Say Hello and Be Welcomed to the Library Café on MoM!

[Cheryl]

Take your coat off, have a seat and put your feet up, and get to know the other members that like to spend time at A Meeting of Minds.

[Cheryl]

I figure I should introduce myself since I haven't been all that active online in the last 18 months, just to make sure y'all know me!

Hi. My name is Cheryl. I'm an Anne McCaffrey addict.
Oh, whoops, this isn't one of those meetings is it!

Anywho, besides being a huge Anne fan, I am also a professional Mom to year-old twins. That means I stay home with them all day (unless of course we all go somewhere together). The salary is low but the perks are high, and recently they've let me spend a lot of time at my computer so I can work on my websites (McCaffrey and Pern) -- and of course now I'm working on getting this one going. Plus my kids have an online album I update for their grandparents to see.

I've been an Anne fan since I was a teenager, and a "crazy online nutty fan" for about six years now.

Pern is definitely my area of expertise, especially the earlier books, but I've read all the rest of Anne's books and enjoy the vast majority.

So, who be you?

[Shani]

Hello, my name is Shani and has been for 4 years now. I do have another one but it just seems wrong to be anything but Shani on here, I even answer to Shani at Gathers

I am a Stay at Home Mum with two children B-8 and G-5, I chose to stay home with them because I wanted to watch them grow up and be there for school events or to pick them up if they are ill, something that is harder to do if I work.
My computer is one of my biggest hobbies, I love to read, Crochet simple stuff like Cusion covers and Cabbage Patch Kid clothes, I adore shopping with friends and Chatting (in any form be it in person, phone or online).
I love Anne's works, have read everything she has written that I can get my hands on, and now they're in my book collection. I like Pern but it's not my favourite, I lean more toward Freedom and Petaybe.

Anything else you wanna know you're just going to have to ask me


Oh did I mention a bit of a 'thing' for VW's??

[Hans]

Well hello Good chance we already know each other from elsewhere, but for those who don't...

My name is Hans (van der Boom). I'm a webdeveloper/public relations officer for a non-profit company active in the health field for the elderly and apart from that I have been a professional genealogist and historian for about 25 years now. That says something about my age, eh? So, alright. I was born in 1957, am married and have one son. I live in The Netherlands.
I'm a published author in the field of genealogy and have about 20 books to my name (genealogies in various form as well as source material). I have written dozens of scientific/genealogical articles in many genealogical and historical magazines. Together with a friend I have my own small publishing house called "Van der Boom & Slijkerman" (ISBN 90-73240) which publishes genealogical and historical books.

I am a lover of science fiction and fantasy books and since not much worthwhile was/is being published in my native language I started to read English books while in High School. Anne McCaffrey is my favourite sf author and when I finally got around to start my own website about her (in 1999) I got acquainted with Cheryl and Anneli. To cut a long story short, we met on the net, were active on the usenet group alt.fan.pern and became tied in as admin peeps on Anne Mccaffrey's official site and forumboard. That period came to an end this year and... here we are again!

Besides SF and fantasy in general and Anne McCaffrey's books in particular my range of hobbies and interests is substantial. Many of them are history related, like Roman and Greek culture and mythology but I am also very interested in languages. I speak several and have a modest collection of dictionaries in far more languages than I speak
My pride and joy is my book collection of several thousand volumes. about half of which are books relating to history and genealogy, the other half are novels, including those my wife collects (thrillers, crime).

I have traveled all over the western world and also visited some more exotic places; started out backpacking but now I'm getting older I insist on a little more luxury. Places still to go to are Australia, New Zealand and the far east.

[Purpura]

Hello My name on here is Purpura, but you can call me Purple. I am a mom to a two year old daughter, who stays with grandparents. I'm also an Anne fan, and I got to go to the Southern California Gather and met my Mom Greendena --now called Dragonlady over here and Sharon Coffee Fiend amongst others. That was fun...

I like sewing and reading... I went to a booksigning for Anne too some time ago and that's where I met Greendena the first time

[ghyle]

My name is Ghyle and I like to smile ....

I'm a thirty-something, single poet with no kids yet. I'm a Pern fan, but I'm more of a fan of fantasy, particularly Lord Dunsany, Clark Ahton Smith, and the like. I'm also a poet, and that's my main focus in life; I read it, write it, and write about it.

I'm hoping to finish a university degree, and hope to get into the popular literature course so I can write about Pern.

I am also very at times, and so I'm on a disability pension....

