One of the newest features that the local newspaper has been printing is a daily log of all the police activity occuring within the city. I was surprised to see so much police activity occur in just one day, as well as reading the kinds of things that the local police force gets called on. In a city with a population of 20,000 located in the Upper Peninsula, it's not the typical kinds of criminal activity you would find in a bigger city. Yes, some of those "typical" crimes do exist from time to time, but usually they are few and far between. Here are some of the more interesting crimes listed in the police log and some that'll make you chuckle.
"Request for a Skunk Trap" - Hmm, okay. I didn't think police departments had any kind of live traps on hand. Isn't this something for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to handle? Then again, maybe this individual didn't know who to call for. Skunks are nasty critters (I've come across a few in my time) and once you see more than one start hanging out together, you know it's time to take action. In fact, my grandmother at her farm has three or four "pet" skunks! I don't know if I'd be so trusting as to call them pets.
"Dead squirrel for removal" - Okay, this one made me chuckle. So there's a dead squirrel lying on the street and instead of this individual handling it themselves, they call the police to get rid of it? Now I've heard of everything. Then again, where do you put a dead squirrel carcass in a city? I don't know that I'd call the police for that. Why not dig a hole in the ground and bury the thing. Either that, or put it in the freezer and have squirrel meat for later. :-D
"Car lock-out assistance" - The last few days I've been reading the city police log, I've come across quite a few of these. At least I know I'm not the only one that this has happened to. I used to own a car in which I either locked the keys in the car or forgot to shut the headlights off and drained the battery. I'm so glad I have a newer car with better technology. But it just goes to show you that locking your keys in a car does happen on occasion, especially when you're distracted.
"Person sleeping on steps" - Another one that made me chuckle. Obviously the person sleeping on the steps was passed out from drinking too much (isn't that safe to say?). I can't imagine if I were the person calling the police to report that someone was sleeping on my front steps. How foolish and unbelievable would that sound? But you want the person off your steps - I mean, why else would he/she be there? Personally, I think I'd try waking them up myself and telling them to shoo.
The rest of the incidents are pretty typical activities for this city, including reported drunkenness, thefts, civil disturbances, and driving complaints. In a city that seems fairly quiet and nice, where you can go about your business without feeling like someone's chasing you (I won't say that you can leave your doors unlocked, because that's gone out the window a long time ago), there's much more activity that involves the police than I would've thought. Most of it is minor, yet it goes to show you that the police aren't sitting around in their station twittling their thumbs. There is LOTS that goes on, even in a U.P. city.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Oh Hail!
I woke up around 2:00 PM today after getting off from my last midnight shift. There were a couple of messages on my answering machine; one from my mom and the other from my dad, about an hour or so apart, saying that they would be in town and to not head home. Seeing that I had just gotten up, I was in no rush to go anywhere, so I stayed and waited. They arrived shortly around 2:20 PM, and we all agreed to go out to eat. Just then, a severe thunderstorm warning flashed on the TV screen. I thought, "well, it's probably not for our area." Wrong I was - and the storm was predicted to move through our area. I wasn't really all that concerned with it because it did not look like anything major on the radar and most of the time the warnings for our area end up being minor. My parents had picked up a "new" sewing table for my mom (it is actually a secondhand table) and were concerned with the impending rain. My dad had the truck, so there was nothing to protect it from getting wet. So my dad and I carried it into my apartment until the rain had passed. Then we headed out.
The skies looked very ominous to the north and west. Dark, menacing skies creeped closer to the city - and we were stuck in five mile-an-hour traffic in the middle of a construction zone. It started to sprinkle, but the heavy stuff had yet to reach us. We finally reached our destination - out favorite restaurant Applebees. We were inside the restaurant for roughly ten minutes before the brunt of the storm hit us. First it started to rain, then it picked up a little more, then it was a heavy downpour. Then it started to hail. It was small hail at first but it didn't take long before it got bigger and bigger. Eventually it became golf ball-size and was pounding on the roof of the restaurant and the cars parked outside. The lights flickered inside the restaurant and the power briefly went out. The wind picked up - gusting up to 60 mph blowing the construction barrels on the highway across the road surface. Cars were swerving around to avoid them. Light poles in the parking lot shook with the strong gust of the wind and the hail started to strip the leaves off the trees surrounding the parking lot. The hail started accumulating on the ground - looking almost like a wintery scene. It was absolutely surreal - and all of the customers in the restaurant received a front row seat to this amazing spectacle of nature. The hail kept falling and the rains kept pouring down.
