I'd say I dabble...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/megalime/
and I'll be the nth person to repeat it, but gear isn't anything. I've gotten more than a few great shots on my olympus om1 film camera with the cheapest roll of b+w i could buy, and you can pick up an OM1 for nothing nowadays.
and I'm a whore for wide angle and primes, but I'm a big fan of the midrange zoom when I'm just walking around/hiking/birthdays/have no plans for anything/etc. 2.8 is fast enough for MOST things, and I'm more of a candid/landscape guy anyways, so i don't need 1.8/1.4 most of the time, and I like the flexibility for the moving subjects. That, and a midrange zoom is like, required for wedding photography (except for the portraits)
A man after my own heart.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/megalime/8526220693/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Love it!