Doraemon - how it all started for me ...

I know this is very childish, but under my desk today, I found a Macy's bag containing a big blue stuffed cat with a 4-D pocket!! a surprise gift --> Doraemon!!
There are countless Eshrines and fansites on the web, he's voted the "cuddliest hero in Asia" by Times, (how suitable for my new cuddly? ) here is an entry in Wikipedia.org and it's JP official site.

I've adored Doraemon ever since I was little. My "affair" with Doraemon started when I was in JHS, when I met these new friends after moving to the States, they first introduced me to the Chinese translation of the manga. Ever since then, I have read various versions of the manga and anime OAV plus movies in Chinese (traditional and simplified), Japanese, and English. The countless times Dorayaki and rice cakes being mentioned in the stories must have projected a subconscious mental message for me to list them as top favorite sweets!

Let's see, Doraemon served as the my introduction into the whole fascination with the JPop thing. Now I've seen many JP drama sets, collected a few sets of "ninki" Jpop CDs, studied a few years of JP language, exchange-studied in Tokyo for a few months, and watched countless JP anime series.
And I blame all my subsequent "crushes" on smart/nerdy guys due to my fascination with the "smartest" robot cat from the future!