It's been a long time.

[BAChristian]

It's been a loooong time since I've been on this forum. Anyone still here from nearly 20 years ago?

Yet Another New Visitor To The Church! (and to the forums!)

As I expressed in another topic, I did go to my first ever Mass today. I'm talking, first here folks. No, this wasn't some sort of returning to Catholicism, or one of those, "Yeah, father, I know, I haven't been coming to Mass for the last few years...", kinds of things...this was a, "I'm being...

www.christianforums.com

 

[Michie]

It's been a loooong time since I've been on this forum. Anyone still here from nearly 20 years ago?

Yet Another New Visitor To The Church! (and to the forums!)

As I expressed in another topic, I did go to my first ever Mass today. I'm talking, first here folks. No, this wasn't some sort of returning to Catholicism, or one of those, "Yeah, father, I know, I haven't been coming to Mass for the last few years...", kinds of things...this was a, "I'm being...

www.christianforums.com

 

[sandman]

It's been a loooong time since I've been on this forum. Anyone still here from nearly 20 years ago?

Yet Another New Visitor To The Church! (and to the forums!)

As I expressed in another topic, I did go to my first ever Mass today. I'm talking, first here folks. No, this wasn't some sort of returning to Catholicism, or one of those, "Yeah, father, I know, I haven't been coming to Mass for the last few years...", kinds of things...this was a, "I'm being...

www.christianforums.com

Interesting ...We joined this site the same day...same year.

I returned a little over a year ago after a 12 year sabbatical (from the site, not God)

~Welcome back~

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I've been here for a long time, but I believe it was the result of getting banned from CAF.

 

[BAChristian]

I've been here for a long time, but I believe it was the result of getting banned from CAF.

I seem to remember you. But not for sure. What is CAF?

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I seem to remember you. But not for sure. What is CAF?

Catholic Answers Forum. It's closed down now.

 

[Wolseley]

Hi, BA! I've been here, on and off, for ages....I seem to be posting fairly regularly these days. I remember you! Merry Christmas!

 

[Gnarwhal]

It's been a loooong time since I've been on this forum. Anyone still here from nearly 20 years ago?

Yet Another New Visitor To The Church! (and to the forums!)

As I expressed in another topic, I did go to my first ever Mass today. I'm talking, first here folks. No, this wasn't some sort of returning to Catholicism, or one of those, "Yeah, father, I know, I haven't been coming to Mass for the last few years...", kinds of things...this was a, "I'm being...

www.christianforums.com

Great to see an old timer on this forum! What part of the Bay Area are you from? Chico is home for me about three hours northeast of you.

 

[BAChristian]

Great to see an old timer on this forum! What part of the Bay Area are you from? Chico is home for me about three hours northeast of you.

Well back in 2003 when I converted, I was living in Livermore in the East Bay. I then moved to Discovery Bay for 10 years and then we moved back to the Midwest to be around family in 2014.

Moving back was a mistake even though I grew up here. It's especially a mistake when you have a week like last week where the temp went from 46 degrees to 1 degree in 24 hours. (oh and a windchill of -33)

I miss Cali.

 

[Gnarwhal]

Well back in 2003 when I converted, I was living in Livermore in the East Bay. I then moved to Discovery Bay for 10 years and then we moved back to the Midwest to be around family in 2014.

Moving back was a mistake even though I grew up here. It's especially a mistake when you have a week like last week where the temp went from 46 degrees to 1 degree in 24 hours. (oh and a windchill of -33)

I miss Cali.

Ha, I can only imagine how tough it is there right now. My mom's side of the family is from Ventura and her cousin a few years back moved to Des Moines. He's a year-round shorts guy and she laughed at a picture of him wearing long pants because it was -12 (as if that were finally the threshold where he would wear long pants).

My aunt actually lived in Discovery Bay for a while! I only went to her house once, she lived in some gated community on a golf course before she and my uncle moved to Florida around 2016 or so.

Do you think you'll try to move back to California? If so, do you think you'd try to move back to the same areas? They're so expensive anymore, even more than they were 5-10 years ago.

I miss it too though, my heart's still in Chico but I've been living on the east coast for almost two years now. 18 months in Washington/Northern Virginia and now almost four months living out of my in-laws basement on Long Island. Hopefully within a year we'll be back in CA but there are a lot of things that will have to break our way first.

 

[RileyG]

Welcome back!

