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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
You know, I guess if I am going to ask a question like this, I had better be
ready to answer it too!
I have to say, every time I answer the question "So where do you work?", I
have a "LEGO Moment". It is amazing to me how much positive emotion exists
in people's minds for LEGO! Every time I have the opportunity to join in a
discussion with AFOLs about the hobby, or attend one of the fan events, I
have a flood of "moments".
I could quite literally write page after page of moments, but here are a few
of my favorites:
Story 1
I have been privileged in that I am able to meet many adult fans in person.
Every time that I see two people meet in person for the first time after
having developed a friendship only online, it's a moment. You can literally
see a spark when they shake hands for the first time. This person you have
gotten to ''know'' is suddenly real. It's absolutely wonderful!
Story 2
Like many of the AFOLs, I was brought out of my LEGO ''dark ages'' by the
Star Wars product line. I had heard about Mindstorms, and it sounded cool,
but really it was SW that sucked me back in. Growing up, I was a HUGE fan of
LEGO, but dropped out of the hobby before high school.
When I caught wind of the new SW line in early 1999, it was on a Friday
afternoon. Saturday morning, I woke up and immediately headed out to the toy
shops to collect the entire line. After 6 different shops (all over the
Dallas Metroplex) I had about 85% of the sets. As I was checking out at the
last store, the high school aged clerk asked me if I was ''buying all this
stuff as a present''. When I told him it was a present...for me... he
chuckled and said that he had had several other adults in doing the same
over the last week or two. This concept that I wasn't alone was like a
lighting bolt to the head.
As soon as I got home, I fired up the computer, did a Yahoo search and
discovered LUGNET. And the rest is, well, history!
Story 3
Let me preface this next story with one bit of info: I almost always wear my
LEGO Direct pullover jacket on planes. It is the perfect weight for the
plane, not to hot, not too cold. So one time I was on a plane flying to San
Diego for business and early in the multi-hour flight, I walked down the
aisle and a young boy (around 9 or 10) noticed the LEGO logo. He immediately
screamed out ''LEGO!!'' So I stopped and talked to him, his slightly older
sister, and his Dad. Turns out that they were on their way to LEGOLAND
California for the weekend! I usually carry small sets or keychains with me
on my travels, as well as CLUB apps or magazines. This time around, I had
two CLUB mags left, and one keychain. I gave all three items to the group,
and sat back down.
Once the plane landed, I headed to the rental car center and ran into the
Dad and kids again. He made a point to thank me for the magazines, as they
had kept the active boy immersed for the several hour flight!
Story 4
Getting the job offer to move to NYC and work for LEGO was a huge deal for
me. Some of my oldest memories are of playing with the brick, and when
asked, I very often told people that I was going to grow up to be a LEGO
Designer...not an astronaut or fireman like so many young boys. So like I
said, the job offer was pretty damn cool.
But I didn't really realize how big it was until I told my Mom that I had
gotten the job. She was nearly on the verge of tears she was so excited for
me. It became clear to me at that moment that I had tapped into something
truly amazing. I mean, I had gotten a great job out of college and had been
in the right place at the right time throughout my career, but this... this
was different. I realized that this was something bigger than "just a job".
Story 5
Since I have rambled on, I will make this one short. When I first launched
the Building Instructions Portal (www.bricksonthebrain.com/instructions) I
wasn't sure how well it would be received. I knew people would think it was
cool, but was unsure how many would actually use it. When the Portal hit 200
instructions (It's up to 218 right now) I checked to see how many people had
clicked through from the Portal to an actual instruction. At the time it was
just under 40,000! As of today, that number is up to just under 50,000 click
thrus! This type of shared activity, like all of the other community
developed products, software, concepts, shared building projects, clubs, and
on and on are what make this community great. I'm continually surprised at
what people working together can accomplish!
Jake
---
Jake McKee
Sr. Producer
LEGO Direct
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Coolest LEGO Experience?
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| Inspired by John's post ((URL) I would love to throw out a question! What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience like watching an FLL robotics (...) (22 years ago, 6-Dec-02, to lugnet.general, lugnet.people) !!
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