[Pam]

Hi, I'm Pam and I work two jobs, so its been recently decided that I am insane. At home its me, the hubby, the dog, the cat and over 200 gallons of fishtanks. I enjoy going on adventures to places I've never been and seeing things I've never seen. Cows are my favorite animal, followed closely by horses. Crystal Singer is my favorite Anne series and I have an obsession with Lars Dahl *swoon*

[Anneli]

Hello, I'm Anneli. My real name, not a creation for online

I've been active in Anne McCaffrey online discussions for just under 5 years, for 4 of which I've been a host on Anne's Kitchen Table BB. I've also been lucky enough to meet several friends here in real life *waves at Cheryl, Hans and Pam*.

My first AMC love is Pern, although I also have everything else that Anne has ever written, except for a few rarities which I'm gradually tracking down on e-bay I tend to post only when I have something to say which hasn't already been said better by someone else, so don't expect me to pop up in any post-count-upping threads Not that I disapprove of them, just it's not my personal scene... My online time is unfortunately limited as I work full-time in real-life, so I try to make the best impact possible with the least amount of words in the time available

[Kugai]

Hello there

Well, most of you will know me from around the place .My real first name is James, not much of a surprise as I make that obvious in my siggie down below

I'm currantly 42 and have a fondness for Sci-Fi and Anime and am a bit of a frustrated author who occasionally pops something up on one or two of the BB I'm a member off (if ya don't believe me, here http://forum.pernesefriends.com/showthread.php?t=69 , my latest effort )

I'm a fan of Anne McCaffrey, R.A.Heinlein and several other authors and, of course, being a Wellywoodian, Tolkien and 'The Lord Of The Rings'

[Kater]

Well hello... My name is Kate but I've been going by Kater (in RL) for about 7 or 8 years now. When I first signed on the the WoAM sight I was informed by Hans that Kater in his native tounge means male cat but I figure most people at this point know that I'm not a male cat so I don't worry about it

ANYhoo... I have been an Anne McCaffrey fan for going on 30 years now (I'm not really that old am I???) My favorite series is Pern but I enjoy the Talent series as well (if he were a real person I would have a MAJOR crush on Afra Lyon!!).

If you want to know anything else about me just ask

[Kerianth]

Hi, I'm Kerianth (Claire in RL!) and I fell into the world of Anne McCaffrey online earlier this year. First with the KTB, then a brief flirtation with the KTL (I liked it too much and had to cut down or risk ruining my studies!) and then, through the KT, I got into PBeM roleplay.

Since I have loved Anne's books for over 20 years, this has been a wonderful experience, but unfortunately, it has been hampered by the fact that I am finally finishing my PhD after a total of nine years' work! My thesis has to be submitted before Christmas, so although I have re-joined the new-look MoM, I won't be active on the boards for a wee while to come.

However, it's lovely to see so many familiar names around and I hope to be back soon! Off to work again ....

[c_ris]

now this is all just making me fel so young...!

i am c_ris (and my for my RL name, just substitute the '_' for an 'h')

i am aslo an Anns=e McCaffrey fan (obviously) and was on the WoAM KT for about 3months before it has had to close down.. so i have come here! I am a student at the University of Essex, studying a joint degree in History and Politics (so don't be surprised if i use these to back up any irreleveant idea i may have ). I am also very much into rock climbing, and can (as of very recently) climb 4c/5a climbs. I live in the UK and alternate between Watford (home) and Colchester (uni) as the term time dictatates!

[K'vin]

Hi all. My name is Kevin and I first read Anne in Analog when she published her first story about Pern. I also have the dubious honor of being older than Hans as I was born in 1955. I have been collecting SF for over 35 years.

[Platinum]

HI!
Well, im a 23 year old girl (woman?) real life name Claire. I have 2 kids aged 4 and 5 and consequently enjoy Disney films and playing on swings
Nice to meet you all!

p.s. I tend to be hit by typo gremlins a lot so bear with me please

[AnnMarie]

I was WONDERING where you put the Lounge!

[AnnMarie]

Hi Y'all! My name is AnnMarie ...named for the two aunts that introduced my parents. I am Momma Wolf to a five year old Furture Oscar winner and wife to a Brit who is also a McCaffrey fan. I first read Anne's work while in high school... 79 or 80, I believe. Been hooked since. Voracious reader, from a family of them. (OOPS! Just thought of a few more authors I need to post eslewhere!) I am a cashier at a major local food chain...have been Supervisor, Customer Service, Survey Crew, Vetinary Clinic worker, hospital volunteer, tutor, and captain of the Woman's Woodsmens Team. I have an AAS from Paul SMiths COllege in the glorious Adirondacks of New York. The plan is to move to the UK in 05, where hubby is currently working and trying to arrange things and get the proper paperwork filed. Haven't met any of this crew IRL yet, but I sure do want to!

