What the hell do you want?

[General Ceel]

Alright, so I'm totally aware that at this point its just Danster and Ceel talking to ourselves, but as others will hopefully trickle in at some point, I thought it might be worth it to get our goals for this reborn / infant revived TGC out in public.... 

So, where is all of this headed? You go first.... hehe!

[Danster]

Personally, I'd be more than happy with just 7 or 8 of the old guard popping by regularly to chat, and if each of them had two or three characters it could create quite a nice and not overwhelming RP community if that's people's bag.

For me, TGC was always the oasis of the internet; I might not visit it every day or even every week, but it was there for me to dip in and out of and you'd always get someone replying to you. I'd be happy if it got back that that again to be perfectly honest.

Being realistic, the days of 1000 posts a day are consigned to history.

[General Ceel]

I too could happily live with a handful of people who make it a point to drop by every day or two. Given the amount of time the average person spends online these days, I don't that that a few minutes at TGC every 24 to 48 hours is too much to ask those with fond memories of our past and a present day willingness to make a small piece of what they used to love come to life again.

"The old days" weren't perfect, but most of my memories of TGC are positive. And from where I'm sitting, the old community was far more friendly and less antagonistic than much of the online world has become today. I started cutting myself off from "social media" years ago. I do drop by a few places as an observer, and the level of vitriol, hate and misinformation is absolutely appalling. To me, TGC represents a time that was by and large much kinder, even at its worst. I'm eager to bring a small piece of the old girl back.

Beyond that, I wouldn't be opposed to eventually taking things a little further if its in the cards. I'm under no illusions that a message board named "the gungan council" can ever be huge in the world of 2023 (regardless of what platform we're on.) But that doesn't means this little board can't possibly be just the first step toward something different, somewhere else. During the intervening years, my youtube channel has been accumulating a subscriber base, though I've done little to encourage it to become a community. But as many of the first videos we posted there were TGC Podcast episodes, I think it might be fitting if the channel and the board eventually become integral to one another again.

[Danster]

That sounds great to me. A quiet little corner of the internet were we Star Wars geeks can come and vent, chat, discuss, roleplay without any of the bullshit that comes with most elements of social media these days. Might be a pipe dream, but here's hoping.

[General Ceel]

Apparently some people remember me as an evil troll. I don't think that was ever true, except in a few of my lower moments (nobody is perfect after all, especially when they are young.) Regardless, the 41 year old me is down right sensible compared to the world we live in these days! I've love to have this place to come to a couple times per day to escape all the nonsense.

[Danster]

41. Man. I'm 37 and am dreading turning 40. I don't know why but it feels like a real landmark to me. At the moment I somehow still feel young despite all the baggage, but when my age starts with a 4 I don't think I can maintain that delusion!!!

[General Ceel]

In my mind I feel young most of the time. The body is a bit different. I was running ultra marathons in my 20's and 30's. I was the best shape of my life around 2014 through 2017. I've spent years battling to get back there. But injuries are more frequent and recovery happens slower. On top of that it became harder to maintain the single minded discipline and motivation year round. I've been chasing those glory days for a number of years now. This summer my training has been quite good actually. But winter is almost year so I'll have to see if I can maintain the discipline to carry this fitness into the next year.

[Danster]

I actually got myself into decent shape mid-August, but mainly for reasons of vanity. We went to Disneyland Florida for an incredible holiday, and given the scale of the occasion, I knew there would be photos taken there that I would still be looking at in 20 years time, so I embarked on a solid effort to get in shape back in April. I was doing a twice-daily abs workout and running 3-5 times a week. I entered a 10k race and managed to beat the 50 minute mark, something I hadn't done since I was 21/22, so was quite pleased with that.

Trouble is, I got home a week ago last Wednesday and have been so miserable since that exercise has been the last thing on my mind. As well as eating horrendously whilst on holiday, I've continued it at home too and have been eating and drinking too much and not exercising. It's depressing, in three weeks I've lost what it took four months to acquire.

[General Ceel]

In my house we've had our diet dialed consistently for the past two years, so I'm good in that department. I do still love my strong craft beers, and tend to drink a 4 pack of imperial stouts or double IPAs once or twice per week. Gotta have fun sometimes, right? hehe.

As far as training, since June I've covered around 650 miles all on hilly trails. Back in the day this would have been all running, but for this summer at least, its been a combination of running and power hiking. This has helped me avoid burnout and injury. But right now we're starting to get our first cold mornings of the season. This means it takes more effort to generate body heat, so I intend to do more running between now and when the trails get snowy and icy in a few months.

[Danster]

I need to get back to my running. And my daily workouts. But I'm currently in that dread cycle of, "I'll start tomorrow..."