CHV Lives On

This isn't some post-mortem post. I just happened to be thinking about this board today. In this stream of thoughtery, I realized it's been nearly 7
and a half years since CHV was closed. That's a little less than 1/3rd of my life that's gone by and a lot's changed for me in the interim.
I'm not sure what happened to Bo. I know Leo got married at some point.




Personally, when CHV closed I was 17 and about a few months away from finishing highschool. After highschool, I attended a college in Brookline, MA, where I
got a Bachelors in Multimedia and Web Development(and a boatload of debt). After that, I got a job at a small start-up in Brookline, MA that develops database
software and I've been working there since. For the past couple of years, I've been teaching myself Japanese. I'm applying to different schools
in Japan right now and saving up my money. I'm hoping to have a job over there sometime next year.




What about the rest of you? I know the board was declared dead earlier this year and I'm not sure anyone else even visits anymore, but anyone who does,
what have you been up to for the past 7 years? Perhaps this will be a proper send-off for the board that sustained us for so long.

I'd only been on the internet for about a year or two when I found CHV. It was my first real online community, which probably explains why I'm still
here.




In the years since, I made it through high school and went on to get a B.Sc. in Computer Science. I snuck the CHV logo into a project I did in my last term, a
tiny and limited video game.




As a graduation present, I went on a fantastic trip alone to Japan and Korea for 5 weeks that ended last week.




That's pretty much it. I haven't really grown or changed appreciably in the 7 and a half years since I first used this username.

Back in the days of CHV, I was also in high school. I suspect the majority of us were around that 16-25 range. It was far from the first online community
that I was a part of, but it's one of the few I've (tried) to stick with over the years (notwithstanding the occasional six month disappearance from
the face of the Earth). The occasional chats on the old boards were almost necessary when the videos were downloading at a painful 5KB/sec over my craptastic
dial-up connection, and many of the remaining members here were a part of that community. In all honesty, I'm fairly surprised the few remaining members
here have actually stuck together here as we have, considering how long the parent website has been declared dead.




In the years since, I too graduated high school and went on to college. Despite having enough credits to graduate, I never actually bothered to follow through
the necessary steps to finalize my college education, at least on paper. I suppose I could always get around to filling out that paperwork, but apparently
that's just not my style.




For the most part, I just take life and work one day at a time, and aside from any random travels I may find myself on, I am pretty much relegated to an office
grind that would even make Dilbert toss some pity my way.




Sadly, despite being an "adult" with the funds to enjoy the fruits of what entertainment is available in gaming these days, I find myself rarely
having the time to sit down for extended sessions with an RPG or strategy game that I would've eaten up a decade or two ago. Don't get me wrong, I
still enjoy my Final Fantasies and my Civilizations, but find myself only consistently getting around to portable games that I can whip out for shorter gaming
sessions. Has anyone else here experienced a similar situation, or the opposite?

I was still knee-deep in goth party girl mode when CHV died. Then some #%@% happened and I holed up for about a year? I tried finishing HS and taking some
classic animation (I really wanted to stick to the real medium) and tech courses in order to eventually apply to Sheridan, but my scholarship fund with BMO
went bye-bye because apparently I got too old. Despite seven and a half years, I think I've been somewhat successful in keeping semi-anon on this forum and
elsewhere online... so I'd like to continue on that train for as long as possible :X




But maybe if I can get sympatico to give me a real wifi router/modem, I'll finally be able to kick all your asses on some PS3 game and reach the next stage
of bonding

So I was listening to some podcast and CHV crossed my mind so I decided to check back here and see what's going on. My memories of the site, and its
community, are still among those of my e-memories that I'm most fond of. Downloading the ending of FFVIII took all night... Good times.




Anyway, ever since I left chv-lives-on, I've gone on to get my B.Sc. in Sociology and I'm currently working as a junior instructor at a university. I
teach seminars on research methodology and classical sociological theory while at the same time I'm struggling to get my M.Sc. in Social Sciences.




As for games, I still try to find as much time as I can to play some RPGs and other games. Currently, I'm way into Lost Odyssey--an old-school RPG with a
shiny coat.




Oh and I really think the default color scheme of Yuku doesn't do the chv legacy any justice

Update for the end of 2008: I got a job! I'll be moving to Japan in March/April of 2009.