The Same Interview

Same questions. Different people.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Twenty Two

22/03/15: An early interview with a sphynxy lady via uni quizzes

Hi. Who are you?

My name is Jenny. *giggles* Do you think you identify with that? Well, that’s my name. And my parents gave it to me. I tried to change it once, but I thought it would be too inconvenient, so I never signed the form. What name would you have changed it to? I thought I would do something really similar, like Jennifer. Because, I don’t know, Jenny sounds really juvenile.

What do you think makes you different from others?

Well… If you say you’re really different from people, it makes you sound like a ‘special snowflake’. You know how people say, if you aren’t really good looking, you should have a really good personality, cos then, you have nothing else going for you? I feel like I’m always wondering whether my personality is good enough to make up for my appearance. I think the worst thing you could say, like, one of the worst insults you could say, is ‘this person is so ordinary’, like plain. I think there is nothing worse than being called ordinary.

How do you feel about your family?

I guess it’s been good. My brother and I are really close. We hit each other when we were young, and we used to hate each other, but now it’s a lot easier. We basically give each other advice. So if he likes a girl, I’ll try and give him advice. And he tells me stuff that he doesn’t want our parents knowing. You know? Sibling secrets? Yeah. I’m also really close to my mum. We always go shopping, so I guess that’s fun. My dad is in Korea most of the time. He works there, he was a dentist, but now he is a professor for a university. And he only comes back twice or three times a year for a few weeks.

What is something you are passionate about?

I guess I really like reading. Is reading something to be passionate about? I haven’t read anything good in, like, years. You know when you go through those dry spells? What did you enjoy reading about? Classical literature. Like Les Mis. Last time I read To Kill a Mockingbird, and that was pretty good.

What are five words that fascinate you?

Indubidently

Velvet. I think it represents the fabric very well.

Sex. It’s such a taboo word. So when you think about words that interest you, something dirty comes into your head.

Hyper.

Enigma. I like describing people as an enigma.

How is your time spent?

Now I feel like I have no time for anything thanks to uni. Like, I’m scared if I stop, I’m going to die. You know that feeling of, when you stop doing work on the weekend because you can’t be bothered to do any work. And you get behind on work and just fall behind. You know I have that blog? I haven’t updated it in months, because I haven’t had any time to upload the photos and stuff. So you really enjoy blogging? Yeah.

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most?

Well, it definitely wouldn’t be lust would it? Because you definitely need some action for that.

Probably envy or gluttony. I think I relate to all of them. Lust is still there. Everyone can related to all of them. Do you think something is inherently bad about them? I think everything in moderation. Isn’t there a Buddhist principle about balance in all these things?

What’s your opinion of cut down trees?

Well, obviously I can’t say that I’m completely against it, because I have paper in front of me right now. But in an environmental sense, I think it’s gotten quite extreme actually. It’s quite a big issue now. With like, there being not enough trees, so there being not enough oxygen. I’m really scared of environmental stuff like that. Do you think we aren’t growing enough trees? It takes thousands of years to get a tree to become massive. But all the trees that we are growing are pretty small stuff. Would anything consider it a good thing with cutting down trees? It’s hitting the certain point where it’s getting too much.

Name someone you love and hate.

Probably my best friend. Because, she is my best friend for a reason, we tell each other things, but sometimes I hate her when we organise to meet up somewhere, and I’ll get there at nine o’clock, and she’ll say something like ‘on my way’. And she’ll literally arrive two hours later. Sometimes it gets to the point where I’m like ‘should I just go home?’ I guess you put up with stuff like you for people you like.  

Where is your favourite spot?

It changes on a day to day basis, and my mood. So, let’s say, I want to be really social that day, it would be somewhere in the city, where you can chill with friends and stuff. But if I’m feeling really tired, and I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone, it’ll obviously be in my room. I kind of see ‘our home’ to be associated with the word comfort, where you don’t need care and put up an act or anything. ‘Home is where the heart is’ ㅋㅋㅋㅋ ㅋ .

[thesameinterview]

Interview Twenty One

19/04/15: Uncensored via a few beers while talking

This is a special edition of The Same Interview, where interviewee 16 – Sean, is joining in on the interviewing process.

Hi. Who are you?

I’m Vincent. And I am currently a third year in mining engineering. Anything else you’d like to add? Not particularly… Sean: I’m a pickup artist. RSD Vince is my name. I’ve considered joining the RSD team. Like submit my application and, you know, the reel of both Taylor and Julien doing the whole sixteen minute thing of showing how they… So I can do that via shoulder cam or something, and submit that, like, ‘I can show you a copy’. Sean: Brad Branson had a vacancy for an unpaid intern. I would totally do that man, like, even if I didn’t have the money, I would fly over there just for the internship. Sean: But you don’t get paid. I know that. That experience is once in a life time. And I do think you’ll learn a lot from it, like, if I was in his office every day, fuck that. But he takes me out and be like ‘this is how you do things’, then I would… And he is successful. Like, come on, if Elon Musk takes an unpaid intern, I would cut off my arm for that.

What do you think makes you different from others?

I think, most people don’t try as hard as they can, because they think they are completely incapable of doing anything. So, I guess, I have this audacity of youth, that’s like, if I put my mind to anything, and I try hard enough, I can do absolutely anything. But, I don’t, because I have a disciplinary problem that I need to overcome. Like, if I have an assignment due, and a Tinder girl is saying ‘hey, come fuck me right now’, it’s really difficult to say no to that. Especially when she is attractive. So, are you just saying that you are like everyone else? But I try not to be though. So, I’m not content with my life. I want to improve and be better. While I believe most people are content with their life, like, they do TAFE or something, and work at 7/11 and they are like ‘This is cool’. Like, I have some friends who drop out of engineering at uni. Sean do you know this guy called J----- C-----? Sean: Yeah, he was doing civil right? Yeah, we’re really close. And he drop out to become a full time waiter. His wage is 35 per hour or something. And I’m like, ‘hey, it might look good now, but you can’t do this for the rest of your life. You know, find a permanent skill. Like, when you’re older, 35 an hour isn’t going to pay your bills.

How do you feel about your family?

I think I’m very fortunate to have them. As a kid, I hated them, like, because of whatever disciplinary action they did. But as I grew up, my views align more and more with them. Do you think it’s because you have grown up with them? As in, you’ve been taught by them? Yeah, well, this is the thing. I lived with them until I was 16, I think. And even until then, I didn’t agree with their views. So, like, after I stopped living with them, I’ve had no influence from then on. But then, my views started to align with them myself, more and more. Don’t you think that was just because you were going through a rebellious stage of your life? Maybe, maybe that’s it. Or maybe my views have always been like that, and I just wanted to be rebellious or something. Maybe the majority of people I know, either don’t have both parents or their parents are divorced or something, like, that would have had some effect on their kids, and it has to be negative. It has to be negative? I think if parents were divorced when their kids were growing up, it would have a negative effect on them.

