I just wanted to thank everyone who offered constructive comments in response to my original posting although I really can't believe that there are so many others who are disrespectful.

My friends have been teaching me a lot about all aspects of riding. I was already riding brakeless and skidding after 10 minutes of getting on a fixed gear for the first time! It was scary, but lots of fun. Recently, I converted a $20 road bike into fixed gear to use in the meantime. I'm trying to learn to track stand - any advice on this would be great!

So I ended up buying a Giro frame from NJS Exports. I really want a Panasonic frame, but a graduate student income doesn't quite allow for me to go that high at this point.