yeah, that's how all of it always starts, isn't it? you start watching an anime or two, go buy some manga, learn how to read 'em and the next thing you know you have 3 foot stacks of manga and just random doodles, sixteen unfinished story outlines, 80 some-odd dvds...1/2 of them in japanese. cute little plushies all over your room, singing j-pop to yourself, and so on and so on... and everyone thinks that you're crazy and/or that you'll grow out of it but you never will..... once you're hooked you're hooked for life. and its then that you realize that you'll never be 'normal' again. but hey, you gotta follow your own path, right? for soon we all will be otaku. i wish my college had an anime club...... 'cause aside from all you guys on this site, i feel like i'm all alone in this. very good post and so true. as a fellow otaku, sucked in against my volition, but now fully and thoroughly obbsessed, i can sympathize.