I like the idea of this group (though I didn't enjoy much of the first
day's set of posts). Now I would like to provide my own self-introduction.

My name is John Kelly, and I live in Washington DC, USA. I am a married
householder with a demanding full-time job (computer data modeling) and two
grown children, and a wide set of interests - including Pali, of course! I
studied French and Latin at schools, and have picked up a bit of Italian
and Spanish over the years, and am fascinated with languages.

I'll complete my introduction by responding to Yong Peng's excellent
questions.

1. Are you a buddhist?
Yes, I consider myself to be one in that I try to live my life by bringing
mindfulness and compassion into all waking moments. I have a regular daily
sitting practice (Vipassana), I follow the basic precepts, and the dhamma
that I know already makes a lot of sense to me, and I'm determined to learn
more of it.

2. Are you learning/teaching the Pali language?
Yes - I am a recent student of Pali, beginning self-study in March of this
year. I have now worked my way through the first 14 chapters of de Silva's
Pali Primer. I would recommen this book as a starting point for those just
beginning, and also agree that Gair's "A New Course in Reading Pali" is an
excellent book too. However, the down side for someone very new to the
language is that each chapter introduces SO much material, it can seem
intimidating at first. De Silva starts of very gently - just one case of
one declension per chapter for the first 8 chapters. It also has an answer
key available from Pariyatti books, which is very helpful. The downside
with de Silva is that explanations start to get pretty thin as the chapters
progress. I think Gair can be better appreciated after at least getting
through half of de Silva.
Clearly this group has a number of people at different levelts, so I sure
we can have several tracks of book study.
I am in the fortunate position of just having found a real, live Pali
teacher, and we are working through the Pali Primer, so if we have a
discussion of that book, that gives us a resource that I can bring
questions to.

3. Do you read and study the suttas, or other Tipitaka/Pali literature
(such as Abhidhamma, Vinaya)?
Yes - but so far my studies have been focused solely on the Sutta Pitaka.

4. Do you use any tools/guidebooks in your study of the Pali canon, or do
you apply any methods in your study?
See answer to question 2 for the Pali study, and I find the access to
insight web site invaluable for English study of the canon. I also have
hard-bound translations of the Digha, Majjhima, and Samyutta Nikayas.

5. Do you meditate regularly? If you do, where do you learn/practise and
what are the methods that you use?
Yes - I meditate daily, and attend retreats regularly. I connsider my main
teacher to be Shinzen Young of VSI (Vipassana Support Institute), since it
is his retreats I have been to the most. Those interested should peruse
his web-site for more info on his methods http://shinzen.org/ .
I have also attended a number of retreats at the Bhavana Society (a Sri
Lankan monastery whose abbot and founder is Bhante Gunaratana) in West
Virginia.

6. Were/Are you involved in any translation works of the Tipitaka? Are you
interested in such works?
No to the first part of this question (since I've just started learning
Pali, obviously). But yes to the second - I am definitely interested when
my knowledge reaches a suitable level to be helpful.