You know, Dwight, my own little tongue-in-cheek run on sentence should have had a smilie with it
D) to differentiate its tone clearly from that of Rick's, but he's merely spelling out, in his own direct style, what I alluded to in part of my ramble, which asked where YOU saw this tree going. It may be the end of our friendship, but I have to say I think Rick gave you the better answer.
I've been involved with bonsai four times as long as I've been involved with bonsai forums on the internet. I've often publicly stated that I seriously question whether such forums are a useful way to learn or teach anything truly helpful about this endeavor, be it a hobby or an art. Bonsai info - perhaps. Bonsai knowledge or wisdom - not a chance. I've also often publicly stated that I can't recall more than a handful of instances where such forums have taught me anything worthwhile about bonsai beyond the occasional technical tidbit, and this of course led me to wonder, then, why I have spent so much time involved in these forums.
The answer is complex, but reflecting on it has led me to conclude that one major reason I post relates to the fact that my trees and my eye and my skills HAVE improved in ways that might not otherwise have been the case. But the improvement has not been because there was any DIRECT learning from the feedback or advice given: it has been because the very act of posting my trees has spurred me on to make them the best I can, whether others appreciate my styling and process or not.
Especially during my tenure on BSite I tried to made it increasingly, stridently clear that I was almost never asking for advice or virts or feedback, positive or negative, when I posted trees or progression photos. I'm never looking for others to tell me what I should be doing with my trees - I do exactly what Rick recommended you do, and for the same reasons he laid out.
Steinbeck, in his wisdom, said, "A boy becomes a man when a man is needed." You have been doing this for a few years now. You have purchased some worthy material. It is now incumbent upon you to step up to the plate, study this tree carefully on your own, and create the bonsai that attracted you to this tree in the first place. Another man of great wisdom, Winston Churchill, once said, "Play for more than you can afford to lose and you will learn the game," so take that expensive bad boy and start playing! Whether you think you've botched it or not, post it again when you're well on your way - I for one would love to see it no matter what, and I'll rejoice in your efforts. THAT's how you'll learn from here on out, Dwight.
Will