Where is the Welcome Committee ???


Posted by Gisela Rentmeister ® , Mar 24,2002,15:51   Archive
Here is a question for you wonderful people: What does an ignorant person have to do to be granted a oh sooo much appreciated welcome to the board. I'm not so brandnew an addition to the board anylonger but still feel like an outsider - poor, poor Gisela...
Anyway, how DID all of this start? Did you great bunch of people formally (whatever that means) introduce yourselves to each other? I want to tell you that I thoroughly enjoy reading some of your posts - sometimes all of them, time permitting. It feels good to remember that I'm not the only one on this planet with this miserable disorder.

As to me, ask me any question you want. I originally posted my URL to the board - for you to take a look at this new member. But it was considered advertising and removed. So there I was...

Luv ya all!
Gisela from B.C.'s beautiful Ogopogo (our friendly lake monster)Land, which, finally, shows itself again bathed in warm sunlight




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Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ???

Re : Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by Lynn Yarbrough ® , Mar 24,2002,16:31 Top of Thread Archive
Hi, Gisela,

Gee, I don't know how long this has been going on, but I know it's been several years. The people here have all come to this place in deep need for information, medical advice, comfort, friendship, and a place to blow off steam and/or celebrate, and it all just happened! There are lots of other forums like this on the Internet; some of them are really neat, some are the pits, but we have one of the neat ones. The nice ones have moderators with a firm hand and empathy for the rest of us (that's Judy).

Anyhow, we hope you will stick around and join us in the celebration (limited though that may be)!

--- Lynn




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Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ???

Re : Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by Shirley-Arkansas-USA ® , Mar 24,2002,17:19 Top of Thread Archive
Please don't consider yourself an outsider. All it takes to become an "insider" is to join in and banter with us. Everyone is welcome. There are a few people on the bb that have been here since it started. I've been hanging around for close to 3 years, now. People come and people go but we always appreciate the people that stay and help with the task at hand. We get sick of hearing our same "old stories" so we like to hear "new stories".
I read the bb for about a month before I ever got up the nerve to post. I never stopped. It has been a wonderful support system for me and has also helped my family to understand that I'm not the only one with crazy symptoms.
In attending conferences or support group meetings, some of us have met and have put a face with a name. Group photos have been posted after the last few conferences. There are many on the bb that I have never met but still feel very close to because they are here on a daily or weekly basis. When these "regulars" don't show up for awhile, we start missing them and and have to go "look" for them.
Over time, we just get to know each other and what are problems are.

It might be a good time to go through introductions again. We do that every so often so I'll start another post and get that started.
So, Gisela, stick around and ask questions or welcome others, answer questions, make comments, tell us how your day goes-just share with us. Everyone has something to offer. Along the way, you will get comfortable with certain ones and you may wish to personally email them.
With time you will get to know all of us.

Shirley in Arkansas hoping that Gisela sticks around.




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Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ???

Re : Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by Sally - in - Idaho ® , Mar 24,2002,21:10 Top of Thread Archive
Hi Gisela ... I could have sworn that I welcomed you???? Guess I'm getting rummy dummy. Anyway, if I didn't, here's a big WELCOME!

Like Shirley, I lurked for about a month or so before having nerve to post. I think I "came aboard" a couple of months after she did. It is good to have lots of people here because that way, there is always someone to answer a plea for help or solace.

Please hang around and put in your two cents worth anytime.

Sally in North Idaho, (or did I imagine that, too?)




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Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ???

Re : Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by MaryNY ® , Mar 24,2002,21:40 Top of Thread Archive
Hi Gisela - and Welcome to the BB! I liken this to a social gathering, where you will find "chatterboxes", those who REALLY have good ideas, a few crackpots (sorry, folks) and some, like me, that sit over by the corner, listening to every conversation, and occasionally popping in with a comment. All in all, it's just a friendly neighborhood coffee-chat! A little of this, a little of that, and a whole lot of information that you will never find anywhere else! And we're all friendly neighbors, ready, willing, able and happy to meet newcomers! So stick around. I guarantee you'll never know what will come up next! Mary



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Re: Welcome to the bulletin board Gisela!!!

Re : Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by Shirley-Arkansas-USA ® , Mar 24,2002,23:27 Top of Thread Archive
Gisela, I went back to your original post and lo and behold, none of us said "Welcome to the bulletin board". I am so sorry. No one greeted you as a new poster. My excuse for such a blunder is that I had the flu. I do want points for going back some 18 pages to find your original post to check it out (while also watching the Oscars on TV). Several people responded to your post where you asked about Meige but no one actually said welcome to our little group. I didn't totally read all the posts again but just skimmed them and nope-not nary a welcome there.
Occasionally someone does slip by and the welcome mat is not thrown out properly. You simply must excuse our rudeness. We shall somehow make it up to you. I really don't know how it happened.
Now my spiel that you missed the first time:

