Way, way back in the old (and happier) days at LS, I joined the board due to a problem I was having with AdAware and what it had found. I was a newbie, only had my pc for about 6 months at that point. I was way to shy to post my question on the board, so I pm'd an administrator (he shall remained unnamed). Well I received a nasty pm back asking how dare I interrupt him like that, and in some pretty nasty words told me to use the F-ing board. Wow I was thrown for a loop there. Well I thought I don't want anything to do with this place or the program if that is how they treat people.
Well I gave it another try, this time pm-ing someone named AAPlus. Wow what a difference. I received the most pleasant helpful and humorous reply you could imagine, and solved my problem at the same time. We started communicating by PM and became friends and he eventually introduced me to IAMSKINZ (Jerry) and Melanie. I watched carefully as these three moderators conducted themselves and what their answers were and one day I decided to answer a question myself. To my surprise the answer was correct, and there in my PM box were two messages. One from Rojas and one from Jerry congratulating me and encouraging me to keep up the good work. If I had a question I couldn't answer, Rojas was always there to help me and patiently explain to me why I was telling the user this or the other. If he wasn't available, he contacted Jerry and he helped me. Eventually we became like the three mouseketeers. Always on the board, and helping each other keep the board under control.
Then one night I received an email asking me if I would consider becoming a Moderator. I almost fell out of my chair. After much thought, and encouragement from Rojas I accepted. One day a short while after this, I noticed Rojas hadn't been on the board for an unusual length of time. By this time Jerry and I had also developed a close friendship and I guess he felt I could be told the reason for Rojas' periodic absenses.....he was fighting cancer. I was devastated!! Such a wonderful, caring young man and a friend was seriously ill.
I watched thru the next couple years how Rojas would come on the boards and fight through what I knew was excruciating pain help users with the same intensity, respect and humor. If those people he was assisting knew what he had to do just to get on the board, let alone help them they would have been amazed and inspired.
Well ironically, about a year after being made a Mod, I too was diagnosed with cancer. That is when I started to realize first hand what Rojas must be going thru. Well I thought to myself I would do what Rojas did, keep on truckin' and doing the best you can with integrithy and a smile.
I was asked to become an Administrator while in the middle of receiving radiation and chemotherapy treatments. I thought to myself I can't do this what if I screw up someione's machine because of the drugs and overalll weakness. Then I thought of Rojas. And I realized I could do it like he inspired me. Do it when you can, with calm, integrity, and humour the same as him so I stayed on until the end of the forums (but that's another story).
I appologize for the long rambling here but this was the only way I could show all of those here that didn't know Rojas, how he inspired me and taught me to just keep on keeping on.
We will become a team again someday Rojas and I, I firmly believe that. So here is a message for you buddy.....until that time comes, rest peacefully in Gods' arms knowing you have a wonderful son carrying on your work helping users fix their computers and a group of wonderfull teammates missing you terribly.