What is something you are passionate about?

Passionate about traveling. So I know that right now, I don’t have the funds for it. But that’s kind of why I am doing engineering, like, I don’t really… I’m not passionate about engineering, but I think I like it enough to do it for a while, so that I can fund my travels for the future. Where do you want to travel to? Everywhere in the world. As many countries as possible. Is that because your parents are doing that? In a way, yeah. But I also want to see the world, ad see everything that I haven’t seen, and I think that’ll open up my views about the world, and have a better world view. And generally enjoying myself, like having different sorts of food and beer and wine that is only available in that country on something. But something definitely on my list is to go to the Northern Lights. I want to go to like, Norway and see that first. Why would changing your world views help you, if you were just purely travelling? I think it would because you would be immersed in the culture, and understand how other cultures think and behaviour based on their environment is and maybe how history and upbringing of those people are like. How would that benefit you? If you’re goal is to travel, and one of the reasons was to have an open mind about the world, how would that benefit you in the long run, if you were just going to continuously travel? Oh, I don’t think I will continuously travel. I want to visit as many countries as I can in my lifetime, so, maybe like a hundred to a hundred and fifty countries, but I can do that over a really long time. But it doesn’t have to be like, the rest of my life, I can do that, and have a break. It just would be something enjoyable that I would do. And I would like to think that, when I start doing it, I would be in a place where I’m, I guess, successful or accomplished enough, to not worry about anything else. Like my parents, they retired at 37 and then they can do that for the rest of their life. It’s just, when you retire, the amount of money, is not to buy material things, it’s to buy freedom. So, that’s one of the biggest philosophies I got from my parents I think, is that you have the freedom to do what you want.

What are five words that fascinate you?

Serendipity. Because it’s such an obscure word. Why? Because if you ask an average person what that means, they wouldn’t know what it means. And I think for our QCS grade 12 test, serendipity was the word… Sean: Was that for the practise test? It was in 2011, and the topic was gold. Sean: Oh yeah! It was part of the short answer test, where a serendipitous slug was coming out of a green slime or something. It was something extremely ridiculous. Someone made a fan page about it. Sean: Yeah, there is a fan page about using serendipity as an excuse when your girlfriend finds your dick in her arse. And the photo of the page was that slug from the QCS paper. Wait, so, I keep on forgetting this. Serendipity is where you’re not expecting something good, but it turns out really good or something? Sean: Yeah, when you’re not expecting something good to happen, but it just does. So if Yida finds your dick in her arse, that’s what she would say.

I would like to point out that Sean said a lot of ‘pretentious shit’, like mellifluous, and perspicuous. Oh, that’s pretty pretentious. Sean: What the fuck am I meant to say, like hot, cold, tree, rock, water. Yida: One of my favourites was bed, because lower case, it looks like a bed on the side. This reminds me… the other word would be:

Pie. If you flip it upside down, it would be 3.14. That’s fascinating to me. Oh of course, coincidence. Well, so is bed… That is also a coincidence.

Ethereal. Because it’s such an accurate word to describe how you feel about something. There is only a handful of things that I would say that are ethereal. Like, Northern Lights. If I actually see it, I will think ‘this is ethereal’. Do you think you’ve expected the northern lights to be that good, and then you go there, and you are like ‘this is so ethereal’ and you sit there with your fake expectations and emotions? I don’t think so. I think I’ll be absolutely blow away by it. But aren’t high expectations, not good? Sometimes. But sometimes if you have high expectations, what turns out, can even be even more than your high expectations, or expectations already, and you can be even more blown away by it. Like ‘I have such high expectations already, but this is even better’. Like, some videos that I see, you lie there on the ground and out there, and out there, there are already tons of stars shimmering everywhere. And there are still these flashing lights, like green, red and yellow everywhere. I think after I do that, I would be like, ‘I am happy with my life right now. There is nothing else I would want to do’.

I did some research. Of course you can make your own way there and search it, but if you want to do a guided tour, the five day tour, it is ten thousand per person for five days. It’s expensive, but it’s not unaffordable. Why don’t you just do it yourself, and make it your own adventure? Because, don’t you find that when you’re on a tour, everything is boring? Sure, so I think there is a chance that I might not go on the tour. Because doing everything yourself, doing your own research and finding out things, makes it more adventurous as well, compared to following the tours time schedule, like ‘we’re going back to the hotel now’. Maybe I can just camp there. And there is this special tent designed for watching the Northern Lights. The top of the tent is completely transparent, it’s tarp. And so, when you wake up and open up your eyes at night, and are lying there, it’s the northern lights above you.

Great. Anything else? Another two words. I don’t think I can come up with another two right now. What is a thing that you use very often? Sean: Bondage. Have you guys tried bondage by the way? No. Why not? Sean: Although we have duct tape. Do you know what I realised though? Bondage tape is not just normal tape. Bondage tape is special, in the sense that it doesn’t stick to your skin. Bondage tape sticks to itself. So, if you want to take off bondage tape, it’s extremely easy. Like, the GC bae, she had a roll of bondage tape, and she asked me to use that on her, and I agreed, and I tied her hands and feet together. But to take it off is really easy. Everything comes off really easily itself. I guess that makes sense. You don’t want people to be having trouble with that kind of product. Do you like choking? *laughter* But I mean, during sex. Choking girls during sex. Do you know why people do that though? It’s because, when you’re nearly at the point of asphyxiation, and you’re already on the verge of orgasm, and have a breath of air at the same time, the amount of pleasure, like doubles. I’m so glad that you’ve done that before. I haven’t done that before. I’ve just heard about it. But I’ve done that to girls though. Have you heard about the cinnamon thing? The cinnamon thing? Like, where you eat a ton of cinnamon and your cum tastes good? Ahh, I’ve heard about that with pineapple and kiwi fruit. So, whenever I would attempt to get a girl to swallow, I would say like, ‘I’m on a kiwi fruit and pineapple diet for three days’. Do you actually do it though? I don’t. But surprisingly, they say that it tastes good anyway. Have you tried to taste it? My own semen? No. Wouldn’t you want to know what it tastes like? Not really. It’s just never a thought process for me. Oh ok, I have in the sense that after I’ve came inside of a girls mouth, she’s swallowed and she kissed me afterwards. And you’re okay with that? I’m okay with it. Cos it actually doesn’t really taste any different from just a normal kiss. The difference is very negligible. I guess she swallowed really well or something, so there was no residue.

