When last we talked, Gary McIntire, who lived in Highland, was a finalist in the contest of his dreams.

An extreme AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGOS), the Highland resident was one of 24 finalists in the National Model Builder Search sponsored by LEGOLAND, and was going off to participate in the finals, hoping to win the job of master builder on the LEGO design team.

He did not win the contest. But fate has a way of taking care of those who combine passion, skill and dreams to the extent that McIntire always has.

"I was visiting my Mom in California for Thanksgiving, and I saw some people I knew from LEGOLAND, and they said, 'You should go see what's going on. We're really busy right now."'

It turned out that LEGOLAND had just opened up a new position; they were looking for a model designer. It turned out that McIntire was their guy.

"It's a dream come true," says the man who has been building with LEGOS since he was 4 years old.

This is how his days go: They start with a walk through the park before it opens; through Miniland USA; past Washington, D.C.; past Las Vegas and New York City; past San Francisco and New Orleans.

"This is the heart of LEGOLAND, and I just make sure everything is the way it should be, that lampposts are straightened, that every car is parked where it should be. Sometimes kids reach over the fence and move things. Or, sometimes birds and rabbits come in at night and disturb things. I do a park check to make sure every model is looking good and is safe. If any repair work needs to be done, I do it." After the park opens at 10 a.m., McIntire heads over to his office. "Then I get to work on whatever project is on my desk."

It might be designing a new model. It might be working on designs from the monthly junior model search. It might be spending time with some of those winners.

"That is such a fun thing," McIntire says. "They are kids who share my passion. They come in all wide-eyed. They make me feel like a superstar."

When McIntire comes up with a design, he gives it to gluers, who put it together. "Sometimes I'll do half of it, and they do the mirror image." Then he'll check it to make sure it works. Maybe he will change colors.

Sometimes those are models for the park; sometimes they are for other occasions. "I recently did a big flower arrangement for a hotel lobby. That was pretty cool."