The men working on the highway huddled in their vehicles, waiting for the storm to pass. Eventually, all traffic on the highway stopped, as it was just too dangerous to even drive - drivers waiting until the worst had passed. For awhile, it didn't seem like it would ever quit; the hail lasting for at least 10 minutes. The parking lot was even starting to flood out, with pools of hail swirling along in the mini rapids. Customers in the restaurant were taking pictures of the scene with their cell phones and exclaimed to themselves how incredible this looked. And finally, the storm eventually let up. The hail stopped and the rains became much lighter. The lightning was vivid for awhile, but that too had soon passed.
The TV's in the restaurant broadcast a snowy picture, signaling that the cable had been knocked out by the storm. Within ten minutes, it was back on. One of the TV's in the far back of the restaurant was broadcasting The Weather Channel and I happened to catch the warning being scrawled on the bottom of the screen. A Tornado Warning was issued for the county my parents lived and I grew up, and the cell was moving right towards our town! We became even more concerned to the prospect that this storm could do damage at home as well. All we could do is hope that it would weaken and provide nothing but beneficial rains.
We exited the restaurant and checked to see what kind of damage had been done to my dad's truck. Sure enough, the hood and roof the truck were peppered with small dents from the golf ball-sized hail. Later on, we noticed that both side-view mirrors had been chipped and broken by the onslaught of hail. A drive through the parking lot of the restaurant and the mall nearby also revealed that all of the other cars received similar damage. There were going to be a lot of insurance claims made by this storm. A drive around the area found a ton of leaves covering roads, all stripped off from the hail. An amazing pile of hail accumulated in low-lying areas and around drains, and a low layer of fog slowly rose from the chilly hail that was beginning to melt. As much as two inches of hail accumulated in some parts of the city, and even a report of three inch hail was recorded. Now that's incredible stuff! However, after hearing reports that the next street up from me experienced damage from hail, I grew quite concerned that my car was in bad shape.
We first made a stop at the local big box hardware store and as my dad lingered in there, the more antsy I got to leave. Finally, we did leave and we continued to see hail on our way back to my apartment as it slowly began to melt. As I reached my apartment, I grew uneasy and pretty concerned that my car was a wreck. But as we surveyed the other cars in the lot, it didn't seem to be as bad as I had imagined. My dad's truck faired much worse, but the hood of my car was peppered with small dents. There were a few hail dents on the roof of my car and on the truck, but it really wasn't that bad. If it was that bad, I was considering trading in my car - but I may just hold onto it for awhile longer now. There is definitely some dents from the hail, but like I said, not nearly as bad as my dad's truck. I think it helped that my car was sheltered a bit by my apartment building. Otherwise I think the damage might've been a lot worse.
So needless to say, it was a very interesting weather day in Marquette, MI - something unlike I had ever seen before. I had seen very small hail fall before, but nothing to that extent. The sheer power of the hail, along with the ferocity of the winds and the rains were something I will never forget. And for a storm that didn't seem like it could produce much, it sure turned out to be one for the record books.