Niggardly. Because this is a really interesting  that as caused a ton of controversy. Do you know what it means? Niggardly means to be stingy and kind of frugal. Wow, we act niggardly. Yes, Sean and Yida are niggardly. And I’m trying to be niggardly, as well. And this white politician was trying to describe the allocated funds towards a project as niggardly, and used that word during a press conference. And he got criticism everywhere, from the black community as racism and stuff. But the word has nothing to do with the word ‘nigga’ itself. It’s derived from another latin word, which I have forgotten, but another word that means stingy. And people were just, thinking that it was racist because it sounds something like ‘nigger’. Other people at prestigious universities have made speeches using that word, and it’s also been widely criticised. And people have lost positions because of it. And that white politican, because of the wide criticism everywhere, because of the media, he resigned because of that. Just because of that thing. And he said this great quote, he said ‘Wouldn’t it be great if everyone in the world was colour blind. But I guess, as a white person, we cannot afford to be colour blind.’ It’s saying that a white person has to be incredibly sensitive.

One more thing, you know the comedian Sarah Silverman? Yeah. She made a joke that caused a lot of controversy as well. She was like, she was apply for an application, and it had something to do with like, the Asian community, and was like ‘tell us one reason…’ and then as a joke or something, she thought it would be funny if she put ‘I hate chinks’ on it. And then she was going to put that, but then her friend said stop, what if you put ‘I love chinks, yeah’ as another reason to hire her or something. And she said that as a joke, in a stand-up comedy thing, and it caused like massive outrage, and people were just like ‘you shouldn’t even use that word in the first place’. But personally, I think it’s fine, it’s just a joke. There was this Canadian guy who was living in a city in Canada, and all his family, including him, were incredibly experiencing racial troubles, like discrimination from their neighbours and their whole suburb. And one day, they found their son murdered, and they had the words ‘Chink’ sketched into their car, and that’s a really racist thing. So, it’s kind of like a black person being lynched, and then having the word ‘nigga’ written on a tree or something like that.

How is your time spent?

Sean: Masturbating to hentai. Yida: That’s Abdi. Abdi keeps on sending me this song called hentai pussy. Have both of your heard that song? Sean: No, but I’m not surprised. It’s just like ‘man that girl is cute, but she would be cuter if she was a cartoon character. Cos I want to hit that hentai pussy. Yeah, that hentai pussy’.

Errr, time spent… Not as well as I’d like. As I said, the discipline thing. Everyone has a vice right. With some people, it’s drinking, smoking, gambling. I think my vice, is definitely girls. Sex? Yeah, like, I don’t have it for like, more than a week or two weeks, I would be like, extremely frustrated every day. Just like, shaking. Porn? No, porn wouldn’t be a legitimate relief, I would still feel really frustrated. So you are a sex addict. Maybe a little, but yeah. I’ve thought about it myself, that, if I was completely going to stop seeing this Gold Coast girl right now, I would probably be pretty upset *chuckles* Do you have one girl, without her, on your list? I’m sure I could call up a few people, I could find one. Cos this girl did say ‘I really like you, but I don’t know whether you’re serious or not. So, when you want it to happen, you know, you can make the move, you can make the move and we can go from there’. I mean you can expect sex from that right?

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most of?

Oh, it’s so going to be lust. Is it lust? Of course. Sean: You can’t pre-empt that. I think there is a movie about this, the seven deadly sins. And each sin is personified as a person. There is an anime series like that. You should watch this one called ‘Another’. I’ll write it on my list, but I probably won’t watch it haha. Like, Sean recommending you books. Fair enough. Sean: You still have the book? *conversation drifts* Oh seven deadly sins. Yeah. Of course. Lust. Wait, I mean, another one I think, pride. Pride. Because of the ego? Yeah. Man, I commit a lot of those. Do you think it’s a bad thing? Errm, everyone commits a lot of sins, but as long as you repent, you are still going to heaven. Umm… Greed I have, of course. Sloth, because of procrastination. Pride, yes. Lust, yes. Envy, because, I’m like, other guys are getting hotter girls than I am. But that also comes into greed, because I want more. Gluttony, because I enjoy really good food and drinks. Would you over indulge in that? I wouldn’t say, I would over indulge. Well, actually, maybe not, because I don’t do that very often.

What’s your opinion of cut down trees?

If they are put to good use, then that’s great. What is good use? To be made into something useful, like paper. What about mahogany tables? Yeah. Perfect. And what’s not good use? They are not being made into anything. And they are being thrown away. To be made into anything, anything is good use. Like, a toy, or a floorboard, or furniture. What about cigarettes? Yeah, that’s good use. Because, I’m going to digress a tiny bit. There was an episode on recycling and they were busting myths. There is a massive myth about recycling Sean: So they had ten different coloured recycle bins and people kept… agreeing to it. The only thing that is worth recycling right now, is aluminium cans. At the moment, it costs less to recycle aluminium cans than to make new ones. But every single other things is bullshit.  Absolutely bullshit. It costs more to recycle paper, and it’s actually more harmful to the environment to recycle paper. You need to have the trucks to collect these bins to have paper, and to bring it back to the factory, and pay people to sort out these papers to make sure they are good stuff, and is worthwhile to be recycled. And then it is taken to this plant to be like, pulped, and then all these chemicals are added to it to have all the ink, deinked completely, and will cause a lot of harmful chemical fumes. And then, that is eventually made into paper. That process is a lot longer and tedious and harmful to the environment, then cutting down a tree to make paper.

People think cutting down trees is bad, but it’s not. Because every time a tree is cut down to be made to paper or any other use, another tree is being ordered to be planted, so it doesn’t make a difference. Like, trees aren’t being cut down without being replaced. Trees that we cut down, are all being replaced by new trees. By the time we get to that tree, that tree would have grown, and other trees are in line. We would never run out. It’s literally like a resource, like raising chickens. You aren’t going to be afraid that we kill chickens and not have them anymore.

Name someone you love and hate.

Sean. Sean: I was going to say me *laughs*. He has qualities that I really admire, and also qualities, not qualities I would say, but beliefs I guess, that I don’t. But maybe Sean feels this way about me as well. I think so. Actually Sean didn’t have someone he put down under this question. Which is fair enough. So what do you love and hate about him? The dislikes, is obviously like, and know that he feels the exact same way about it, is just like, the stubbornness to not change. So, obviously, he wouldn’t be like, oh Vince is some person, even if we present him with all the evidence, and everything else, he would not change his views, but that’s how I feel about Sean. What do you love about him? Dedication and discipline. If there is something that he hates doing, and knows has to be done, he would so do it. But I would try and put it off as much as possible. And try to avoid it until last minute it. He would probably space assignments out, like ‘I’ll do this part, this much now, this much now’, and not leave it until the last second, but I’m probably the person who is like ‘if I don’t have to do it now, I don’t have to do it now’. Do you cram for exams? In the past I did, but right now, I’ve been getting better in that regard.

Where is your favourite spot?

