I don't know, I'll probably just call it the Idiot Board

Since the RMMB and TheIdiotBoard is one of the primary reasons behind my answer, it seems only fitting.

LOST, I know I know, I'm a huge dork.

I had no idea when I started watching it back in '04 that it would become the phenomenon that it did. In fact I distinctly remember Tucker and a few of the other Mods back then shitting all over it, Desperate Housewives, and the other shows coming out at the same time. I guess we all should have had a clue then that he had no idea what the general public enjoyed.

What made it so much fun to watch for me was hopping online and being able to discuss, theorize, easter egg hunt, and occasionally rip the idiot theories to shreds (Zeke anyone?) after each episode aired. The collective intelligence of the posters on both message boards were by far the smartest on the internet.

Random LOST occurrences during it's run on TV:

If memory serves we had a poster here that translated the Hieroglyphics from the Swan's countdown timer before anyone at the Fuselage or the couple of other hardcore LOST sites out there.

Trying to get ICZorro, since he lives in LA or nearbouts, to try and crash the LOST Comic-Con panel wearing a Jack beard while drunk and on pills. The strange part is that for a minute he actually considered it.

I've bought every single season the day it was released, and then re-bought seasons 1 & 2 on Blu-Ray, then bought the entire series collection on Blu-Ray.

Having an actual thread conversation with Terry O'Quinn (if you don't know who he is, look to your left) over at the Fuselage message board about acting methods.

Knowing deep down that if I were Fuck You Rich, I'd have bought everything from this auction and then a private island in the Pacific to put it all on.

Finding LostFan108's first episode leak from "The Long Con" and racing like hell to post it on the RMMB. For those that remember there weren't any fancy spoiler tags back then and we hadn't yet made the realization of making the text the same color as the board. So I pulled a "scroll down" and was consequently red-dotted, PM'd and generally curbstomped into shame for a few weeks.

Getting a slight ego boost from being known as one of the LOST experts along with ICZorro and Sherwood. The LOST threads on both the RMMB and here are still the most posted on and viewed in the Pop Culture TV sub-forum.

I remember logging in the day Tucker took the ball and went home and wondering just who in the hell I was going to chat about LOST with anymore, as none of the spinoff boards had anything of the sort. Luckily I happened to log into GMail and had a message from Ian directing me here.

So Happy Birthday TiB, it's been a blast posting, reading, & repping our logo in the online gaming world. And thanks to every single poster that ever contributed to those threads, Jears everyone!

 

Several years ago I decided on a whim to laminate some walnut lumber and carbon fiber together for a project to save money (as opposed to buying a big thick hunk of wood to begin with). Fast forward three years and there's several rifles competing in National level matches made with wood I've glued up.

The winning technique happened to be the first thing I tried, which is pure luck (and I had to fuck up a few times to learn that). My clients are the guys I used to call for advice on projects... now it's me they seek out to help with their special jobs.

The moral of the story is that it's okay to think outside the box, and the most elegant solutions can be simple.

 

My trip to Costa Rica was more of less on a whim. In the course of 24 hours, my thoughts went from "Everything sucks here and I want to go on a trip this summer because I can do my job from anywhere. Maybe I'll visit my friends in North Carolina for a week or two." to "Well, I've figured out how to pull off going to Costa Rica for two months." Then two weeks later, I left, and every decision on the trip (including going to Panama for two weeks) was on a whim. I don't care that it is totally cliche, but it turned everything around for the better.

I don't know if decisions count as "on a whim" when you're six, but I decided to join a dance class the day before it started because my best friend was doing it. Twelve years later I was being paid to do it and all set to minor in it in college and potentially pursue it professionally on a larger scale than what I was doing senior year of high school.

 

I live in Boston, for some reason.

 

I started my business on a whim. My friends and I were playing video games and I was talking about how I wasn't ready to sit in a box for the rest of my life and how we should make our own futures. They were not very receptive but I didn't really care. My best friend came around to the idea and we found something we could start up for cheap and make some money off of. A trip to the city later, we were the new president/CEO/Whatever we wanted to call ourselves of our new company.

The business tore us apart when he refused to do work and told me to fuck off when I confronted him about it. So I was left on my own to start/grow my company.

Besides the above details, I don't really remember much else of my motivations or if I had even been thinking about doing this for a long time. When I'm super rich and important, someone is going to ask me how this all started. I'm not sure "on a whim" is going to deliver the right kind of inspiration for future generations.

