Yeah I realize you're probably all sick of hearing from me by this point. With good reason. To be perfectly honest, reading back through these posts I would be sick of hearing from me too.
I'm going to wax philosophical here for a moment, so pardon the personal content and all that stuff.
I've been a jerk. I came in here with good intentions and hopeful to learn, but straight off the mark I posted a bunch of things that certainly appear designed to make myself look like something special. I see now that this is why I was perceived as pretentious. Because, basically, I was. It may or may not have been intentional, but the fact remains.
It seems partially due to a flux in my life at present. I just took a leave of absence from school, as mentioned previously, to work at a new job and earn enough money to finish my education. I also took the LOA because my academic performance has been lagging the last year or so. I used to have a fantastic GPA because I studied and learned and worked hard. Now it's just above a B average, because I've stopped working so hard. I suppose I've felt that all my work and sacrifice for my family and education has lasted so long that I deserved something. I felt entitled, and stopped listening to people with more experience than I have. That includes all of you, as well as some of my professors. I would like to think this is a common pitfall for people in college, studying a field they have a lengthy background with, though it seems more likely I'm just a special kind of jerk. Though I have a background caring for boas, I don't have a background breeding them and shouldn't act like I have all the experience in the world. I don't. I have no good experience, and I've made lots of mistakes and planned to make others despite warnings.
What I'm getting at here is that I recognize I screwed up. I treated you all poorly and probably burned a few bridges. I'm not asking or expecting to get any trust or respect back because, frankly, not one single thing I've done on here has served to earn that. I simply expected it without earning it. I came for advice and ignored it, even arguing with the people who were trying to help.
I apologize for my actions and attitudes. I recognize it's my own shortcoming that brought me here. I will stop posting updates on this thread. I will begin perusing the forums to accumulate information and advice. I admit I have been wrong and arrogant. The reason I bothered to post this at all is because I believe you all deserve an apology from me. Take it for what it's worth. I understand some of you will continue to be irritated, and I admit that I deserve that. My actions certainly warrant it.
Thank you for trying to help me see the risks I almost took with my animals. Thank you for trying to help me learn. And again I apologize.
I will probably be silent for the next month or so as I accumulate the information I am definitely lacking. I will do my best to learn from you all, and stop being a contentious element. Thank you for your patience and consideration.