And that can be interpreted in any way right? It could even be like, what is your favourite spot, on the body? Yeah. Oh cool, because I thought favourite spot, oh, Southbank. Ok then, I’ll answer with the body bit then. Like, my head. My scalp. I enjoy a scalp massage more than anything. ASMR like crazy when I get a massage on my scalp. And I feel really bad for Sean, because he doesn’t experience ASMR. It’s not just a touchable feeling, it’s like an orgasmic feeling. Everything in your body is about to explode, in a really good way, when you experience ASMR. Isn’t that what you said about the GC bae massaging your head and twirling you hair? Yeah. Even better than sex. That’s what I said. I guess the coupley, intimate things that we do, while not being a couple. Sean: But isn’t that a coupley thing? Even though you don’t want a relationship? It is. So like, I enjoy coupley things, without being in a relationship. So like, cuddling, so like, you can’t be having sex twenty-four seven you know? As I said, forty minutes, and then two hours nap. And then, forty-minutes and two hours nap. And so after that, after sex, we would be cuddling in bed or something, that I really enjoy. Like, the afterglow. And that would be a coupley thing to do. Otherwise, if it’s just a purely physical thing, then it would just be like fuck, and then leave right now. Wouldn’t it be better if you loved them though? It would be, but at the moment, I’m just not willing to take that risk. Because whenever I take that risk, it blows up in my face. And sometimes, it’s like it’s a provisionary risk taking, if that makes sense. It’s like, I’m not going to take this chance completely, and be completely into it. But I’m going to take this chance, just for now. To see how it turns out. If it turns out well, then I’m be completely invested in it. Kind of like the Adelaide girl. She’s like, really genuine, and I was like ‘Do you think this distance will be a problem, and that one day…’ and I called this, because I was like ‘One day, I’m going to get a Dear John letter’, and she got really offended, and she got angry. She was like ‘you think that I’m that kind of person? You think I’m going to randomly come out and say that we shouldn’t do this anymore? Obviously not Vince. I am only ever going to leave you if you do something incredibly terrible to let me down’. And then three months later, out of abso-fucking-lutely nowhere, she came out and was like ‘hey Vince, I think we should stop doing this’. So this is the moment where I feel like ‘Holy Shit, I’m so glad’. Because this is provisionary risk taking is like half way there. So that means I’ll be like, half sad. If I didn’t take this risk at all, and if I was emotional unattached, I wouldn’t be sad at all. But that means you were only half happy when you were in it. I would say I was more than half happy because when I was in it, it felt like a real relationship. Like, we had the whole day, and we did really coupley things the whole day, and I saw her the subsequent days, but only for a couple of hours because we were trying to dodge her parents.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Twenty

12/02/15: A constantly hungry engineer lookalike via Facebook

Hi. Who are you? I'm William. Eighteen. Melbournian.

What do you think makes you different from others? I don't see anyone as different. Everyone is pretty much same. We all try and take upon a job within society in order to make it easier for us eat, breath and sleep. We are unique with our fingerprints, but that doesn’t make everyone the same by being unique? So it’s paradoxical that ‘being unique’ is just fitting in? I guess everyone conforms one way or another to make a living. Without conformity, I'm sure there would be more different ways to live life. Would you consider conformity as an animal instinct though? We tend to conform to gain a sense of belonging essentially; where like ideals are shared between individuals. I guess humans tend to conform to a greater extent in contrast to animals. So, I would say conformity is an animal instinct.

How do you feel about your family? Family is… different. Living with three generations of people under the same roof is unconventional compared to my friends. There always arguments between my parents and grandparents. We siblings tend to also argue. I guess family is also loud. Do you think your relationship with them is stronger with this arrangement? My relationship with grandparents on my mother's side is much stronger in contrast to my father's side whom live pretty far away somewhere in China. The main reason they live with us is to help out with family as my mother does not have perfect vision. The house is pretty crowded with eight people living under it, but it is always great to live with older people as they give much wisdom.

What is something you are passionate about? I don't feel that I have a passion at the moment. Finishing year twelve made me realise that there many wonders in life. Hopefully I find something that I'm truly interested in through university and extend that passion into a career.

What are five words that fascinate you?

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia - Because it is somewhat ironic

Existence - Because living is pretty awesome

Money - The idea that we hold strong value in paper sometimes puzzles me

Justice - What makes one better than another to decide laws/morals and conduct

Nationality - Probably because it’s weird being born in Australia and brought up as Chinese

How is your time spent? At the moment, watching movies and TV. And sleeping. Lots of sleeping. Why all the sleeping? Throughout year 12 I had minimal sleep. Most of my sleeping hours were spent on studying or waking up going to school. Definitely catching up from before. Was it the stress? Mostly the stress and fearing of failing year 12.

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? Definitely sloth. I have realised this after graduating from high school. I tend to sleep more and spent my time doing nothing productive. Do you feel guilt when you do nothing? Most times, no. It's my reward for enduring year 12. I know this would change once university starts.

What’s your opinion of cut down trees? They are useful in making structures that we humans use. But humanity should really invest time in replanting them. Excessive tree cutting destroys ecosystems in nature; homes to animals. Plus, oxygen is good. We should totally switch to using bamboo wood to fulfil our needs, I hear that the quality is just as great and it grows fast, so it's faster to replace what's cut down.

Name someone you love and hate. Myself. I am happy of what I have achieved so far in life, however at times feel regret for the things I've not done. What sort of things do you regret not doing? I regret not doing more than just studying for the past few years. I would have liked to conduct myself as more relaxed and taken part in more activities that were present at the time. So be more social? Yeah pretty much. But it was hard to visit friends from school as they lived way too far. Would have been nice if at least one of them lived somewhat close. Do you feel like you’ve gained back your social life because of the holidays? I do feel more connected. Given the extra time, it has allowed me to meet people or talk to them over Facebook. It's also made me realise the importance of friendships outside of school.

Where is your favourite spot? My bed. It is the only place where I can be alone in the house and do whatever I desire. I also enjoy sleeping. Do you just enjoy escaping reality? I do sometimes like being alone; away from all the troubles that exist, and reflect upon being alive in a state of consciousness.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Nineteen

5/2/15: An beautiful and endless tunnel of thoughts and emotions via Facebook

Hi. Who are you? Hi, I'm Madeline. It's funny because this is a question that has played on my mind recently; having left school and having to find my own way, with hobbies and friendships. It also doesn't help that I struggle to introduce myself - people at school call me Maddi, but I don't accept that from my parents, and then I'm called Mads by people who are closest to me. So it's like a scale of my relationship with people, but I'm never sure how to introduce myself. So I'm Madeline, Maddi and Mads. So does this make you feel that your name plays a large role in your identity? I think it can, for some people, as it's how people refer to one another. But then I can understand how easy it could be for someone to not feel comfortable with their name, because they were given it and didn't choose it. I suppose that plays into the topic of being agender, transgender, demigirl/boy and/or similar, because you may not feel it all matches. I remember I wanted to be an ‘Amanda’ when I was younger, like when you play the mum/dad/daughter/son/dog game. After Amanda Bynes, she was and is still amazing.