 

I started climbing one day on a lark with my brother.
That led to climbing over 20 hours a week.
Which led to me volunteering at the climbing gym.
Which then led to me working here.
And that led to me assisting managing and now managing the gym.
Which led to me opening my CrossFit gym.

That decision also led to me meeting The Guy.

 

A few years ago I started fixing, cleaning and lubing salt water fishing reels for one of the only stores in Phoenix that specializes in that sort of thing, a buddy of mine who worked there said he need a reel done and I told him I would take care of it for him. It has taken off and I now do 300 plus reels a year, in addition to that the guy who owns the store give me stuff at a hugely discounted rate and Rapala gives me a prostaff card, I also have a standing offer from a boat captain in cabo san lucas to fish with him free of charge anytime I am down there for fixing 4 of his marlin reels he was told were not fixable.

 

I remember back when my ex-wife and I were just dating, and she told me that she'd gotten on the Pill, and I wouldn't have to pull out anymore.

Turns out she lied about being on the Pill. So now I have Li'l Bandit.

 

I started training for strongman contests simply as a way of breaking up the monotony of the gym and looking for an edge in rugby matches. I never had any intention whatsoever of competing in any strongman competitons.

7 years and 40 some contests later and I'm still doing both.

 

My mom took me to see the Nutcracker when I was 4. Afterwards I badgered her into letting me take dance classes because I thought it looked fun. I ended up going to a ballet school on the east coast during high school and becoming a professional dancer. There is no doubt my mom never would've taken me had she known where it would lead.

I got a job as a tech in an orthopedic clinic because I thought it went well with my background. I just thought it would be easy, stable money with no stress attached. It's a few years later and I'm in a DPT program.

 

Focus: What did you undertake at a whim only to have it be something bigger in your life. A hobby? Change jobs? Try coding only to become a computer programmer two years later?

When I was 15, I ripped about my computer to see what the deal was inside of it. Almost 15 years later (holy shit that's a lot) entire companies rely on me to keep their computers/network running.

 

Wrestling.

I went to a wrestling meeting to get out of detention one day. I had no interest in pursuing it. A meeting I went to on a lark led to a few team national championships, a handful of All American titles, both team and individually, and ultimately dictated my college choice.

Currently I am hoping to be a teacher, mostly so I can be a wrestling coach, and get back on the mat for free.

 

I started learning about computers when my dad told me that if I could get around the parent filters and his passwords, I could look at whatever I wanted. I fixed computers and did monkey work for pocket money around working at a pizza shop in highschool, intending to study psychology at university. When I spent too much of senior year drinking to get into psych - I signed up for hospitality management and took a job at an ISP hell desk to supplement my income from bartending. I've worked in IT ever since at a pretty high level.

I first started exploring BDSM online as a random extension of the pubescent exploration of porn thing shortly after I got around the parental filters (heh, 90's computer security was so bad). I wasn't initially any more interested than in any other area of pornography. Now, after working and sleeping, it's the next biggest time consumer in my life. And some weeks - it's close to as much of a time consumer as my day job. Hell, every now and then it even pays better.

 

Teaching. When I applied to this certification program, I thought it would take e a year and a few classes. This is my second year in the program and I have had to take so many random classes, sit for three hours a week observing another middle/ high school English teacher (usually one who has completely forgot their training and teaches with lectures and worksheets. These are things that have been proven to not work.) and jump through so any hoops just to be able to teach high school kids how to think about literature. I've worked harder in the last year than I have in my whole 4 years of undergrad. Apparently you have to REALLY want to be a teacher in order to get certified.

 

When I was a senior in high school my friend Anna didn't have a vehicle and needed a ride one day - a ride to the USAF recruiter. I only stayed for a single enlistment, but the experience did a world of good for me and paid for my bachelor's degree. Pretty much a win-win all around.

 

Who knew that all that boozing and drugging would lead me to getting a master's degree and a midlife career change.

 

When I was in highschool, I needed a class to fill an elective slot. I chose a photography class because it fit my schedule. Now I'm charging friends what I think is an exorbitant amount (but really middle-of-the-road) to take their wedding photos. I made enough the past two years that I had to form a company, buy insurance, new equipment, and basically burn through every penny of income from it. But I love all the work, and couldn't be happier to share in some of my best friends' weddings AND get paid for it.

Also I get to shoot nekkid pictures of TheGirlfriend. BONUS!*


*No you can't see them. So don't ask.