Class of '02 v4: 2017 - now we are 15

[Old_Begonia]

It was kismet, it is now hiraeth, a homesickness for a place to which we cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places in our past.
I think someone, somewhere on these boards has already pointed out that Tolkien's writing seems to evoke this sensation. Inspired by him, we have recreated that same sense here in the virtual Middle Earth of TORC. We may not be able to repeat the feats of the past, for like the peoples of the Third Age, we have dwindled. Still, we may do much...

...There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners,
Souls’ that have toil’d, and wrought, and thought with me—
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and oppos’d
Free hearts, free foreheads—you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honor and his toil;
Death closes all; but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
’T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Mov’d earth and heaven, that which we are, we are:
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
[from Ulysses by A. Tennyson]

Too much?

Well then, what shall it be? Tea and crumpets in the drawing room? Or margaritas by the pool?

[Tookish_Traveler]

I vote for margaritas.

[earendil81]

Rhoe, I feel the way you do. That's one of the reasons I keep coming back

[Vanaladiel]

I don't think I could ever completely leave this place. The people were the voice of reason that gave me the life line I needed to survive and move on with my life. All of you here that I have met in person have such a special place in my heart that will always smile and shine when I hear your name or see something that reminds me of you.

You are my family!!!

[GlassHouse]

(Maxwell Smart voice) "Missed it by that much....."

[Vanaladiel]

We still love you GlassHouse!!! You can come chat and hang with us anytime!

[Letora]

Hi all!

It's been awhile since I was on here. I keep having dry spells and then coming back in to say hello and read through threads. Weird to think it's been 12 years. I was such a baby when I joined. Just a little Tolkien fan that wanted to write. Now I'm married and living in India and ... Oh how things change.

Glad to see everyone! I need to come back in here more often. Things have been so busy, it's easy to neglect.

[Jaeniver]

I second that Vana. I don't really want to leave this place either since I have so many fabulous memories but still it is not quite how it used to be. I miss the getting sucked into RP's and being pounced on in threads just randomly discussing trivial matters. I keep sticking around hoping I get that vibe back, that feeling back of how it was way back when.

[Guruthostirn]

Ahh, the good old days! I miss the RP's too, the random fun that could turn up in any thread...

It's nice to keep an eye on here, see who shows up. I keep hoping to see more people back...and I keep waiting for them to come back. In the meantime, I'll keep the fire going and enjoy spending time with those who are here!

[earendil81]

I guess it's up to us to bring back that vibe
At least to a point. If enough of us were doing it maybe we'd get that sense back.

I'm grateful beyond words for TORC and the wonderful people I have met. I'm so glad to have some of these precious friends in my life still. It gives me reasons to be grateful every day.

Love y'all (I hate that word but I'm sounding sappy )

[Ladykat]

I found TORC in March 2002. Can I join in?

I used to post a lot more than I do now. RL sure gets in the way sometimes.

I had a long dry spell away from TORC, but as far as leaving?

Nahh, I'm too much of a geek to ever do that!

LK

[Guruthostirn]

Here I am, wishing for the old days...and it takes me days and days to post! Terrible...I remember when a thread wasn't on the 1st page after a day...

Enthusiasm. Yes, that thing, so unfamiliar. It lives within us, waiting to be unleashed, if only we can unlock the cage we keep it in. Bars of apathy, pessimism, depression, and disdain. The lock is opportunity, the key is engagement. Take your hand, see the world, and let loose upon it your joy.

[Letora]

You're right. Every time I come back, I think that it will be just like it was, but then I take forever to post again. We all wish it were as fast-paced and lively as it was here. I don't know that it ever will be. I love it here, but it's hard to keep up with it as much as I used to.

[Guruthostirn]

I hate to admit it, but we may have to lessen our expectations of quality. I always feel that if I don't have a lot to say I shouldn't post...but that just dampens my enthusiasm for posting, and causes me to not post as frequently as I'd like.

[earendil81]

I remember when I came back after a night of sleep - because I did need those sometimes when I was doing my internship - and I found 3/4 more pages of RP posts to read. Sometimes it was daunting though it didn't prevent me from reading pages between handling procurement duties at the office. There were only two computers with ADSL at the time. Gosh have we come a long way!!
Turelie Lurea and Hobbituk's wedding thread was going so fast I only ever had the chance to post 4 times in it. It was borderline depressing because I so wanted to participate. But it was going so fast that I couldn't hop on the train.

That said I didn't sleep much during my fourth year in university. On top of doing two masters at the same time I spent all nighters on TORC on IMing with TORCers from Europe or the USA. I was never a prolific poster though. It took me 12 years to get that spiky wheels of death . But I always loved the reading. And I guess in a way that's what I miss. The words of these friends who knew - in more ways than I could explain - to make my heart vibrate for their characters. Many so-called authors can't even do that in books that actually sell for money. And here we had it all for free and then some because we had the friendship coming with.

