school in that winter (2005), I remember asking him about TSC, and he said it was down, and I wondered if that would be the end of that. He eventually got it worked, out, though, and I began to come in more, so I could see the people, and we just got used to talking through irc, and I stopped using AIM. When I would go home at night from hanging out with him and our other friends, I would get on my computer, and talk in TSC, and pm him.
I started getting to know a lot of people in TSC, and would talk to people often. Probably the main thing I remember from that time is CF starting to make mock advances at me, and us pretending we were going to run away together. When me and Rolken started dating, our plots became more outlandish.
My involvement in TSC has always sort of waxed and waned since then. When Rolken got really sick with the flu, and was out sleeping on the couch for a month, I would go into TSC a lot to socialize, to tell people about the video games I was playing, and just to have people to talk to who could say two words before falling asleep. During that same period of time, there were the beginning rumblings of Sonic Olympics. I was so excited about them, as it seemed like it would be a lot of fun to watch my friends shine. When we went out to New York for Thanksgiving, we took the opportunity to meet sonicam (and unwittingly met goalie as well). And then when we were in DC, Rolken was up to compete, and I remember getting a phone call from SM, telling us we had missed the time, and that we needed to get on soon, or we would be disqualified. We were in the city, and so drove to the mall, and I remember sitting there in my dad's car, sniping internet from the National mall, watching Rolken compete in the Sonic Olympics. It was exciting when all the drama was finally decided, and they declared us the winners, and Rolken got the championship T-shirt.
When Rolken and I got married, I became very withdrawn from everything, irl and TSC included. It was a hard time for me, and so I really didn't do much. There were times, though, that I did feel ok, and would do stuff. That is the first time I tried Taing. I submitted a few records, and you know, felt legitimate, to a certain degree. It was the same way I felt when I beat Sonic 2 – like I was a part of the crowd.
When my uncle introduced me and Rolken to the online version of Carcassone (known as Toulouse), I started coming into TSC a lot again, to get people to play with. I would also go there a lot during work, to talk to people while I had down time and was bored.
But, I started to get involved in other things, and would come to TSC less and less, and only really used irc to PM Rolken. I would get my nickserv notices, and sign on to keep my nick registered, but didn't really come on for much else.
And then we moved to Texas. We came here for six months, so Rolken could get some health stuff worked out. I have ended up spending a lot of my time here on the computer, and slowly over time, I have been drawn more and more into TSC. But the big change came in September. We were going out to New York, and I remembered that MK had mentioned living in Connecticut. So I started trying to coordinate with him to meet him, and we became better friends, and so I had someone else I was looking to talk to in TSC, and so I just started paying more attention to it, and Stefan mentioned mafia, and I love the irl game, and so I wanted in. And for the first time since I've been married, I have community again. When I first met Rolken, we had a group of friends that would hang out all the time, and like, I have always considered that year one of the best of my life, because I had those people around me, and I was a part of something bigger than myself. And just playing with mafia, and it being so easy to tell the difference between people from TSC, and people who aren't, and that -I- was part of it, that I belonged here, it was something that I cherish.
And as that has happened, I have made friends with so many more people from TSC, and just, all of you mean something to me (who I know), and I'm glad that I can come in and partake of your awesomeness. I'd go through and tell the stories of different people and what they mean to me, but I am hoping that now is just the beginning of those stories, and so that they are better left to be written at another time. And so, when I was reading through Doug's #1, and I realized that I had been here for most of those moments, in a way, it felt very strange. I haven't been here for 4 years, have I really? I feel like I've been at TSC for about a month, because a month ago, that is when I truly arrived.