The skies looked very ominous to the north and west. Dark, menacing skies creeped closer to the city - and we were stuck in five mile-an-hour traffic in the middle of a construction zone. It started to sprinkle, but the heavy stuff had yet to reach us. We finally reached our destination - out favorite restaurant Applebees. We were inside the restaurant for roughly ten minutes before the brunt of the storm hit us. First it started to rain, then it picked up a little more, then it was a heavy downpour. Then it started to hail. It was small hail at first but it didn't take long before it got bigger and bigger. Eventually it became golf ball-size and was pounding on the roof of the restaurant and the cars parked outside. The lights flickered inside the restaurant and the power briefly went out. The wind picked up - gusting up to 60 mph blowing the construction barrels on the highway across the road surface. Cars were swerving around to avoid them. Light poles in the parking lot shook with the strong gust of the wind and the hail started to strip the leaves off the trees surrounding the parking lot. The hail started accumulating on the ground - looking almost like a wintery scene. It was absolutely surreal - and all of the customers in the restaurant received a front row seat to this amazing spectacle of nature. The hail kept falling and the rains kept pouring down.
The men working on the highway huddled in their vehicles, waiting for the storm to pass. Eventually, all traffic on the highway stopped, as it was just too dangerous to even drive - drivers waiting until the worst had passed. For awhile, it didn't seem like it would ever quit; the hail lasting for at least 10 minutes. The parking lot was even starting to flood out, with pools of hail swirling along in the mini rapids. Customers in the restaurant were taking pictures of the scene with their cell phones and exclaimed to themselves how incredible this looked. And finally, the storm eventually let up. The hail stopped and the rains became much lighter. The lightning was vivid for awhile, but that too had soon passed.
The TV's in the restaurant broadcast a snowy picture, signaling that the cable had been knocked out by the storm. Within ten minutes, it was back on. One of the TV's in the far back of the restaurant was broadcasting The Weather Channel and I happened to catch the warning being scrawled on the bottom of the screen. A Tornado Warning was issued for the county my parents lived and I grew up, and the cell was moving right towards our town! We became even more concerned to the prospect that this storm could do damage at home as well. All we could do is hope that it would weaken and provide nothing but beneficial rains.
We exited the restaurant and checked to see what kind of damage had been done to my dad's truck. Sure enough, the hood and roof the truck were peppered with small dents from the golf ball-sized hail. Later on, we noticed that both side-view mirrors had been chipped and broken by the onslaught of hail. A drive through the parking lot of the restaurant and the mall nearby also revealed that all of the other cars received similar damage. There were going to be a lot of insurance claims made by this storm. A drive around the area found a ton of leaves covering roads, all stripped off from the hail. An amazing pile of hail accumulated in low-lying areas and around drains, and a low layer of fog slowly rose from the chilly hail that was beginning to melt. As much as two inches of hail accumulated in some parts of the city, and even a report of three inch hail was recorded. Now that's incredible stuff! However, after hearing reports that the next street up from me experienced damage from hail, I grew quite concerned that my car was in bad shape.
We first made a stop at the local big box hardware store and as my dad lingered in there, the more antsy I got to leave. Finally, we did leave and we continued to see hail on our way back to my apartment as it slowly began to melt. As I reached my apartment, I grew uneasy and pretty concerned that my car was a wreck. But as we surveyed the other cars in the lot, it didn't seem to be as bad as I had imagined. My dad's truck faired much worse, but the hood of my car was peppered with small dents. There were a few hail dents on the roof of my car and on the truck, but it really wasn't that bad. If it was that bad, I was considering trading in my car - but I may just hold onto it for awhile longer now. There is definitely some dents from the hail, but like I said, not nearly as bad as my dad's truck. I think it helped that my car was sheltered a bit by my apartment building. Otherwise I think the damage might've been a lot worse.
So needless to say, it was a very interesting weather day in Marquette, MI - something unlike I had ever seen before. I had seen very small hail fall before, but nothing to that extent. The sheer power of the hail, along with the ferocity of the winds and the rains were something I will never forget. And for a storm that didn't seem like it could produce much, it sure turned out to be one for the record books.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Confidence Pays
This past Thursday, my mom and I went to eat at the new Perkin's Restaurant here in town. Perkin's has always been one of my favorite restaurants to go to, but usually the only time we've been to one is when we were on our way to Wisconsin, because there had never been one here. I know I used to love their pies and a few times, I even begged my parents to buy one of their pies to take home on our way back. And finally, we have one here.
