I seemed to have remembered that thread so I went back to look for myself. Yep, found myself - and see how far I've come from those days.
Wow, at the time I was pursuing my Masters (achieved that) and was a Senior Manager at an advertising agency in Chicago named Leo Burnett.
Now I'm a Principal Systems Architect at a large, international bank with a nice office and a staff.
I wish everyone could be as fortunate as I am.