[Devcca]

I'm called Devcca. You can call me Devie, or Dev.. I'm am in Alaska.. where we are curently trying to tell the weather, "make up your mind!! Rain or snow, not both!!" I am a Pern, Freedom, Acorna, and Talented series fan... Pern was my first book.. which has been about 5 years now.. since I read the first book Dragonflight. Since then I have expanding to more Anne's series..

As for my personal life.. well... Trouble.. I'm trying to graduate this year (looks like I will this semister... and juggle some collage into to it, too. I don't know what else..

[Sandi]

Well, I guess I'm the senior member of the lot (so far). I'm in my fifth decade and have been a lot places and done a lot of things. I've been an Anne fan since somewhere in the 80's near as I remember. Ustacould has become a major word in my vocabulary and now I'm living quietly in a southern college town, working at the local PD. I have a daughter who lives in another state and a granddaughter who will be a year old in December. I have a dog and some cats and two turtles as roomies. I'm a quiet person and sort of dull as anyone can guess if they've read this far. I was a 4-year member of WoAM and very grateful to Cheryl & co. for keeping my channel to the outside world functional.

[AnnMarie]

Originally Posted by Sandi

Well, I guess I'm the senior member of the lot (so far). I'm in my fifth decade

You aren't that much older than I am.. and isn't Hans older?

[Bob12]

My name is Bob and the the 12 comes from my former employment - I've been retired since February 1st and am about two months shy of completing my sixth decade. I have been an Anne McCaffrey fan since the very late 60s when I read Decision at Doona. That led to Pern and I now have all of Anne's works - most in hard back.

In the world outside Pern and the Federated Sentient Planets, I am a semi-pro photographer and have an avid interest in electronics.

[H]

Hi there my name is H, real name Hisham Ahmed Hussein El-Far. I think we can all agree H is lot more easy to type.

I Started my facination with the books of A.M sometime before lunch time in my tenth year of life, the first Book of which was the Rowan (lent to me by an unsuspecting great aunt), this quickly led to a devouring of all Talent books, and a rash of book transfer orders at my local library for books they didnt have in stock , the talent series has since for evermore been my favorite series followed closley by the freedom and pern series

I'm a 24 year old Male (age correct at time of posting), who discovered the WoAM site a few years ago, got hooked and as a safety measure had to wander of for a while while at uni (my uni work was beeing affected by constant visiting of WoAM ). Eventualy i returned and history of the H kind was made!

I spend most of my time doing one of two things, Working for the Train Operating Company of the Moment (currently Silverlink) at Northampton and any other Train Stations they send me too , Or Journeying from Northampton to York (or vice verca) to be with Bardmaiden who i met at the very first UK Gather in Blackpool

I drink when i'm thirsty, i eat when i'm hungry and i ... well thats enough of that

oh and i'm ill burdened financialy in the hight department (i'm too tall), finding clothes to fit me is a joke !!!

[Purpura]

H How tall are you? my hubby's 6 feet tall.

[H]

Originally Posted by Purpura

H How tall are you? my hubby's 6 feet tall.

6ft7 and a bit in your imperialistic measurements

i wen't looking for a suit the other week, i could find suits to fit me in the waist ... I could find suits that fit me in length ... but try and try and try ... i could not find both in the same garment

Eventualy i had to pay the very large amount of £260 at a specialist shop that altered everything to my individuality

[Bea]

Hi my name is Bea in real life as well as here. I'm married no children but two cats and two dogs. I am 55 - and the cradle snatcher as Michial is about 11 months younger than me
We live close to Shani though she is threatening to leave us
Both Michial and I love Science Fiction and I have been reading Anne McCaffrey books for as long as I can remember. We have thousands of books - not all science fiction as we have very catholic tastes. Our latest hobby is Graphic art and we are both having a great time learning to use Bryce - I have done two pictures with dragons in them - but not as awe inspiring as Anne's. This is one of them
http://www.3dcommune.com/3d/galview....&nd=1101578753

[SecretFantasy85]

Good day to you, my name is Brittany Renee and that's about as far as I'll go with it I've been known to go by the names of Britt, Lily, Audrey and Shaylin (or Shay) Shay is my favorite one so far and I've decided to name my first daughter that. I should explain that too I guess....I'm 18, will be 19 on Dec 14, 2004....I'm not married and I'm not pregnant so why do I already have names picked out for my future children? Just because I like comming up with names...that's another reason I love animals, I can name them. I have 1 dog (used to have two but one died a few weeks ago...she was my fave ) 3 cats and 2 fish. As well as I have many many characters in online RPs and every single one has a different name the only problem with naming kids is you have to match it with a last name and considering I'm not married I have no clue what that last name will be (I'm hoping though...) so I may not get my wish of naming my kids what I want cause it just might not match.

