Well, I've been lurking on and off for about a year procrastinating
this moment, but alas the urge to seek advice has gotten the better
of me, so here goes...

I've been interested in tools of all sorts for longer than I can
remember.  My dad always performed all the repairs on both
the house and the cars, so there was always an opportunity to learn
about tools and how to use them.  I followed him everywhere and helped
with what now seems to me a staggering list of projects.
By the time I made it to wood shop in eighth grade and our teacher
lined all the kids up in front of the wall of about a hundred hand
tools, I was able to name nearly every one.

By the time I left home, I realized that I had learned how to
do electrical wiring, plumbing, carpentry, masonry, gardening,
and a tiny bit of cabinetry.  The woodworking was what I loved
the most, and I hoped that I would be able to get back to it some day.

Well, that day came about a year and a half ago when my wife
and I were finally able to buy our first house.  Within six
months it was clear that neither of the family cars was ever
going to be parked in the garage, which has been hastily
transformed into my shop.

I've been acquiring tools and books on woodworking at a pretty
quick clip, supported by my work as a computer software engineer.

The old tools epiphany for me came a year ago last spring when
I took a one-day class with Gary Rogowski in Portland, Oregon at
his Northwest Woodworking Studio.  The class was a pretty thorough
lesson in tuning, sharpening, and using planes, chisels, and
spokeshaves.  I came away completely changed. Since then, my hand
plane *inventory* has climbed to 7 bench planes, 3 block planes,
and 3 spokeshaves.

I've been back to Portland for a week-long set of classes with
Garrett Hack on planes and bent and curved furniture construction.
Two weeks ago I was there for Gary's master class
on building an arched top blanket chest.  Some of the most fun
I've ever had.  (There was far too much work on the chest to
complete in one week, so now the challenge is to finish it
before fall.)

My wife and I live in California near San Francisco with our
two kids.  My daughter is now 13 and my son 9.  The challenge
ahead is to fill the house with furniture.  I'm hoping to
enlist some help from the other family members, but the jury
is still out on how successful that plan will be.

Oh, and BTW, my favorite finish is PaddyLac.

-jim