I should post here at least once a day. But sometimes I don't have the energy to turn on the computer when I get back from work. I spend my entire day in front of a screen. Sometimes I want a break ,

[Letora]

You know, in some ways that's a big part of it. Back when I was more active on TORC, I didn't spend my whole day staring at a computer. Coming home and getting online and talking to people on TORC and reading the latest in my RPs was my time on the computer. Now I spend so much of my professional life staring at a computer, that it's harder to get up the motivation to do things that are fun. If I get on the computer for fun it's usually to watch something or do something mindless.

That all said, I miss the good RP threads that moved so quickly, and when discussion threads would go so fast that if you weren't glued to your computer for them, you'd have pages to catch up on the next day.

[Guruthostirn]

Posting once a day...a good challenge to set myself, though more often I should challenge myself to Not post, or rather to not get on the computer at all. *raises hand* I am a computer game addict...

The old days of RP. Of coming home, not knowing what's waiting for me. What did a person thousands of miles away do with my character, with the hook I left them? Did they do what I was expecting, what I set up, or did they veer off in another direction, do something different, give me a challenge. In other words, were they just as human as I am?

It pains me to admit but I still haven't written much lately. RP spoiled me. Writing with other people has a zest to it that solo doesn't hold. Sometimes it's frustrating, sometimes unexpected, but it's so full of life. I miss it.

[Letora]

Guruthostirn - Good luck on a post a day! And go write something!!! And share it . We'd be happy to read.

[Guruthostirn]

I've already failed pretty spectacularly on the "post a day" routine...but here I am, and I will not look back!

As for writing...I need some inspiration. Or go back to the list of possible projects I could start...

[Vanaladiel]

Lookie who had been posting on TORC again!!! Hello my love!

Do get inspired to write again, you are very good at it! You mind and imagination are so much more vast then mine will ever be. I love how your mind works and how you bring excitement to our lives.

[Teltasarewen]

Vana my dear friend you too are exceptional at the writing. I have enjoyed posting alongside you, Guru, erinhue, Hobbituk, Rho and many many others.

To this day I have not forgotten the fun I had trying to keep up with TORC. My imagination was stretched to it's limits and sometimes beyond. What a grand time it was.

And now I am happy to be involved in writing with Hue, C.R. and Tempest. Good times.

[Guruthostirn]

I may not always post, but I'm back to checking TORC for updates on a daily basis.

Well, almost daily. We just got back from a fantastic SCA event with a new group we've joined. It was great fun, had a blast throughout the weekend, very happy with how things went.

[Rholarowyn]

I just heard about Christopher Lee (very sad) and of course I had to come back here. I've read the posts of the last page and have to say I agree with so many of you. The RP threads that moved so quickly, know what was going on in each others lives either here in the US or across the pond. The adventures we all shared in Middle Earth and what I miss the most, like Guru said is the writing and collaboration with others. I had never done anything like that before TORC and once I jump in I was hooked for many years.

Hi Telta, Guru, Vana, Letora, Ladykat, Jae, Old Begonia, Tookish Travler and my partner in writing crime, Eari...

Before we had the movies to inspire us, what would we need now to spark us again?

[Vanaladiel]

I am not sure what it would take to get things back up to where they were but I would imagine that if someone started an awesome RP that inspired us, that would help!

Yes we had a terrific weekend with the new group in the SCA last weekend! Great people and they love to help where they can. It is great to feel needed once more.

[Rholarowyn]

Vana, I saw your post on FB about that mentioned you had a good time with the new SCA group. Do you have any pictures from your weekend there? Also, do you now have the most rings here on TORC?

A really good RP storyline...hmmm....something to ponder...

[Vanaladiel]

Rho I will have to download some of the photos I have from the weekend though there are not many.

Yes I do have the most rings but I don't expect it to be too long before someone else will have three and be getting ahead of me.

[Guruthostirn]

Wow I really fell off the daily posting routine...

How is everyone doing? Any decent RP's I should know about?

[Letora]

Hello! Better get back on that posting routine. Everything's good over here.

Dunno what's good over in the RPs lately. I haven't made my way to the Prancing Pony in a long time. Might I suggest starting a new one if you don't find one you can jump into? There might be other people waiting for a new good RP to start up.

[Vanaladiel]

So sorry for being gone so long. Had a great summer with the SCA group but had lots of health issues and mounds of medical testing for things this summer. Working two jobs and not feeling well, does not always work well together. But now I have been given a clean bill of health concerning my heart and that is a relief though now the mounds of medical bills to be paid. *sigh* just when one thinks they are getting ahead. Oh well, we will pull through this too.

Letora it is great to see you posting again!

[PatriotBlade]

*peeks in through dust covered cobwebs* "Hello?"