It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here, so bear with me while I get this machine started up… *readies chainsaw*

“There was a man who was walking along a sandy beach where thousands of starfish had been washed up on the shore. As he looked down the beach he noticed a boy picking the starfish one by one and throwing them back into the ocean. He got closer and he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?” The boy paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean. If I don’t throw them back in they will die. “The man then said, “Don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it? You can’t possibly make a difference.” The boy listened politely. Then he bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves. He looked at the man and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

– Author Unknown

via A Regurgitation of the Mind.

Let me tell you a story.

“Because all the cool kids are doing it” is a good a reason as any, right? In no particular order…

1. I listen to terribly varied music, and I can’t understand people who hate on other people for the music they listen to.
2. I think that some things are better kept private. If you don’t tell anyone, no one will know! Besides, there are probably people that don’t care anyway.
3. Once upon a time I used to know what I wanted to do “when I grew up”, but these days I’m not so sure anymore. I’ve begun to ask myself: “does it all really matter anyway?” I mean, as long as you’re doing whatever makes you happy, but even then, you can always do whatever makes you happy in your spare time…
4. I have a not-so-secret love for waffles. I’m not sure where it came from, but damn, I love waffles.
5. I enjoy a good argument. I see them for the intellectual battle they are, and if you think you’re smarter than I am, well… prove it.
6. I enjoy writing, again, for the intellectual challenge it presents, as well as the opportunity to make someone else feel an emotion, or be educated by my writings.
7. I used to shy away from my background; “fitting in” was one of the most important things to me all through high school. These days I don’t really care anymore. A sign of maturity, perhaps?
8. I am starting to give more credit to people, starting to realise that people are probably smarter than I think they are — somehow this also relates to how intelligent I see myself compared to those around me.
9. Conversely, I’m starting to realise that I’m fairly ignorant on a wide range of subjects, so it’s more than reasonable for other people to be so as well when it comes to things I’m really good at.
10. I’ve really only wanted to be in a serious relationship with one other person before, but to this day I’m unsure whether it was really love or just lust — or even a combination of both, perhaps. Either way, I had/still have a serious infatuation with that girl.
11. Up until a couple of months ago I couldn’t even tell you the name of the last book I read, it’s been that long. I have an excellent book collection of what some would call “crappy” fiction, but I really need to spend less time on the internet and read more.
12. I think society is over-sexualised these days, but being of very average looks myself that may or may not have something to do with it. Other people don’t know just how good they have it.
13. I played the piano a long time ago, and I was pretty damn good at it, too. This allows me to appreciate the highs and lows of a beautifully composed melody, or the dark sombre tones of a more macabre piece. Perhaps one day I’ll take it up again.
14. When I do have a good gaming session, I then see myself as having to “catch up” on all my other “internet responsibilities”, like reading my feeds or catching up on threads.
15. I have bought many a game and only reached 85% completion. Either because I can’t be bothered to finish it, or just haven’t had the time to do those last couple of hours.
16. I try to do things to the best of my ability if I’m tasked with something to do. If it’s something I really care about, then you can guarantee I’ll put 110% into it. I have excellent attention to detail, but at the same time, I can be spectacularly lazy. Just call me Mr Balanced.
17. If nothing else, Uni has taught me that while I think coding is awesome and you can do seriously amazing things with it (ooh, bubble sort!), I totally suck at it. Either that or I just haven’t actually tried ‘cos it just isn’t that interesting, man.
18. In fact, I’m kinda ambivalent about all Uni. While I love the Uni lifestyle the apparent de-valuing of the common bachelor’s degree has me scared for my future job prospects.
19. My self-confidence is fairly easily broken, but it takes a little while to get it back up again.
20. It scares me that at any time, anyone can see what game I’m playing via Steam.
21. I enjoy gaming in any form but these days have less and less time to do it.
22. I work better independently, but I can also work well in a team provided everyone isn’t a complete douche.
23. I enjoy being just a little bit quirky.
24. I’m an excellent listener. Probably because I don’t talk much, but hey, whatever works.
25. I’d love to own a cat, by my epic hatred of (cat) hair all over my stuff would drive me insane.
26. I’m a pretty casual guy.
27. I don’t think I have many friends, but a lot of close acquaintances.
28. I enjoy being alone, but I don’t want to be lonely. There’s a difference.
29. I like cheese. (I think that people need to learn to take things a little less seriously. Lighten up, people.)
30. If I could be described in a single comic, it would be this one. Or perhaps even this one.