 

[BAChristian]

Ha, I can only imagine how tough it is there right now. My mom's side of the family is from Ventura and her cousin a few years back moved to Des Moines. He's a year-round shorts guy and she laughed at a picture of him wearing long pants because it was -12 (as if that were finally the threshold where he would wear long pants).

My aunt actually lived in Discovery Bay for a while! I only went to her house once, she lived in some gated community on a golf course before she and my uncle moved to Florida around 2016 or so.

Do you think you'll try to move back to California? If so, do you think you'd try to move back to the same areas? They're so expensive anymore, even more than they were 5-10 years ago.

I miss it too though, my heart's still in Chico but I've been living on the east coast for almost two years now. 18 months in Washington/Northern Virginia and now almost four months living out of my in-laws basement on Long Island. Hopefully within a year we'll be back in CA but there are a lot of things that will have to break our way first.

Yeah, the golf course was down a bit on Hwy 4 from where I lived. I didn't live on the water mainly because a) the houses were more expensive, and b) I don't own a boat, and I never was a fan of the delta. The delta is actually quite disgusting to be honest and I don't personally understand how people like it so much. It's literally a delta in the middle of farmland. You can imagine what runs off into it.

I miss it, but I'll never move back. It's just too expensive and I want to retire in AZ or Vegas. I like the desert climate (of which Discovery Bay has) and I like mountains in the background and whatnot so AZ and Vegas are about the only choices other than New Mexico. A person also gets the "west coast vibe" in Vegas and I love the West's home architecture -- tiles on a roof and stucco.

I miss it though. I felt happier on the West Coast, but when you're commuting 2½ hours each way to the Bay from Inland it just gets old after 15 years. When your wife asks you on the weekends if you want to go to the Sierra's or to the beach and you say no, I'm tired from the week's commute, then you know it's time to move because you can't enjoy anything there.

 

[Gnarwhal]

I miss it, but I'll never move back. It's just too expensive and I want to retire in AZ or Vegas. I like the desert climate (of which Discovery Bay has) and I like mountains in the background and whatnot so AZ and Vegas are about the only choices other than New Mexico. A person also gets the "west coast vibe" in Vegas and I love the West's home architecture -- tiles on a roof and stucco.

I get you. My parents friends just retired from Woodland to the Tucson area and they seem to love it.

I miss it though. I felt happier on the West Coast, but when you're commuting 2½ hours each way to the Bay from Inland it just gets old after 15 years. When your wife asks you on the weekends if you want to go to the Sierra's or to the beach and you say no, I'm tired from the week's commute, then you know it's time to move because you can't enjoy anything there.

I can definitely relate to that. Despite getting married and a baby on the way which are amazing life events that I'm totally grateful for, I've been otherwise very miserable living east of the continental divide. It's just not for me. The east and west United States are entirely different worlds and nobody adequately explains that.

I can also relate to the commutes, before I started working remote I was commuting an hour each way for work in DC. It was taking a serious toll on me to spend so much time on the road, and I'm a Californian. We love driving. But the roads back east are a disgrace. Back home in Chico I could get anywhere I needed to go in 12 minutes or less. At worst if traffic was bad it might take me 15-20 minutes.

 

[BAChristian]

I can also relate to the commutes, before I started working remote I was commuting an hour each way for work in DC. It was taking a serious toll on me to spend so much time on the road, and I'm a Californian. We love driving. But the roads back east are a disgrace. Back home in Chico I could get anywhere I needed to go in 12 minutes or less. At worst if traffic was bad it might take me 15-20 minutes.

Indeed. I have been working from home for the last seven years and it's been a godsend. However, I have to admit, I'm getting cabin fever. I go into the office once a week just to make an appearance, but it's starting to wane on me. I need to be around people because I noticed WFH has actually caused me to be introverted around people and that's just not me.

It's also not something I want if I still go through with becoming a Deacon. The Church already has a reputation that the clergy is all stoic. That has to change and I want to be part of that change.

 

[Gnarwhal]

Indeed. I have been working from home for the last seven years and it's been a godsend. However, I have to admit, I'm getting cabin fever. I go into the office once a week just to make an appearance, but it's starting to wane on me. I need to be around people because I noticed WFH has actually caused me to be introverted around people and that's just not me.

Ha, it's definitely not for everyone. I'm already an introvert (rated 100% introverted by the Myers-Briggs), so working from home is right in my wheelhouse but I can see how others would go nuts. My wife worked from home for a few years and it was less than ideal for her, because she's an extravert.