I am sure everyone has felt uncomfortable in a new setting at one time or another. Whether it's being a student at a new school and not knowing anyone, or being a new hire at an established employer and not knowing anyone there. I know I've experienced those same feelings many different times and it takes getting adjusted to your surroundings and feeling comfortable where you're at. I could tell the waiter we had at Perkin's was pretty nervous at what he was doing. He was pretty young, and it wouldn't surprise me if he was still in high school and was just working there for the summer. He probably has only been at being a waiter for a week if not less than that. My mom and I could detect that he felt uneasy at what he was doing; how he talked to us, how he walked around the restaurant looking lost and trying to find something to do, how he didn't really communicate much with the other waiters and waitresses on the floor. Maybe he wasn't like this at all and it could be just how we perceived it, but to us, that is how it looked.
He even screwed up my order. I had asked for a chicken BBQ supreme sandwhich and I ended up getting a hamburger patty instead of a chicken patty. Everything else about the order was right except for getting the hamburger. I guess the clue that I was getting a hamburger was when after I gave my order he asked, "the burger?" And not thinking twice about it, I replied, "yes." Well geez, I DID say the chicken BBQ supreme sandwhich. Unless you could substitute the chicken for hamburger - I don't really know. But, my mom and I didn't want to make him feel any more embarassed than he already looked, so we just let it slide. I thought it was a pretty good sandwhich regardless of the mix-up.
He even asked my mom if she wanted another iced tea, which she did. Wouldn't you know, a waitress just happened to come along with a pitcher of iced tea and asked my mom if she wanted a refill. My mom said sure, but after the waitress was gone, she said, "I hope he doesn't come with the refill." Well sure enough, he did. So he had to bring it back and my mom and I were left to feeling pretty badly for this kid. We wanted him to be confident in his job and he just did not seem like that confident of a person. We had hoped that leaving him a generous tip would lift up his spirits and make him become more confident in his abilities. We sure hope it worked.
As I said, he couldn't have been on the job for very long and I am sure he will improve and gain some confidence the more he works. But starting out, it can be frustrating for anyone. I remember when I first learned how to operate a cash register at a grocery store, whenever fruits or vegetables came through, you had to look through a book if you didn't happen to know the code that you could punch in. Plus, there were countless ways in which a customer could pay for their groceries and it was so easy hitting a wrong button on the machine. During the first week, one evening I worked, I was $30.00 off on my drawer. I can't remember the exact details anymore, but I know I did something that I shouldn't have done. I think I charged up an extra $30.00 that I shouldn't have and it came up unaccounted for. Nothing was ever stolen from me, but it was just an error on my part. And you know what? I was never that much off on my drawer ever again. See, just like me, it took some confidence in my abilities and soon after, I excelled as a cashiere at that grocery store. It can happen to anyone, as well.
I am sure everyone has felt uncomfortable in a new setting at one time or another. Whether it's being a student at a new school and not knowing anyone, or being a new hire at an established employer and not knowing anyone there. I know I've experienced those same feelings many different times and it takes getting adjusted to your surroundings and feeling comfortable where you're at. I could tell the waiter we had at Perkin's was pretty nervous at what he was doing. He was pretty young, and it wouldn't surprise me if he was still in high school and was just working there for the summer. He probably has only been at being a waiter for a week if not less than that. My mom and I could detect that he felt uneasy at what he was doing; how he talked to us, how he walked around the restaurant looking lost and trying to find something to do, how he didn't really communicate much with the other waiters and waitresses on the floor. Maybe he wasn't like this at all and it could be just how we perceived it, but to us, that is how it looked.
He even screwed up my order. I had asked for a chicken BBQ supreme sandwhich and I ended up getting a hamburger patty instead of a chicken patty. Everything else about the order was right except for getting the hamburger. I guess the clue that I was getting a hamburger was when after I gave my order he asked, "the burger?" And not thinking twice about it, I replied, "yes." Well geez, I DID say the chicken BBQ supreme sandwhich. Unless you could substitute the chicken for hamburger - I don't really know. But, my mom and I didn't want to make him feel any more embarassed than he already looked, so we just let it slide. I thought it was a pretty good sandwhich regardless of the mix-up.