Anywho..as you can see I ramble alot. I don't post usually unless I have something important to say. Which usually comes out everyway but I meant it. I have a very short temper and if I feel you aren't understanding me it may flare up. Though I try my best to keep it under control especially here online, it wouldn't do to have complete strangers mad at me for a misundertsanding now would it?

I'm the youngest child of two. I have one older brother who's 23 but I have many adopted siblings. One of which is my cousin who's lived with us for about 11 years of his life if you count it all up. He's younger then me by only 6 weeks. He's annoying..just like a little brother. I have an adopted older sister who's 22 and used to be my brother's girlfriend...she lives with us now and sleeps on our couch.

My favorite animal is a dolphin with squirls comming in a very close second. I haven't read any of AM's books outside of Pern. I'm a fantasy reader mostly and I hated the AIVAS thing in Pern cause it made way to SciFi for me, though it works I guess it's her world not mine. I love dragons though so I also read DragonLance whenever I can get my hot little hands on the books. I'm in college at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and I'm studying to get a BA in Biblical Studies and Secondary Ed with minor in Social Studies. This is my first semester and I'm doing pretty good. I travel to and from there every weekend, during the week I live in a dorm and therefor don't get to come online much.

I have a very serious boyfriend who lives in Mississauga, Ont, Canada. He's filipino/chinese by descent though born and raised in Canada. I'm from North Carolina, US and Irish/italian by descent so you see the interacialness of this couple? We've had dirty stares from people around here I swear it...not nice...I love him and I'm praying everyday that one day he'll ask me to marry him...I'd say yes in however long it takes my mouth and tongue to form the word.

That's it about me. Nice to meet you all and if you'd like to know more please drop me a private message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! I love to talk and meet new people.

[Shani]

I think it was all put down the bottom of the page to make the Book Forums more noticable AnnMarie.

[granath]

Hi! I'm granath from Finland, Maria IRL. Granath is actually an old family surname, an alternate spelling of the Swedish word "granat" i.e. grenade. My RL surname is pronounced "hell-force" or near enough.

I'm 32 years young, single, no kids or pets, although I do love my parents' two cats, Pelle and Olle, very much. I like all animals, but cats are my favorite.

I work as a translator and market researcher, and in future I'd like to combine the two if possible. Languages are a hobby of mine, and apart from English I speak Finnish, Swedish, Spanish and French.

I dabble in graphic design, and am working towards learning photoshop properly. Have only just started, though, so there's a long, long way to go.

Anne McCaffrey's Talents inspired me to make a website, Towerdex. I have too many favorite authors to mention them all here, although most of the fiction books I read are either science-fiction or mysteries.

I like listening to music, where my taste is very eclectic. My current favorites are the LotR soundtracks, Ash and Seven Nations, although Bryan Adams is and always will remain my biggest influence when it comes to music.

Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean are my favorite actors, and I'm a mod at one Viggo fansite, ViggoChronicles, as Manephelien - my Elf alter ego.

[c_ris]

Originally Posted by Bea

[snip] Our latest hobby is Graphic art and we are both having a great time learning to use Bryce - I have done two pictures with dragons in them - but not as awe inspiring as Anne's. This is one of them
http://www.3dcommune.com/3d/galview....&nd=1101578753

thats a lovely picture!

[scentman]

Hello (again) all, my name is Bruce, and I am a Perfumer by trade (I make scents for a living *groan*). I have been a McCaffrey fan since college in Pennsylvania - about 1979 - I have read most of the Pern, Killashandra, and The Ship books, but there are some others that I still have yet to read. I was born in 1960 in Long Island, NY, but my career took me to Atlanta, GA where I have lived for the past 9 years.

I love to travel, and have visited England, Wales, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria in Europe (I have also driven through parts of The Netherlands and Belgium but didn't get to sightsee - I was connecting from Bremen to the Hydrofoil at Oostende). In the Middle East: Jordan and Israel, and in Asia: India so far, as well as numerous places in the USA and Canada.

[Anareth]

Hello, again. I'm Anareth, aka Jennifer, aka juliet or julietvalcouer, ImperialGirl, TIE Pilot, and other on-line psedonyms. I'm 26 at the moment, I have a Master's in Museum Studies, am sick of working for the state of Michigan and am going to culinary school in January (don't you think the Whelan cover of ATWOP would make a lovely chocolate or pulled-sugar sculpture?) I write. Rather a lot. I'm in two Pern PBeMs. If you think I'm obnoxious on-line, you should meet me in real life.

