always

 blog survey, always

Question 1: If you were a cereal, what cereal would you be?

rice bubbles. plain, crunchy, and spontaneous.

Question 2: How many tabs or windows do you normally have open?

5-10 tabs, one window. I try to organise my tabs so that the most persistent ones (such as todo list or music) are on the left and the most transient ones (research, procrastination) are on the right. If I organise my tabs by persistency, then I can optimise my focus to the tabs on the right and largely ignore the tabs on the left. Never more than one window.

Question 3: Which personality type are you? (Sorry, I know it takes a while to do the test so don't worry about it if you're busy, just describe instead your personality from your perspective :D)

ENFP. I used to be an INFP. I think my identifying trait is my P - I've always hated rules and schedules.

I refuse to be chained by your damned rules. I'll make my own cages, thank you very much.

Question 4: What happened the last time you had to use a bandaid? If you don’t remember, answer with something that would potentially cause you to use one.

When I was in Canberra my roommate was teaching me to play guitar. All the strings were metal and the thin ones were really sharp. I drank a cup of bailey's then tried too hard and injured my finger and couldn't use it for a few days, and put a massive finger-cast over it to immobilise it in the meantime. My roommate thought it was really funny. Luckily it was the Christmas break. Working as a software developer with one hand is an interesting challenge, but it's not particularly pleasant or productive.

Question 5: What is something you have been putting off?

My tutoring blog posts. I have a queue of five in my to-do list, which is getting pretty ridiculous. Also my job applications. Last year I failed so many job interviews, but this year I'm back and applying for more jobs than ever. Job application upon job application upon job application.

Question 6: What would you would have drawn when you were thirteen? Is it the same kind of thing you would draw now?

Diagrams from my maths textbook. Couldn't even draw them well. no regrets

Question 7: What is something that surprised you the first time, but doesn't surprise you anymore?

This is a difficult question. It's difficult to think of things you are now accustomed to, because you're accustomed to them and don't really notice them anymore.

I suppose I used to be surprised by how good people can be at what they do. Now, having gone through countless hours of practice myself, I'm not as surprised anymore. This is just how people do things. They practice, they improve, and they transcend into a refinement of skill that unpracticed people have difficulty comprehending.

Question 8: What is something you have done this year that has surprised you?

This year I signed myself up to teach a 9am tute, and I haven't slept in for it yet. I am pleasantly surprised.

Question 9: Describe your use of pillows.

I put my head on them and go to sleep. In Canberra it was pretty hot and I used my blanket as my pillow and it was nice. Well-elevated pillows are nice.

Question 10: What is your preferred method of parking?

This is an unrelated note, but what's the deal with calling it "parallel parking"? It looks to me like the cars are always parallel regardless of parking style. When people say "parallel parking" I have no idea what they are talking about.

I prefer reverse side-to-kerb parking. It's usually a really tight space, which means it's more exciting and satisfying if you get it right.

Question 11: The first band or artist you ever got into?

jpop with Mami Kawada.

Question 12: Name your favourite and least favourite ice cream flavours.

My ice-cream preferences are similar to the rest of my preferences, unsurprisingly. I like coffee-flavoured ice cream and don't like banana-flavoured ice cream.

Question 13: What was the best discovery you made this year?

The discovery of my new programming competitions team. #LDDpride

Question 14: Name something you don’t want to regret when you’re older.

If you haven't read this: http://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/2livoo/tifu_my_whole_life_my_regrets_as_a_46_year_old/ , then I think it's worth reading.

I don't want to regret becoming this person, and I think perhaps I am becoming this person. Lately I've been exceedingly focused on my work, simply because I have so much of it. My responsibilities are heavy. Or maybe I make them heavy for myself, because otherwise I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

To make time for leisure projects, I have to do even more work. How unfortunate.

Question 15: What is your favourite bird?

Rainbow lorikeet. They come to the front door and I feed them bread. Then they hear some bird sound in the distance and fly away.

Question 16: Rate rockmelon out of 10.

2.5/10 barely edible. Never have I ever liked rockmelon.

Question 17: What is a question people ask about/comment on people make about your name when you introduce yourself?

"What did you say?" - every time
Nowadays I introduce myself as David and have 0 problems.

Question 18: Describe your driving in three words.

omg red light

Question 19: What is your number 1 pet peeve?

People who don't have empathy for their students.

Question 20: The grammatical mistake which makes you cringe the most?

On the topic of personality types, "extraverted". I don't know why I particularly dislike it.