rugbymatt

Well, its done....I have spent a year on here and I just thought I would tell you all.

So what have I learnt in a year?

It goes without saying that I have learnt a huge amount about moving to another country. I have learnt about the pitfalls of Perth, that Australia is not the promised land. I have learnt that neither is Spain for that matter..........odd that neither country would be really.

I have learnt that when some one posts in TIO they are either trying to wind people up, are posting tongue in cheek, want to prove that their finger is on the pulse, or even worse........Liberal!!

I have learnt that if you post pretty much anywhere in the general section then you have to accept that some people will ridicule you.....others will disagree with you....some will agree but they will be ridiculed for not agreeing with you.
You will not be taken seriously, and neither should you. You opinions will have to comply with the general consensus of the masses and if they don't then someone will be along to show you a raft of evidence to prove you wrong, and they will, prove you wrong that is.
Some people there will go against the grain, and these people will will have been ridiculed in the past but they wont care.

I have learnt that the Barbie is full of games, and that's fine, if playing games is your bag...................if its not then don't look at them, they will wind you up with their stupidity, so don't look. If its not the games that will wind you up it is the barrage of stupid questions, and again, they are fine, but trust me.......THEY ARE NOT TONGUE IN CHEEK!!

Over my year here I have had some spats. Some serious, some staged..........OK, most staged, a couple serious. I have encountered some truly idiotic mentalities, some unbelievable racism and ignorance (foreigners are overrunning our country you know). Some of the people I have had a spat with I have now grown to love, others despise me with every bone they have, but that's fine, I'm not surprised, if I wasn't me, I would hate me too.

I have learned that irony is sometimes lost on people, as is sarcasm, and this is more obvious in some forums and almost absent in others.

I have "met" some really lovely people, and even when no-one in my real world could help me with loss, people on here did and to those people I am grateful.

I have learnt not to take myself too seriously, I read past posts sometimes and wince! I have learnt not to talk about myself too much, people wont believe a damn thing about you so why bother. I have learnt that while none of this matters, it does actually matter.

I have learnt that some of the Mods love a laugh, others don't, and you quickly find out what ones don't!! I have learnt to listen to Admin when they tell me something!

I have learnt that some people will criticize your post count, they will tell you that you have no life, are sad and obsessed.......they are probably right but then who cares? I have learnt that it doesn't matter what you write, someone will have a problem with it, and again.....who cares?

Well that's pretty much it really.

A year on, am I a better person? Nah not really , I'm still the arrogant dick I was when I joined, but I have learnt a little humility, a little respect and "met" some really nice people who have been only too happy to help me with whatever crap I ask and what ever meaningless problem I have.

I would like to thank Admin for about the best site out there , and I say that not in creepiness but in all honesty, one site I am on hasn't had a post for a month!!!

A BIG thanks to the Mods, even the nasty ones, they do a thankless job without any real reward but for the joy of having to follow people like me around the board to make sure we don't screw things up, so thanks you lot.

Well that's it, I know my anniversary was 3 days ago but it wasn't looking good for me getting something right, so 3 days late is the best I can do.

I am going to post this in the Spain forum and the `lounge, I hope the Mods understand why.

And finally........................................... ....

THANKS EVERYONE!!

Pam Sarky

Matt, I really enjoyed reading that and looking forward to many more years of your posts on here

jandy44

Well done Matt, one year on averaging 42 posts a day how do you do it ? Look forward to PMSL at some of your posts for another year

Fortaleza

It's funny how a year sometimes seems so much longer than it really is

jeanc

me too! and boy have you learned a lot of stuff!!!

Sam Greenfield

Roll on another year - ive only been on since Feb but youve (and your mad mates) certainly given me some laughs over the months ive been a member.
Take care and keep it up.

glad 2 b back

I do too, I read back over some past posts and felt very omg!
I'm a much nicer person now lol!

Congrats on your anniversary Matt

lynnxa

hear hear

I reckon this should be a ´sticky´

Bigbhudda69

I agree and disagree with everything you say, keep on saying it...wish I could say I don't care what people say...but I do...now someone pull that apart.........Happy anniversary or birthday Matt

MnM

Well done and well written Matt. Wishing you many, many more years of posting

I have to agree with BB though, regarding caring about what people say....I do and probably always will take to heart everything that is said/written here....

Martha

Mitzyboy

Well done Matt

I don't take you too seriously either
Thanks for being genuine

crispy

Hi Matt, your not such a bad old stick and you scrub up good when all that muck is washed off. Life is one long lesson so make sure you take time out to play with the other kids, congrats on the one year and heres looking forward to the next 12 months crammed full of you and your wicked ways

rugbymatt

Thanks guys.


Mitz have you had a call?

leighbloke

15,500 posts in a year!!!
Have you been bed ridden!!!!!
Happy birthday!!!

rugbymatt

I type fast, ram it.