... and I can finally start eating real food again.
Allow me to introduce myself: I'm a 21 year old student and aspiring EE with a passion for hardware interface design. I've focused most of my energy on designing devices for creative expression, namely MIDI/OSC interfaces.
Just a few months ago, I had no idea that mechanical keyboards existed. The only thing I knew was that I had never been happy with any keyboard that I had ever used. They never felt right. I'd spend entire afternoons at Frys or Best Buy typing out essays on the demo models. I figured that I was just being oversensitive, and that if there was any way to make them feel different, someone would be doing it. Little did I know that they were. I was jaded, and never bothered spending more than $20 on a keyboard since I could never find any good reason to spend more.
At some point between then and now, I discovered this forum. I've been combing your archives and soaking up your expansive, thorough knowledge on the way of the mechanical switch. When I came upon the HHKB pro 2, it was love at first sight. The form factor and layout resonated with me in a way that made me feel like this is exactly what I've been looking for. The price seemed prohibitive, so I went back to comparing switch types on the wiki and reading reviews/opinion threads.
Everything kept pointing in the same direction. Between the high opinions held for the board around here and the descriptions of the topre switches, I decided I wouldn't settle for anything else. I saved money over the next ~6 weeks by eating lots of ramen and staying in more often. Right when I had enough to make the purchase from EliteKeyboards, they raised the price by another $10 - not much, but enough to make it difficult to pull the proverbial trigger considering how tight my budget was already. I checked ebay, and for the first time since I had any interest, there was a reasonably-priced used board up for sale. I got the board, soft case, and clear plastic roof for $250 - a fortuitous find indeed.
So far, I couldn't be happier with the board. It's every bit as awesome as I've imagined. I want to thank you guys for existing and fighting the good fight. Thank you for caring so much. I'm almost certain that I'll eventually get the urge to buy more, and I can see myself having a nice collection of keyboards once I'm at a point in my life where I can afford it. For now though I'll probably just go back to lurking and typing vicariously through you all. Long live quality hardware.
