i dont see an "introduce yourself" forum, so i guess i'll bump in here. ive decided to pinch pennies and get banded, im aiming for march 2009. i live in south korea, the band costs around $7,000 USD here. thank you to everyone who posts in this forum, it answers all my questions and addresses all concerns. and this forum is WAYYY better than lapbandtalk: too many advertisements on that board!