Up until about 3 years, I just wanted a good camera to take snapshots of our kids and our trips. I had an Olympus C-765, and it took pretty decent shots.
However, sometime in 2008 I met one of my wife's cousins shooting with a Nikon DSLR. I saw the shots, and the image quality struck me. It was light years ahead of what my little camera produced. So a few months after, I bought myself a Canon Rebel XSi. I then added a Sigma Zoom, and the Canon "nifty fifty".
I soon discovered that DSLR and kids don't mix. It was a somewhat of a burden to carry around together with a lot of our kids' stuff. When we went on a trip with another of my wife's cousins to Washington DC, I saw the camera he was using, and the images it was producing. I googled it after the trip, and voila - I found my camera. It was an Olympus E-PL1. And soon I added a few other lenses (including a manual legacy one), and have never enjoyed taking photographs as much I do now.
UPDATE Nov-Dec 2011: Sold my E-PL1. Sad, I know. But I felt that I wouldn't grow into the G3 unless I give up my safety net. Also, instead of buying the relatively expensive 14-150 micro four-thirds lens, I decided to go the Fujifilm route.
UPDATE Jan, 2014: Update my gear to what's below! I haven't been using the Panny 20mm, since the X100s took over that focal length. I love the X100s - it's my go-to camera. I love the JPEGs - they require minimal processing for me. But the Pen still has its place - and I'm very happy with it!
My Gear
Micro Four-Thirds
Olympus Pen E-PL3
Panasonic 20mm f/1.7
Olympus 45mm f/1.8
Olympus 9-18
Olympus 40-150
Nissin Di466
APS-C
Fujifilm X100s
Etc
Canon 50mm f/1.4
Canon 35mm f/2
Canon 100mm f/2.8
