Hi All!
I'm Matt from Portland! I previously introduced myself on the Whitearmor in September but wanted to introduce myself here as I finally get the ball rolling on membership approval Most of this is a copy paste from my intro on Whitearmor in September after I just purchased my set of TK armor.
I'm a lifelong Star Wars fan like most everyone here. I've been wanting to join the 501st for a long time but recent events have allowed me to make the final decision to get my first set of armor. The biggest event was that I got married in March, 2020, and my wife as a wedding day surprise to me asked members of the Cloud City Garrison to come to our reception! I was completely blown away by the appearance and it really made our wedding even more memorable (we also got married right as the COVID pandemic was beginning in the US, good news was no one got sick). The Garrison's appearance helped raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, in memory of my mom who I lost to breast cancer in 2017 (my wife made a large donation in her memory and on behalf of the 501st). The members of the garrison who came were incredible and brought so much excitement and fun to our wedding reception. One of the members who was Boba Fett at the reception (Dstep) sent me a nice welcome message on my Whitearmor post.
My wife has been extremely supportive of my love of Star Wars and my interest in purchasing a set of armor. I decided to go with preassembled TK armor from RS propmasters given my lack of experience and craftiness. The armor arrived in November and I've been working on tweaking it and testing it out before applying for 501st membership. I've modified my bucket to add a voice changer as well as some padding for comfort and fit (Still very much a work in progress). I'm still looking to improve the armor's comfort and appearance so I'm excited to talk to members with more experience to help me work out the kinks and issues I've encountered.
Now that I've gotten my COVID vaccination and we're looking towards summer I've finally got off my butt and formally begun the application process.
I'm very excited about joining the Cloud City Garrison and start trooping with y'all!
