Yeah, it's funny how it just pulls you in, starting with flash cards to learn hiragana/katakana and then Kanji! It set me down a different, dare I say better, life path too. Learning the language and thus the culture kept opening new doors and my understanding of the culture and communication and people. I find it sad when some people refuse to learn, or don't care to because they can "get by on English". But I'm glad you sparked the interest and succeeded! I really love the international community of Japanese speaking foreigners, there is just a common level of respect and common experience that makes it easier to meet new people.