Gisela welcome to the bulletin board. If you have not already contacted the BEBRF, please take the time to do so. You can find the info for contacting them in the "Welcome to Newcomers" at the top of the bulletin board page. You might also want to check out "the Main Page" at the top of the bb page where you will find information of interest on BEB and Meige. I could go on but you get the picture. Anyway, a hearty Welcome to you. :-)

Shirley in Arkansas who can't believe that we slipped up like that. Shame on us. :-)

--modified by Shirley-Arkansas-USA at Sun, Mar 24, 2002, 23:29:07




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Re: Welcome to the bulletin board Gisela!!! Shirley

Re : Re: Welcome to the bulletin board Gisela!!! --- Shirley-Arkansas-USA
Posted by Joann Humphrey ® , Mar 25,2002,11:00 Top of Thread Archive
We can always count on Shirley to help out with research. Thank you Shirley.
Joann In Ark. where we're getting more rain & lots of clouds.



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Re: Welcome to the bulletin board Gisela!!!

Re : Re: Welcome to the bulletin board Gisela!!! --- Shirley-Arkansas-USA
Posted by Gisela Rentmeister ® , Mar 25,2002,14:07 Top of Thread Archive
You are such a sweetheart, Shirley. God bless! You didn't after all HAVE to take the extra step). However, since so many of you eventually responded, I already feel at home here. But you are right, I DID wonder where the welcome wagon, so kindly provided to others, might be hiding. I guess I'm a tough cookie, but others might feel left out a bit (oh what the heck, I did too). Since the same names seem to pop up a lot, there's a bit of a tendency one's intruding. However, this is such a great forum (friendly, caring and informative) that I wanted to stick with it.

XXXX and many thanks, Gisela




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Re: "same names pop up ... intruding"??

Re : Re: Welcome to the bulletin board Gisela!!! --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by Sally - in - Idaho ® , Mar 25,2002,19:26 Top of Thread Archive
Perhaps Gisela has a point there. When I first began reading the BB, I also noticed that the same names were "talking" back and forth most of the time and it took me awhile to get brave enough to "interrupt." How can we prevent that? Should we take turns staying off the board for a couple of days at a time? Suggestions? I hate to think there are those who feel left out and are afraid to post. Once someone does, I really believe they are made welcome and included in the discussions or fun.

This might be something we need to think about relative to making the BB more user friendly.

Sally in North Idaho who was terrified of interrupting Shirley back in those days!

--modified by Sally - in - Idaho at Mon, Mar 25, 2002, 19:27:45




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Re: "same names pop up ... intruding"??

Re : Re: "same names pop up ... intruding"?? --- Sally - in - Idaho
Posted by Shirley-Arkansas-USA ® , Mar 25,2002,22:58 Top of Thread Archive
I went back to when I originally started posting. I thought that I lurked for about a month but it was more like 3 months. I read the posts everyday and eventually just got my courage up to just jump in. I felt like I knew everybody by the time that I started posting and became real comfortable very quickly. Geez Sally, you interrupt me all the time now. :-) How did you get over your fear? :-)

We are open to suggestions. I do want people to participate.

Shirley in Arkansas




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Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ???

Re : Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by June in Toronto ® (June Floyd,June in Toronto), Mar 25,2002,06:42 Top of Thread Archive
Gisela, did we really forget you - shame on us? Maybe your original post about meige didn't really say you were new - that's my excuse anyway, although I know its not an acceptable one:-)

WELCOME TO THE BULLETIN BOARD Gisela, excuse our laxity. May you have many hours of posting on the bb, finding and sharing new information, laughing and even crying with us if and when that happens - be one of us and post often. Best wishes to one of my countrywoman in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.

June in Toronto, which is also beautiful in a different type of way.




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Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ???

Re : Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by Christel-California ® , Mar 25,2002,10:02 Top of Thread Archive
Gisela,
HERZLICH WILLKOMMEN !!!

Nobody ever welcomed me either, I still cry myself to sleep every night. :-)

Christel in Ca.




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Re: Get over it! :-)

Re : Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Christel-California
Posted by Shirley-Arkansas-USA ® , Mar 25,2002,10:20 Top of Thread Archive
Christel, surely we welcomed you. If we didn't, you've been on here so long that you just need to get over it. :-)
At least we spell your name right, now. That has to count for something.
Now, I'm beginning to wonder if anyone ever welcomed me. I shall have to go back and look and see. If I'm gone for several days, I'm down in the archives searching through post after post. :-)
I think that Judy used to welcome new people as they came on and then we kind of all gradually took over doing it.
Anyway, stop crying yourself to sleep at night-you know that we love ya.

Shirley in Arkansas




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Re: Get over it! :-)

Re : Re: Get over it! :-) --- Shirley-Arkansas-USA
Posted by Christel-California ® , Mar 25,2002,10:48 Top of Thread Archive
I'll try Shirley, it'll be hard, but I'll try.:-)

I think when someone comes on and says, Hi, I'm new, blah blah blah, he or she gets a welcome, versus those who just come on the board making a comment to a post, as I did. Of course there was always the general welcome to newcomers.

