hey everyone - thanks for all the wonderful replies. and for all you guys out there who p/m'd me, i thank you, but i'm going to take gremlin's advice and get to know you all before i make any moves. besides, just getting on this board was hard enough, so to actually meet someone in person is probably going to take awhile!!! (honestly, after i made that first post, i almost deleted the whole thing to pretend like it had never happened!)
its nice to be among people who can offer advice and such. as for the buying thing: i have no car and i also live with roommates, which makes it all a little tricky but i hope at some time i can figure it out.
so nice to meet you all.