What do you think makes you different from others? Well, in many cases it's not different to other which drives me crazy, you know? You become 'the other Maddi' and the amount of times I heard 'no, not you' was uncountable and really degrading to my sense of self. I was actually thinking of this the other day; I can say the name 'Maddy' and know I am talking to someone specific, rather than another Maddy. So I aim to try and make a name for myself, to be the first one that comes to mind when my name is said. I don't really want to be famous, but I don't want to be overlooked for the contributions I have, and will make. That's another issue with the same names. On a few occasions, my awards were given to another girl of the same name, which makes a full circle back to degrading one's identity. So your name has really impacted your overview on life? It's made me work harder and more confident - having to speak up to be recognised for my work. It has also led me to realise that most people aren't by nature mean, and are happy to help if you just ask, but it's that first act of asking that is daunting but builds the most character.

How do you feel about your family? I love my family so much; they are all hard working individuals! They are very kind, my parents are always working after hours trying to help animals. I've worked with them and I've seen the things they deal with and they have done well not to bring too much of it home to my sister and I. My sister and I are stronger and more living people because of all the animals we have had in our lives. It never feels right to live without our animals or to have them as outside dogs for example. My extended family have made me so much stronger too; they always seem to whip me into shape. I always feel really old at home and then I spend a day with my 28 year old cousin and I feel like a 2 year old! I love all my cousins though; most of them are in the medical/science area so they are the most caring, loving people! In the past months my family have been so important to me and I can't begin to imagine my like without each and every one of them.

What is something you are passionate about? I can be passionate about anything!! Argg this question is actually tricky. I love so many things; sewing, embroidery, TV shows, netball, France, gardening, people, science!! I really love making things with fabric and wood and doing things like craft and DIY! I just bought a vintage dresser at an op shop for $40 and I'm in the process of painting it glossy black, I'm also going to spray paint the handle and the inside of the draw gold! Do you almost feel like because you can be passionate about most things, that there is not enough time to live? I had never really thought about it like that but occasionally I get so invested in things that it almost hurts, I just love it so much. The first time I made a bedspread it took me a year because I kept putting it off and at the end I had realised that colours were quite bright but once I finished it I was so proud and I just loved it so much! In terms of not having enough time, in my wild thinking session I reflect on the reason why I try to look at everyone I see, there are so many people in the world and I can't see them all, it makes me quite sad. So many people who all have a story to tell and I won't be able to hear them all.

What are five words that fascinate you? Many words fascinate me. I'm like Dumbledore sometimes, in that he says a remarkable quote; 'Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it' I think it encapsulates how amazing words are in that we have decided some words are nice and other are explicit. And then to delve deeper all words consist of 26 letters but can make thousands of words. It's then incredible that they can do so much. There are some words I just say to myself sometimes recently it has been 'romeridith' a hybrid of two names that I created at a time I don't recall. Another hybrid name; 'aspencat'. I also seem to say 'poinsettia' or just speak in French to try and keep an adequate level of French speaking.

How is your time spent? I currently spend my time at my parent’s clinic working about 9-10 hours 3 times a week. I try to hang out with my friends but I stop myself asking out of fear or rejection which doesn't help, so I watch TV shows, upcycle things and go on walks with my parents and the dogs. Although I enjoy relaxing and having lots of time I really enjoy learning and studying. So at the moment I am really looking forward to learning again but I'm nervous about University and the workings that you can only learn once you've gone there.

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? The only way I know the sins is from an episode of Charmed where they opened that box and each got one, I'm not too sure how they work but I think I embody them all, ( it would make sense that your meant to) I think I am on the greedy side but I am always trying not to sin and I suppose maintain an equilibrium between the 7. Do you think sinning is normal? Or something we should try and avoid? I think what we do can only be natural but swaying too far to one of them can't be great for mental and physical health. That's in terms of those sins, but in terms of adulteration that's, in my books, a no no. But some people consider alcohol a sin and I don't believe it is, responsibly of course

What’s your opinion of cut down trees? I occasionally think of what an area would look like if we weren't here, we being humans and I don't think I have ever truly seen that. A piece of land that is clearly untouched. To think about how many fewer trees there are now than there would naturally be is incomprehensible.

It's annoying also when people question whether or not climate change exists and people make it a moral question of being right or wrong about it when in actual fact if we're wrong the world will most simply be better. On the other hand it's hard to imagine the word being better if we don't have an adequate foundation, being human relationships and unity!! So do you think that even though humanity is pretty great, it's affected the land we live on greatly? Defiantly, I'm in two minds on one hand our ability to do the amazing things we do such as building and shops and etc. is incredible. However part of me hates humanity for having been so ruthless with the world and the other organisms in it!

Name someone you love and hate. As I said I love my family but aside from my immediate family my crazy 28 year old cousin is one of my favourite people, he and I are quite similar and he's such a good hugger!! In terms of hatred, I am always trying to better myself and I came across a phrase that I really like, it said; 'hate is too strong of an emotion to waste on someone you dislike'. It really stayed with me allowing me to be more positive and to focus on the blessings in my life, like my parents, animals and the general security I have in my life. Has this anti-negative outlook on life really changed how you view the world? I have always been aware of my tendency to be overly negative and because of my passion to keep learning and moving forward, I try to keep making myself writer and to be more conscious of my actions and behaviour.

Where is your favourite spot? Sometimes my bed is just the best place to be. In winter is my favourite, when my bed is all toasty and warm and it's raining out and you don't have to get up!! That's ideal. I also have lots of memories in Queensland where my family lives; I have memories of riding horses and playing in the pool and on the beach with my cousins. It was just great, lots of nice food and nice company and good weather. Sometimes it's not where you are but who you’re with, and sometimes it's nice to just be alone. It's true though.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Eighteen

29/1/15 - A semi make-up addicted pale ale via Skype

Hi. Who are you? Nobody.

What do you think makes you different from others? I don’t know. Nothing. We all have similarities. You can’t define something different about yourself from other people.

How do you feel about your family? My family? They’re there. They are just there. They are very normal. They are probably the most plain people you ever meet. They don’t do anything. So they don’t do anything super out there? Yeah. Yeah. I feel happy because they like to spend money. Does that mean you’re a materialist? Sometimes. I guess. And, I feel grateful for my fam.

What is something you are passionate about? Nothing. I’m not passionate about anything. I haven’t found it. You can have passions for things. But I haven’t discovered my passions, but I hope I can find them.

What are five words that fascinate you?

I went through some previous words and some/ a lot of them are really DIRTY!

Diarrhea the spelling is weird; I can never spell it properly so autocorrect helps me. And Diarrhea is dirty.

