Well Bruce, what finally tipped my scales really didn't have anything to do with the site at all. Mainly it was the fact that I no longer had internet at my home so I had no way of really keeping up with things except by my cell phone.....which for browsing the site (yes the first bookmark ever put in my phone was the "how to" sections of this site) was fine. But typing stuff for forums, even reading forums was difficult due to my phone not translating the site in full mode properly. Now I have access to the net again and will get a new phone for those on the go posts next month, so I figured time to quit being lazy and get on it. Not to mention it also had to do with working for LEGO Brand Retail, I just started there in October so my obsession kinda went into overdrive after that. Oh yeah and since I just got into microscale..........I simply had to join the forums to enter in 2011.
But trust me Bruce the site has been an invaluable tool for me, especially the folks who wrote the "how to" sections. When I lost my job last year in June, I spent my days on the net doing apps, and my nights reading up on custom items from sculpy and trying to learn the art of clay. Granted I am not great at it, but it helped out much with my Medieval Village that my wife and I were working on. I have a garden full of veggies and grape vines, with almost all produce made from clay. (grapes that are to scale of a minifig.......are HARD)
As far as my musical talents, I use to play guitar. I just sold off my entire collection including my Les Paul
but eventually I will get back to having a few. Long long ago I did play piano, however sheet music is more than a foreign language to me these days. I miss my guitars but I had a choice when my wife and I both were unemployed last year.......sell the guitars....or sell my LEGO collection.
And to anyone who ever wondered, yes working for LEGO Brand Retail is awesome. If you ever get a chance to even work there part time if you are a teen or college student looking for work, GO FOR IT! In 14 years of retail I have to admit that it has been the most rewarding job I have ever had. We even get Christmas presents from the company ( a bamboo fiber potholder and apron set from Ego and an employee exclusive LEGO board game). The drawback is, you are looking at boxes of product all day, thinking "dang I could use those parts for this, and this set would be spare parts for that" and then realizing your wife would kill you for dumping your paycheck into ABS plastic and not into bills.
Thank you all for the warm welcome, like I said, I hope to learn from all of you. If there is anything I can help with feel free to ask.
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