As a child in Texas, I loved watching anime and reading manga. After being repeatedly bullied at school over these hobbies, I bitterly decided to quit so that I could make friends.

Fast-forward about 7 years and I'm in high school, living in Toronto, Canada. I'd seen a post online somewhere strongly recommending Ghost in the Shell, and after some inner turmoil, I finally gave in and acquired copies of the original movie and first season. I started watching on Thursday, and finished some time a few days later around 7 AM on Saturday morning. The series was so inspiring that I decided to return to watching anime, reading manga, collecting figures, etc ... I remember feeling very enthusiastic after this decision. I decided I would start collecting figures immediately, and that my first would be a Ghost in the Shell one.

Well, Saturday morning in the summer in Toronto is the most popular timeslot for garage sales. I left the house around 8 AM and started walking around my neighbourhood. I passed a few garage sales without stopping -- they didn't "feel" right. The first one I stopped at, I marched right up one of the aisles and stopped at a figure of Motoko and a Tachikomo from Ghost in the Shell in an unopened package. I bought it for 75 cents and went home feeling very frisson-y.