Constitution – it’s the fundamental basis of… I don’t know. It’s very complex.

Espionage – it sounds nice.

Kentucky – Reminds me of KFC.

Yiddish – it sounds funny.

How is your time spent? On the internet. I watch YouTube, I also like reading. I read a lot now, since we don’t have to read for school anymore. I read Gray Mountain by John Grisham, it’s like, John Grisham writes a lot of law stuff, like being a lawyer, it’s not real, but it’s very interesting.

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? Envy. Because I internally and mentally envy people a lot. What do you envy about? I ain’t telling you.

What’s your opinion of cut down trees? You can grow them back. It’s bad for the environment.

Name someone you love and hate. Umm, nobody. Everybody.

Where is your favourite spot? In the middle of nowhere, with wifi. Nowhere is where I’m by myself. So everywhere? No, because everywhere is an actual place. While, nowhere isn’t a physical place.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Seventeen

25/1/15: A true hipster with a gangsta twist via bagel talking

Hi. Who are you? Michelle. We’re friends. We’re acquaintances. We’re more than acquaintances. We’re friends. We’re good friends from school.

What do you think makes you different from others? I have red hair. I mean, everybody is different, so, like from looks, personality, to the way you dress, who you hang out with to how you spend your time, how you spend your money. Well, is there anything in particular that you think is different or unique about you? I’m pretty outgoing and crazy.

How do you feel about your family? I love them with all my heart. They’re good people. They’re cool. They’ve supported me through good and bad. They’re there when I need them, and sometimes there when I don’t need them. I wouldn’t been here without them.

What is something you are passionate about? Keeping friends, like, making an effort to keep a friendship going. And definitely upholding my values in public. Also, something typical, but music. Music keeps me going. Like, I like listening to music, supporting artists that I like, not following in the trap of liking someone, because everyone else does.

What are five words that fascinate you?

Moist – everyone uses it but it’s so disgusting

A lot of homophobic words, because it’s gets my attention, and I don’t like it. What words? Faggot, Gaybo, Gay. That kind of stuff.

Echidna is weird

Weird is a weird word, it’s a word that I overuse and never really think about.

How is your time spent? Since schools finished, I’ve literally been out every single night. Just catching up with friends, hanging out my house watching movies. I’ve been watching a lot of horror movies lately. We’ve been watching a lot of paranormal ones, and true story ones. True story ones? Have you seen The Strangers? It’s where this family, this couple, stay at this holiday house in the middle of bus. And these people with masks started appearing at the windows and did all this paranormal stuff. It’s a true story. It’s Australian. Ok, what else have you been up to? Working. Sleeping. Hanging out with family. Working out. Listening to music. Watching movies. Watching sport.

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? Sloth. I’m a sloth. Sometimes I can’t be stuffed to do anything, like, I just lie there and think of all the stuff I could do, and then ‘nah, I won’t do it’. There was this time when I dreamed that I cleaned my room, when I actually didn’t clean it. I woke up, and the mess was still there.

What’s your opinion of cut down trees? I hate Tony Abbott. He’s whole mentality that global warming doesn’t exist, which means he’s going to pass laws and legislations that say, or give people and large organisations the rights to cutting down trees in areas where trees should not be cut down. Because global warming does exist, and he’s stupid that he thinks it doesn’t. I guess there are people who have learnt about things, and have a reason to think it doesn’t exist, through research and etc. but Abbott is basing his ideas that global warming doesn’t exist on others. Like, if he actually went out and did something, some research maybe he finds that it does exist, maybe he finds that it doesn’t exist. But right now, he is standing there and watching and saying that it doesn’t exist. I hate Tony Abbott.

Name someone you love and hate. Hate is a strong word, but Taylor Swift. I don’t know. I love her music. So, why do you hate her? I don’t know whether it’s the envy or the way she is sometimes portrayed in the media, and I don’t like that. The way she’s acting up or not. It’s just the voice she has when she is being interviewed or speaking, it’s very, superficial.

Where is your favourite spot? Bed. It’s comforting and lets you forget about all the stuff you should be doing. 

[thesameinterview]

Interview Sixteen

22/1/15: A dog god. Someone on a higher level than all of us. #YOLO via talking 

Hi. Who are you? Hi, my name is Sean Murphy. I am twenty years old. Or thirty or something apparently. I’m a Buddhist. I like turtles.

What do you think makes you different from others? I’m very curious, and passionate about things I choose to be passionate about. I think a lot of people either don’t know what to be passionate about, or they know exactly what they want to be passionate about, but they don’t want to go to the pain and effort of pursuing it. Because it’s not just all good. It’s like, struggle most of the time, and when you understand it, that’s a good thing. And that’s how you go - challenging yourself and struggling and feeling pain. But that’s how you grow then, that process is how you achieve good/great things. And that’s what I think makes me different. But not unique, in fact, every successful person understands that, not necessarily explicitly, but they understand that it’s impossible to be successful without being process orientated, instead of outcome orientated.

How do you feel about your family? They’re pretty cool. My dad’s like, amazing, like, he’s the coolest guy. He’s wise. He’s Gandalf. He’s got a white beard and he’s old and experienced. And… mum’s pretty cool I guess.

What is something you are passionate about? Material sciences and engineering. Also, I love technology. The applications are super important to me, it’s what motivates me. Applications such as mainly medicine and energy.

What are five words that fascinate you?

Perspicuous – which means clear. Which I believe is where perspex is derived from.  

Perspicacious – which sounds similar but it actually means clever.

Mellifluous – which means a word that sounds good.

Penelope – because it’s such a mellifluous name.

Axiomatic – something that is inherently true, like a first principle that is true. Such as, the universe exists.

How is your time spent? Working, exploring, eating, cooking, chatting, watching movies and stuff occasionally. Like, I used to play  games a lot, that’s not good. It doesn’t even engage you anymore. I sometimes feel like, ‘ah. Maybe I should play a game, I’m kind of bored’, and I download the game or whatever, and I play it for five minutes and I’m like ‘this is so boring’. It doesn’t engage me.

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most?          

Sloth – especially when I’m studying. So, I’m sloth at times. I’m gluttonous at times.

Pride – I don’t think is even a problem, but maybe that’s my sin.

What’s your opinion of cut down trees? It’s a natural material, which is a lot better than mining iron out of the ground and stuff, so we should cut down trees. As long as they are replanted. Which they are, apparently. We’re planting more trees than we’re cutting down. Every single person in China has to plant one tree per year minimum, so they are planting over a billion trees every year. I mean, the Amazon is over forested, but, the net number of trees is increasing, I mean it wasn’t in the seventies *chuckles* -  logging central. But that’s the thing, you can always replant trees, it’s not like an emergency, but it takes time, so it takes forward thinking. Hence the Chinese proverb of – the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is now.

Name someone you love and hate. I don’t love and hate anyone. No one.

