thanks everyone, i'm glad you like my sig. anyways, i've done some exploring on this site and i must say i think i'll be spending a lot of time here. i've seen other japan-related message boards, such as the one on gamefaqs. but everyone there seems to have a very elitist attitude, which could turn some people off to japanese culture. this site doesn't seem to be like that at all. maybe it has something to do with all the cute smileys you can choose from.
anyways, thanks for replying and i look forward to talking with each one of you soon.