Christel in Ca. who thinks she may have just gotten over it.: -)
P.S. I enjoyed Whoopie last night as well, isn't she a kick?




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Re: Get over it! :-)

Re : Re: Get over it! :-) --- Shirley-Arkansas-USA
Posted by Sally - in - Idaho ® , Mar 25,2002,12:59 Top of Thread Archive
Shirley, I think you're right. No welcoming group greeted me ... back in those long ago days (three years ago?) the greetings were all just from Judy. I think we took over once when she had to be away for her mother's health needs (or some such leave of absence) and new people came while she was gone, and then we just kept on. Do you suppose she minds? thinks we were pushy broads? Hope not!

Sally in gray North Idaho who is going to turn the thermostat up a bit.




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Re: Things have changed

Re : Re: Get over it! :-) --- Sally - in - Idaho
Posted by Shirley-Arkansas-USA ® , Mar 25,2002,22:48 Top of Thread Archive
Hey Sally, we are STILL pushy broads. Things have changed. I think that 3 years ago, there wasn't so much of a welcome mat like we throw out now. Judy always greeted us individually as the moderator and made us feel welcome. People just came and asked questions or talked about different aspects of BEB and there wasn't near the amount of casual banter. I don't know if that is good or bad. I have a terrible tendency to get side-tracked and go off on discussions of boxers versus briefs.
Maybe we need to go back to the old ways. We may be chasing people off.

Shirley in Arkansas in the rain wondering how Judy feels about all this.




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Re: Things have changed

Re : Re: Things have changed --- Shirley-Arkansas-USA
Posted by Moderator-JB ® , Mar 26,2002,08:30 Top of Thread Archive
Change is the spice of life or the necessity :)

Actually, I enjoyed welcoming each and every one of you, however it became more and more difficult as we enlarged our group of people, my symptoms progressed, and I settled more easily into a life of figuring out what I was (and could do) if I could no longer work.

It is a big step going from 20+ years of working for a living and then your learned system of survival disentegrate before your eyes which by the way, have developed a nasty habit of closing at the most inopertune times.

In the beginning of this board I desperately needed to talk with others who understood what was going on. It's been said that the best way to learn something is to teach it. Little do all of you know how often I sat down at my computer each night after work talking with each of you because I was going quietly beserk myself in a world where the general public (and employers) do not understand 'different'.

When any of us reaches out to someone else to answer their questions, we help both them AND us! Often, while answering a question to another we 'hear' MOST what we need to understand.

Have a great day people,

Judy (who feels very good about others stepping up to the plate and sharing the demand and rewards)

--modified by Moderator-JB at Tue, Mar 26, 2002, 08:34:37




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Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ???

Re : Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by Joann Humphrey ® , Mar 25,2002,11:07 Top of Thread Archive
Gisela, WELCOME to the BB. Sorry if we didn't welcome you officially. We are so happy to have you join in. I read lots more than I respond. This group has a wonderful sense of humor & I hope you do too. Cheer up & hope you're feeling better after the big welcome now. I don't remember if I was ever officially welcomed either, but have enjoyed it anyway. I have blepharospasm & early signs of meige, trouble with my voice occasionally.
Joann in Arkansas



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Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ???

Re : Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Joann Humphrey
Posted by Sally - in - Idaho ® , Mar 25,2002,13:02 Top of Thread Archive
It sounds as though Shirley is going to have to spend many hours down in the dark and dank and dingey vault, ascertaining who was and who wasn't welcomed by a group of individuals to the BB. Those of us who were NOT welcomed, expect to be guests of honor at a Neglected Party!!!

Sally in North Idaho who does not like to be the center of attention anyway.




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Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ???

Re : Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by Gisela Rentmeister ® , Mar 25,2002,14:40 Top of Thread Archive
Ach Du lieber Gott, did I happen to open a can of worms here... That was not my intention and I offer my sincere apologies to all and every one who had to spend precious time on this. Wish to goodness I hadn't posted that "cry" message. I promise to face the darkest corner of this place, bow my head, wipe an ocean of tears and cross my heart and hope to die that I'll never, EVER do it again.

Gisela - who feels sooo bad about this right now but, nevertheless, thanks everyone for their kind welcome message.




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Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ???

Re : Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by joyce whitt/NC ® (Joyce Whitt,joyce whitt/NC), Mar 25,2002,19:00 Top of Thread Archive
Gisela, Don't pay any attention to these people. We just have a weird sense of American humor. We love to tease each other so don't worry about starting something. If you hadn't, someone else would have. This group loves to party! So welcome to our wild and crazy bulletin board.

Joyce in NC who did get out to pull the weeds in the flower bed and I probably will pay for it tomorrow because it was windy outside.




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Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ???

Re : Re: Where is the Welcome Committee ??? --- Gisela Rentmeister
Posted by Ann Doyle ® , Mar 26,2002,18:13 Top of Thread Archive
I NOMINATE GISELA AS THE OFFICIAL GREETER ANY ONE ELSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO JOIN IN MAY. ANN DOYLE



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