I'm only going to repeat this story once: I found Anne McCaffrey when I was ten years old and my mother played the audiobook of "Moreta" on a car trip. I read Moreta, and got the gist of it. (Hence the creation of my imaginary dragaon, Anareth, who eventually became my PBeM gold.) The cover of the omnibus version of the Dragonriders trilogy was so ugly as to put me off it for years. Eventually I got around to reading it, probably around the time ATWOP came out. Again it slipped my mind, until I won a copy of SoP and found the website. Unlike many, I didn't start with Dsong or DF, and in fact I can't remember reading the HHT for the first time, and I'm fairly sure I never read Ddrums until I got into Pern fandom. I've now read all the Pern books, PoP, Atlas, both DLGs, the two Choose-your-own-adventures, and have the two games (Nova and Mayfair.) I'm also, as you may have gathered, a compulsive collector. I'm also a fan of the Ship Series. Never got into any of Anne's others, though I've read "Crystal Singer", and some of the Rowan-related short stories.

[AnnMarie]

Originally Posted by Anareth

If you think I'm obnoxious on-line, you should meet me in real life.

Obnoxious? Nope. Rough around the edges, maybe. At your age, that's allowed to an extent. I give you another 4 to 10 years to polish up before I'd call you "obnoxious"

[Dragonsbard]

I'm Ali or Aliette in real life. I'm married with a nearly-three-year-old daughter (a terrific cook-to-be and little actress), and another child pending (due date April 1, 2005). I like reading, knitting, cross-stitch, writing poetry, windsurfing, horseback riding, baking, traveling, playing CRPGs, and playing piano. I'm a mermaid. I'm also a physical therapist in real life, but not enthralled with it. I've been an Anne McCaffrey fan since high school, starting with Dragonsong. Have read most of her books, but still Pern series remains my favorite, with Crystalsinger stuff after.

[c_ris]

Originally Posted by Dragonsbard

*snippys* another child pending (due date April 1, 2005). *snippys*

ooh, that one's gonna be a joker!!!

[Anareth]

Originally Posted by AnnMarie

Obnoxious? Nope. Rough around the edges, maybe. At your age, that's allowed to an extent. I give you another 4 to 10 years to polish up before I'd call you "obnoxious"

I'm twenty-six. If I'm not polished by now, or on my way to being, I think I'm a lost cause. (Actually I'm very nice IRL or so I'm told. I wouldn't have believed it until I didn't kill the third person to ream me out because the Park doesn't take American Express. Yeah, I'm an exhibits person moonlighting as a GSR. I make that sort of decision. Not.)

And of course it all depends on where you meet me. On the street? Perfectly normal. At GenCon...well, now, that's another story...

[Devcca]

Originally Posted by Purpura

H How tall are you? my hubby's 6 feet tall.

If you gonna ask my height.. I'm tiny

[Purpura]

Ok Devcca.. I'm 5 feet 1 and you?

[Purpura]

Originally Posted by c_ris

ooh, that one's gonna be a joker!!!

No... that baby will share his/her birthday with Anne McCaffrey!

[Kater]

Originally Posted by Purpura

Ok Devcca.. I'm 5 feet 1 and you?

Ooohh a fellow vertically challanged person

[Faren]

Hi! What a nice idea for a thread.

I'm Faren (Barbara in RL). Picked the name Faren because I thought it was a pretty name and I needed something when I joined the KT a couple of years ago. That was my first online BB experience and it's been very positive.

Let's see. I'm married (22 years) with 3 children, ages 10,12,and 14. They're pretty terrific kids actually and my husband and I sure are enjoying watching them grow up...but it's happening awfully fast. I'm also a pharmacist, and work the night shift at a local hospital here in 2004's Hurricane Alley. Luckily for me, I have internet access at work, so I'm able to spend time online. I love my job...it's nice because there's always new things to learn (sometimes too many! ).

I've been an avid reader all my life, but didn't discover science fiction until 8 years ago. I was wandering around the library looking for ANYTHING new to read...and ended up in the sci/fi section. I perused the shelves looking for authors with multiple books because if I liked one, I wanted to be able to read another. And I ended up looking at a whole bunch of McCaffreys. I picked up one (think it was ATWoP) and figured out which was the first in the series...checked out DF and was hooked instantly.

I was so lucky to find out about Dragon*Con through the KT and attended with the kids in 2003. I got to meet a few people, and we all had a blast. That will always be a favorite time for me. Now I just have to manage to go again.

And I'm short too, Purp. Also 5'1".

[Ryuu]

since we can't post such here, will the political section be put in the games forum? some folk get their post counts up too quickly when they start voting