I just crossed the 1,000 hour mark in terms of total time spent on watching anime since August 2010, and it was Koufuku Graffiti that brought me through that 1,000th hour. (This does not include childhood shows, which, weren't much anyway.) It's been quite some time since I started, and I'm well aware of my preferences now (or orientation, as some might put it, in terms of type A or type B).
I think, so far, collectively, the most important things I've learnt are that anime is quite real (mostly seeing from the slice of life types) in that what happens is written based off what Japan really is like (e.g. the importance of the bath, the enjoyment of hot springs, the bowing before lesson starts, etc), and that the industry panders to its fans quite alot. It's how they stay afloat anyway, like it or not. (I'm supportive of it btw, so you know which orientation I fall in.)
So let's see... I started watching anime during my army days because I was bored and had nothing better worth doing, and then it all went downhill from there. Attended AFA, got to know more, saw my inadequacy, decided to work on it, saw more inadequacy, and worked even more on it. Well, I say inadequacy, which means that I didn't know certain things, so what else to do but to watch more?
It has connected me with many people, and makes an instant conversation starter amongst the right type of people (which can be said of anything else really). I thoroughly enjoyed most of the series I watched. If I didn't, I dropped them without hesitating.
Special thanks to these people: Demel and JY, who had quite the influence even before I actually started, and still are (and in more than just anime). Jes-octopus-jew-sofa-mond who tolerated, and even responded to my first few weird facebook posts as I was discovering the world of anime. Josuwa, who was trying to "teach me to be an otaku", which, I never quite agreed, but nevertheless helped me a bit when I was discovering what I liked and didn't. (He's like gone from this part of the world now, totally. Dunno what gave. Whatever happened to the ambition of a "museum of figurines" and being "the definitive otaku" whatever that was supposed to mean? Also you still owe me $78.27 for the snow miku you never collected!)
A shout out to Pikachew, who decided to "accompany" me in running through the entire Pokémon Series(s). (I gave up halfway after like 300+ episodes, he won that one!)
And also a shout out to Seraphim Undisputed, who's currently having similar tastes as I do and hence exchanging of recommendations is great!
To Demel and JY, これからもよろしく！