Welcome aboard.
"Just a plumber"?? Plumbers are awesome, I finally had a pro come and fix all the leaky amateur plumbing I've done in my house over the last few years.
I carried a 1911 for a couple years before I switched to a Ruger SP101. The SP is heavy as snubbies go, but it's still about 23 oz. vs. 41 oz. (IIRC) for the 1911, so I do a lot less hitching up my pants in the course of a day.