He even asked my mom if she wanted another iced tea, which she did. Wouldn't you know, a waitress just happened to come along with a pitcher of iced tea and asked my mom if she wanted a refill. My mom said sure, but after the waitress was gone, she said, "I hope he doesn't come with the refill." Well sure enough, he did. So he had to bring it back and my mom and I were left to feeling pretty badly for this kid. We wanted him to be confident in his job and he just did not seem like that confident of a person. We had hoped that leaving him a generous tip would lift up his spirits and make him become more confident in his abilities. We sure hope it worked.
As I said, he couldn't have been on the job for very long and I am sure he will improve and gain some confidence the more he works. But starting out, it can be frustrating for anyone. I remember when I first learned how to operate a cash register at a grocery store, whenever fruits or vegetables came through, you had to look through a book if you didn't happen to know the code that you could punch in. Plus, there were countless ways in which a customer could pay for their groceries and it was so easy hitting a wrong button on the machine. During the first week, one evening I worked, I was $30.00 off on my drawer. I can't remember the exact details anymore, but I know I did something that I shouldn't have done. I think I charged up an extra $30.00 that I shouldn't have and it came up unaccounted for. Nothing was ever stolen from me, but it was just an error on my part. And you know what? I was never that much off on my drawer ever again. See, just like me, it took some confidence in my abilities and soon after, I excelled as a cashiere at that grocery store. It can happen to anyone, as well.
Monday, June 04, 2007
The End of an Era
I've been on a bit of a vacation from my blog for the past three weeks (hey, it happens every now and again). But I believe I have become rejuvinated and you will see a lot more activity here in the coming weeks ahead. I took a break right before the finale week of American Idol and never did a recap for the two finalist. At that point in the competition, both have to be pretty good to get to that point, which is why I felt a recap wasn't all that significant. I was happy to see my favorite to win it, Jordin Sparks, crowed as the next American Idol. I don't have anything against Blake, because he is a fabulous entertainer. But Jordin's voice was really amazing to me and I felt that way for awhile. Hopefully within the next few days, I'll be able to recap some of my favorite performances from the top 10 singers in a special end-of-the-season blog for you. But the topic of this blog is not about American Idol, but about another significant event that just happened over this past weekend. It was the ending of an era for me personally as well as for a good on-line friend of mine, as we closed down a message board called the "Three Amigos Internet Cafe," that we had spent a lot of time working on during the past 4+ years. During the past year, this board had been relatively inactive and not many new people were joining. We felt the time was right to shut it down now rather than let it just sit there and do nothing (well, it'll still sit there and do nothing, but it'll basically sit as a living memory of what we discussed over a couple years-time). There had been many significant events that occured since we formed this message board, and this blog will recount some of those.
The Three Amigos Internet Cafe (TAIC) was not its original name. In fact, it was originally called "Game Shows from A to Z." Myself and two others decided to form our own message board. The three of us were already members of a popular game show message board hosted by the Game Show Network. That message board was beginning to become overcrowded with new people and it no longer felt like the intimate home we once knew. So we branched out on our own and invited people from the GSN boards who were like family to us. Our new board became a hit right away and new people continued to join daily (0f course we advertised it on the GSN Boards). We were doing quite well and it was a joy to see the success that the new message board was drawing. But over time, things behind the scenes started to unravel, mainly between myself and one other administrators of this message board. I originally created this message board for her - it was to be her forum and I was helping her out. I created it and made the necessary changes for her until she felt comfortable running the place herself. Plus, she didn't have constant internet access which made it hard for her to administer the board all of the time. I was in college and had time on my hands to monitor the board on a frequent basis. Eventually her and I began to bicker about the arrangement of the board as well as the changes we wanted to make. We didn't see eye to eye on some of the changes and eventually it reached a boiling point. To make a long story short, she left the message board and formed her own forum. Myself and one other individual remained as administrators, but many of the members of this forum soon drifted over to hers, deleting their accounts from mine along the way. It was a huge misunderstanding between her and I that caused tremendous turbulance, not only between the message board we jointly created, but also at the GSN Boards. Many people turned on me, faulting me for the events that occured. It was an ugly time that unfairly ruined my reputation, but I moved on. I needed to recruit a new administrator to take over her role and someone in whom I could trust. I ended up choosing my best on-line friend, Tom, to become the third administrator.