Where is your favourite spot? A thousand steps at Ferntree Gully.  Not even places in Brisbane?  Mount Coot-tha in Brisbane is pretty similar, but not quite as good. Ferntree Gully is so much greener, whereas Mount Coot-tha is like, bush, Australian bush, while A Thousand Sands is so green, ferns, and it’s so refreshing and real and living. I love moss on logs.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Fifteen

20/1/15: A shot of work from no lord via reddit

Hi. Who are you? I am lordswork. Agnostic atheist, exmuslim, mildly sane.

What do you think makes you different from others? I am different from others in my life because I don’t believe in god. That changes my approach to many things people tend to delegate to god and/or religion.

How do you feel about your family? Over the years, we’ve been victims of tragedies and one another. I care about them.

What is something you are passionate about?  I can’t think of anything. But people tend to bring out the best and worst in me.    

What are five words that fascinate you? God, death, secret, psychopath and existential.

How is your time spent? Reading stuff on the net. There’s just so much out there so I have to skim. A LOT.

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? Sloth.

What’s your opinion of cut down trees? I don’t like it. We take too much.

Name someone you love and hate. My sister. I hate anyone who oppresses others.

Where is your favourite spot? Anywhere I can see the stars.      

[thesameinterview]

Interview Fourteen

18/1/15: Centre-left, but usually being a douchebag about it aka rich in bitcoins via real life then transcribed

Hi. Who are you? Hi. My name’s Christian Rhodes-Wolfe, I’m eighteen and I live in Melbourne.

What do you think makes you different from others? Different from the other actors? You can define others however you want. I like to think I’m different from the other actors, say, in the various groups I’m in, in that I’m not completely self-absorbed. Completely? So you are semi self-absorbed? I have a high than average self-confidence, I will be the first to admit that. However, I don’t think I’m the greatest person, who ever lived, I don’t think I’m the greatest actor who ever lived. I just, I enjoy doing what I do. And in a way, I think that does make me better than some people, because they just want to do it for the fame and that’s very vain. But, I want to do it because it’s my passion, it’s what I love. That’s what I want to do with my life.

How do you feel about your family? My family are… an interesting lot. Look, despite all their many, many, Many, Many, MANY faults; I do love most of them. Most of them… Most of them. Do you hate any of them? Ahhh, I don’t want to be that guy who goes ‘I hate you dad’, but like I can safely say that I don’t really like my real father.

What is something you are passionate about? Well, I’m passionate about acting in general, specifically Shakespearean or Elizabethan acting. Simply because of it’s a challenge to put together, and it’s so satisfying to do it properly. I also very much enjoy singing, I’m a bass. And I really enjoy doing that. So, singing and actor are my passions. But I’m also interested in media. In the, wider implications of that stuff. What do you mean by wider implications? I like the theories behind media influence. Okay, like the Murdoch stuff? Hahaha, not literally. Not the conspiracy kind of stuff. Not like ‘Rupert Murdoch rules the world’, I mean he does. But, like the different theories of how people accept and interact with what they are presented with.

What are five words that fascinate you?

Aneurysm. I don’t know why, it’s a horrible to say.  It’s a really pretty word. Yeah, I like the way it’s spelt. You look at it, it’s pretty to look at.

I dislike the fact that bootylicious is now in the dictionary. What’s the actual definition of bootylicious? I don’t know the exact dictionary definition, but it’s something to do with your main feature of attraction is your arse or your rear end. Your arse or… Someone elses arse. Not your own. But you can say that you are bootylicious. Yeah, mmhmm girl.

Wherefore – because Shakespearean word. Not something that’s used a lot, or well, ever. And people don’t often understand what is actually means. What does it actually mean? Why. For example, wherefore art thou Romeo. She’s not asking where Romeo is, she’s asking why he has to be Romeo, why he is a Montague rather than why can’t be with me right now. Why is he an enemy, why can’t be just be someone I love. Or I can like.

How is your time spent? My time is spent learning monologues that I will never use, posing pictures that aren’t mine on a website for reasons I’m not sure, for approval from people I’ve never meet. I moderate various websites. I give relationship advice, even though I’m not in a relationship currently. *high five*. And pretty soon, I’ll be rehearsing for my upcoming show ‘Comedy of Errors’.

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? I’m going to be honest. Lust. Or envy. Lust – I enjoy indulgence, but I lust over things. Like, lust isn’t just a sexual thing, I do mean it mostly in a sexual way. I, I am a very horny person. Envy – I constantly want to be better than I actually am. But envy is about other people. Yes, I want like, for example, the singers in Pentatonix, their bass singer is called Avi Kaplan, he has the greatest singing voice I have ever heard. I so desperately want I voice like that, that if I could, I would take it from him by force. That’s pretty intense. It’s pretty intense, but when you can sing lower than an E1, that, I would be world famous for that. I envy other people for all things. Thankfully, I at least know the difference between envy and jealousy, so I can differentiate and I do differentiate.

What’s your opinion of cut down trees? Admittedly, I’ll be quite honest. I don’t give a shit. I understand the need to preserve the habitats of natural creatures and everything like that. But in a way, I would be comfortable with having those creatures in a zoo. Keeping them alive, keeping them well feed, happy, content. I don’t mean in a cage, like Werribee zoo or like those out door areas. But you aren’t letting them hunt, that’s getting rid of their natural instincts. We got rid of our own natural instincts, why can’t we get rid of others. I don’t actually believe that by the way. That was just a joke. I’ll be honest, I understand that cutting down forests, it’s a bad thing. But at the moment, it is, I’m not going to say it’s unnecessary, you know, I don’t know how to say it without saying like an arsehole so….

Name someone you love and hate. I love Gabe Newell for Steam, but I hate him for not releasing Half Life 3. Also, Tumblr. I love tumblr because *long pause*…. Porn. Also because of, I do see some people I do enjoy and follow, and pages I enjoy. But I also hate it because of the really radical side of tumblr. And sometimes I even dislike some of the fandoms, even the ones I’m part of, simply because they go too over the top most of the time.  

Where is your favourite spot? Home in my room, on a rainy day. That’s tied with being on stage as well. Being on stage either singing or acting, I love it. I enjoy my room on a rainy day, because the roofisn’t made of tin, but there is a tin thing right outside my window, so I get that feeling, so I can sit there and listen or I could be relaxing and surfing the internet, browsing the internet, whatever the vernacular is. Surfing the interwebs. Umm, yeah, I can listen to that. But being on stage, it’s exciting, and something I’m passionate about.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Thirteen

15/1/15: A jazzy musician with an art geek flair via Tumblr

Hi. Who are you? Hello, I’m Caitlin.

What do you think makes you different from others? I have a really weird thought process where I associate things and people with paintings and colours. I have an obsession with the colour blue. I have a freakishly good photographic memory. I remember pretty much everything about other people. Also I hate pasta (unless it’s my aunt’s smoked salmon pasta (aka the best thing I’ve ever tasted)). 

