I've only been using ls for about 1 1/2 years now. however, unlike a lot of users, I only use themes created by other people. mainly because I have no imagination, and can't think of a good (hell, even mediocre) design for a theme. however, I have been modding all the themes I use, to "personalize" them, so to speak. They're definitely not my own, they're just more useable for me.