Changes quickly took place as soon as she left, including implementing a new "skin" for the message board and renaming it. The new name would soon become "The Three Amigos Internet Cafe." Names for message boards never come easy to me, but this one ended up being pretty decent as it fit what our board was all about. Three male administrators lead the charge at the board, which is why the three amigos was so suited for us. We continued to lose members to the former administrator's message board, which we tagged as "competition." But yet, we recruited some new people. There were also members loyal to both places - which was a nice gesture by them. Eventually, though, we would end up losing our third administrator "Bryan" who suddenly disappeared from the internet completed. Over time, it was just Tom and I running the show. Bryan would pop in occasionally, but never consistently like Tom and I.
One of the staples of our message board was holding forum parties. This is where we would try and gather as many people as possible and hold an on-line party which took place within a topic on the board. One forum party took place to celebrate our first anniversary. By then, we had appointed a new "third amigo" named John, although he just served as a moderator for our board. Needless to say, our first anniversary forum party was not exactly nice to the members who had left our forum to join their own. We went all out, insulting, name-calling, and telling off those people we felt betrayed us. We knew what we were doing probably would cause a good deal amount of controversy, but we didn't care. We had a chip on our shoulders and felt we needed to give some paybacks. Eventually that thread got us into trouble. In fact, our board would eventually get deleted by Proboards, who ran our board. Despite what happened, we held no regrets for what we did. But the Three Amigos was now gone along with everything we created. Tom and I didn't really discuss it too much as soon as it happened, but eventually we talked about it. We felt we needed a break from the board and we decided not to rebuild at that time.
It must've been six to eight months until we started over, but not without some nudging by a new person I met who was a member at my All Grown Up forum. I had told him about our history and everything that involved the Three Amigos. He was a persistent young fellow and took "no" for an answer. So Tom and I, along with this young kid, re-started the Three Amigos Internet Cafe for a second time. Things started off pretty well for us, as we got some of the old members to re-join as well as some people from my AGU board to become members. But I don't believe it ever held the same amount of success as what we had when "Game Shows from A to Z" first started. Still, it wasn't a bad start and seemed like good fun to us. We held forum parties on occasion - usually celebrating our anniversaries and holidays - but they weren't nearly as controversial as our first anniversary party. In time, we booted the young fella who was our third "amigo," mainly due to a lack of trust, and we recruited John to become our moderator at the board, once again. The last couple of years in the life of the board, things gradually slowed down to nothing. And that is where we end up to this day. A message board lacking in any kind of activity and basically just sat there doing nothing. The perfect time for it to shut down.
And that's the story regarding the four years of The Three Amigos Internet Cafe. We had our tumultuous moments and our enjoyable moments. And now, they are just memories as the board is closed down once and for all. Tom and I haven't ruled out opening the board again sometime in the future - but for now, we need a break. The end had to come sooner or later, and now seemed like the best time to do it.
