I wasn't going to get all weepy, but I see I'm not alone, so here goes...

I've been quietly hanging around this community and following its members since the TFN days. (Wow, that sounded creepy) Its influence on my life cannot be overstated.

I will spare you the details, but my journey into storytelling and animation began with finding RvD online. That led me to TFN and eventually to DIF, which became a large part of my storytelling and filmmaking education. Living thousands of miles from Hollywood, filmmaking was a huge mystery to me.

Of course, it went beyond the nuts and bolts. Your passion and energy for films, stories and creativity was (is) very contagious and inspiring.

And, on a more personal note, DIF also kept me company through some dark times when I didn't have other people around.

So, thank you Teague, Trey, Brian, Mike, Ryan and the rest of the crew. Thank you so much.

Hi everyone. Finally joined the forum...figure I'll do the ritual introduction...

--Who are you?---
Animator/filmmaker? (not sure what to call myself). I just graduated with a BFA from NMU in Marquette, Michigan. (the end of the earth is about 5 miles down the road)

I'm kinda in limbo right now. Just trying to figure out what to do next. This summer I sent my senior animation to a few festivals. That has been educational, infuriating, intimidating, humbling....you get the picture. It's on the front page of my site if anyone is interested. www.joerule.com

I like telling stories, whether it's in writing or a visual medium. It's fun to stretch the suspension of disbelief in animation. Also, I find animated characters produce more emotional reaction in an audience (namely me) than from live action. Maybe people allow themselves to be more "vulnerable" when not confronted with real life on the screen? I digress.

--What do you do?--
Draw, paint, 3D model, 3D animate, etc. Fix PCs, servers, networks. Build/restore/paint cars. SCUBA Dive. Unicycle. Wander around at night. Play guitar, piano and trumpet. Watch movies.

--How did you find DIF?--
Found RvD back in 2006. Was a lurker at TFN. Kept track of Mike and Ryan's work, which led me to DiF in 2011ish.

--How do you like your pizza--
deep dish straight from Chicago.....or thin and crispy

I'm terrible at participating in discussions on forums, but I hope I'll find a home for creative discussion here. I look forward to arguing with all of you.

Oh, and I'm hopelessly addicted to theater popcorn and I don't like the new series of Doctor Who (I've tried! Really hard! How can a talented writer like Moffat write such facking incoherent stories??? *sigh* )