Thanks for all the kind words, everybody! I'm so happy to be able to share this little guy here because I've yet to make snake keeper friends in real life haha.
I actually thought boas sounded easier to work with than BPs, except for the size factor (I'm small) - which is why dwarfs seemed like such a sweet deal. Still, I was pretty sure I was going to settle on a colubrid, but when I got to hold a Nic boa at the store I was pretty smitten. (then I found out that Nics have a nippy reputation, but the one I saw was pretty darn docile so I took the plunge... so far so good *fingers crossed*)
I've read enough about boas that I don't think I'll be too surprised by anything going forward... hopefully!