The Three Amigos Internet Cafe (TAIC) was not its original name. In fact, it was originally called "Game Shows from A to Z." Myself and two others decided to form our own message board. The three of us were already members of a popular game show message board hosted by the Game Show Network. That message board was beginning to become overcrowded with new people and it no longer felt like the intimate home we once knew. So we branched out on our own and invited people from the GSN boards who were like family to us. Our new board became a hit right away and new people continued to join daily (0f course we advertised it on the GSN Boards). We were doing quite well and it was a joy to see the success that the new message board was drawing. But over time, things behind the scenes started to unravel, mainly between myself and one other administrators of this message board. I originally created this message board for her - it was to be her forum and I was helping her out. I created it and made the necessary changes for her until she felt comfortable running the place herself. Plus, she didn't have constant internet access which made it hard for her to administer the board all of the time. I was in college and had time on my hands to monitor the board on a frequent basis. Eventually her and I began to bicker about the arrangement of the board as well as the changes we wanted to make. We didn't see eye to eye on some of the changes and eventually it reached a boiling point. To make a long story short, she left the message board and formed her own forum. Myself and one other individual remained as administrators, but many of the members of this forum soon drifted over to hers, deleting their accounts from mine along the way. It was a huge misunderstanding between her and I that caused tremendous turbulance, not only between the message board we jointly created, but also at the GSN Boards. Many people turned on me, faulting me for the events that occured. It was an ugly time that unfairly ruined my reputation, but I moved on. I needed to recruit a new administrator to take over her role and someone in whom I could trust. I ended up choosing my best on-line friend, Tom, to become the third administrator.
Changes quickly took place as soon as she left, including implementing a new "skin" for the message board and renaming it. The new name would soon become "The Three Amigos Internet Cafe." Names for message boards never come easy to me, but this one ended up being pretty decent as it fit what our board was all about. Three male administrators lead the charge at the board, which is why the three amigos was so suited for us. We continued to lose members to the former administrator's message board, which we tagged as "competition." But yet, we recruited some new people. There were also members loyal to both places - which was a nice gesture by them. Eventually, though, we would end up losing our third administrator "Bryan" who suddenly disappeared from the internet completed. Over time, it was just Tom and I running the show. Bryan would pop in occasionally, but never consistently like Tom and I.
One of the staples of our message board was holding forum parties. This is where we would try and gather as many people as possible and hold an on-line party which took place within a topic on the board. One forum party took place to celebrate our first anniversary. By then, we had appointed a new "third amigo" named John, although he just served as a moderator for our board. Needless to say, our first anniversary forum party was not exactly nice to the members who had left our forum to join their own. We went all out, insulting, name-calling, and telling off those people we felt betrayed us. We knew what we were doing probably would cause a good deal amount of controversy, but we didn't care. We had a chip on our shoulders and felt we needed to give some paybacks. Eventually that thread got us into trouble. In fact, our board would eventually get deleted by Proboards, who ran our board. Despite what happened, we held no regrets for what we did. But the Three Amigos was now gone along with everything we created. Tom and I didn't really discuss it too much as soon as it happened, but eventually we talked about it. We felt we needed a break from the board and we decided not to rebuild at that time.
It must've been six to eight months until we started over, but not without some nudging by a new person I met who was a member at my All Grown Up forum. I had told him about our history and everything that involved the Three Amigos. He was a persistent young fellow and took "no" for an answer. So Tom and I, along with this young kid, re-started the Three Amigos Internet Cafe for a second time. Things started off pretty well for us, as we got some of the old members to re-join as well as some people from my AGU board to become members. But I don't believe it ever held the same amount of success as what we had when "Game Shows from A to Z" first started. Still, it wasn't a bad start and seemed like good fun to us. We held forum parties on occasion - usually celebrating our anniversaries and holidays - but they weren't nearly as controversial as our first anniversary party. In time, we booted the young fella who was our third "amigo," mainly due to a lack of trust, and we recruited John to become our moderator at the board, once again. The last couple of years in the life of the board, things gradually slowed down to nothing. And that is where we end up to this day. A message board lacking in any kind of activity and basically just sat there doing nothing. The perfect time for it to shut down.
And that's the story regarding the four years of The Three Amigos Internet Cafe. We had our tumultuous moments and our enjoyable moments. And now, they are just memories as the board is closed down once and for all. Tom and I haven't ruled out opening the board again sometime in the future - but for now, we need a break. The end had to come sooner or later, and now seemed like the best time to do it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)