How do you feel about your family? Sometimes we’re close, most of the time we’re on each other’s nerves. We kind of hold conflicting values and stuff, and yeah. My parents and quite a lot of my extended family are people who often refuse to accept change and that’s kind of annoying for me as I feel like I’m still growing and learning more about myself… My sisters are awesome girls and I love them but sometimes they’re annoying shits. I know that my parents are just trying to do the best for me and my sisters and of course I’m grateful for that but still, it’s a bit of a mixed thing I guess.

What is something you’re passionate about? Art and music. Art is super rad and I really like the way in which artists can say so much in such a minimalist way (like Mark Rothko and his theory of painting basic human emotions). I guess if I had to choose between actually making art or the history behind art it’d be history. Impressionism, colour field paintings and suprematism as well as geometric abstraction are my favourite movements.

Music is super great, too, and I really like jazz. Music often plays an important part in my artworks; a painting I did last year for Art - “Kind Of Blue” - was linked closely with Miles Davis’s album of the same name, as well as Picasso’s “Blue Period”, which inspired Miles to make that album.

What are five words that fascinate you?

Swear words are pretty interesting when you think about it, like, we’ve made up words that are deemed as offensive to use?? Where is the logic in that??

Phthalo = oil paint names are annoying and tricky and i don’t even know to pronounce that word.

Existence  - like when you think about it, there’s billions of living things and plants and species and cities and places and cultures and history and planets and galaxies and life and… things out there… and we’ve shortened all of that into one word and it’s just, well, kind of amazing I guess.

How is your time spent? Eating maltesers, reading about art, thinking about art, thinking about life, playing guitar, writing stories,wasting entire days on the internet, reading novels, listening to music, taking photos, drawing.

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? Sloth. Always sloth. Gluttony too I guess. Wrath sometimes.

What’s your opinion on cut down trees? It’s super bad, like, forests are amazing places and trees are great and it’s just really devastating the effect cutting down trees is having on other living things and the planet. What happened a few years ago with the campaign to stop the gas plant being implemented at James Price Point in the Kimberley (Western Australia) has kind of helped to open my eyes more on environmental issues and things. But also wood and paper and stuff is super great for art and I wish there was a way that those things could be recycled or made in such a way as to save the damage it’s having on trees idk…

Name someone you love and hate. My little sister. We used to not get on at all but now we’re pretty much best friends despite a nearly seven-year age gap between us. Sometimes she’s a piece of shit but hey, that’s just the way it is. She’s awesome though.

Where is your favourite spot? The Great Hall at NGV where the stained glass ceiling is pretty cool. Sometimes I just go there to chill and hang out a bit. Also wherever/whenever I’m with friends or people that mean something to me it’s just, like, super nice and makes me happy.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Twelve

13/1/15: A submissive poet who is tied down.

Hi. Who are you? I'm Zac, 19 years old and half indigenous.

What do you think makes you different from others? The way that I think. I basically distance myself from the physical things and focus more on what's happening in my head.

How do you feel about your family?

It depends on which part of my family. I'm really close to some parts of it, but I'm quite the opposite with the majority of my family. Care to elaborate? Well, I was raised by only my dad, and so I'm only close to him, my uncle and aunty. My mum's family I don't speak to much at all, I haven't seen my mum since I was twelve. And the rich part of my dad's family is all snobby and is condescending towards my dad and uncle. Wow. Your family is slightly messed up. Slightly? I could go into details of my life and you would see that ‘slightly’ is an understatement.

What is something you are passionate about? Writing poems, it's basically become an obsession of mine. It takes up pretty much all of my time, I even had a dream about this really amazing line I wrote, but I forgot it when I woke.

What are five words that fascinate you?

 Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis – that’s longest word I know.

Set - Because there are so many meanings for such a small word.

Laxative - Because it sounds like accident and those two words go together well.

How is your time spent? Usually spend gaming, writing, listening to music or out with my mate.

What one of the  seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? Probably sloth, because I'm lazy. Or envy.  Because I used to wish I was white. Have you received a lot of discrimination for due to your race? I was one of about 4 Aboriginal kids in my school and I copped a lot of shit because I was the one who played sport and so on. So the stereotypes surrounded me about sports and my mum. 

What’s your opinion of cut down trees? I prefer the trees before they're cut down.

Name someone you love and hate. Me.

Where is your favourite spot? There is a little creek near my house and despite it being around a main road, I love it because it's like a different world. It gives off a different feeling to just being in a lower class suburb. What do you do there? It’s where I go when I want to read my poems out loud or attempt to rap.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Eleven

12/1/15: A soldier with a gunned shoulder

Hi. Who are you? Hello, I'm Ben.

What do you think makes you different from others? I notice things that most people may over look. I do my best with the time I am given and I am very thankful for everything I have because I have been in certain situations that make me appreciate even the smallest things. I love making people happy. I love even more to make people laugh. I don't have too many opinions. I have never had Facebook or Twitter. And when gaming I prefer player 2.

How do you feel about your family? I feel really close with my family. I enjoy every moment I'm with them because there are many times I am away from home. I love my family very much.

What are you passionate about? Helping people in any way possible. And my faith.

What are five words that fascinate you?

God. - The way everything is today because of him is simply fascinating.

Love - how it all works. At times it’s good, at times it’s Bad. In the end it can only be described indeed, as "love."

Hate - why does it exist.

Kakorrhaphiophobia - why is this a word?

Happiness - how even a little makes everything better. This is what fascinates me.

How is your time spent? I think a lot. I go on walks a lot, and go on runs. I play guitar. I LOVE playing video games. But throughout all that time, whatever it is i do, I am always thinking. Not of one thing in particular but of all things at once. Sometimes I daydream. For example. I could be shopping for food but in my head I'm Bruce Lee and one inch from punching someone at the Long Beach International Karate Championship proving hundreds that Jeet Kune Do is the best. So in all, I spend a lot of time thinking about anything and everything.

Which one of the seven deadly sins do you commit the most? I would say wrath. I let a lot of stupid things bother me at times. Like mustangs.

What’s your opinion on cut down trees? I think that we need a lot of things from trees like paper or wood to build with or to heat our homes. But I also think Oxygen is kinda important.

Name someone you love and hate. Steve from Blue’s Clues. I love him so much. He's the reason why green is my favorite color. But then he just all of a sudden decides to go back to resign from the show and goes to college? What? For real, Steve? Then you’re going to leave your cousin in charge??? Huh? Who is this guy, Steve? You guys look nothing alike!!! You wear stripes Steve, he wears squares! SQUARES STEVE! That is anarchy! No Steve this can't be happening! Boom gone. That was that. Even to this day I'm still upset... but I love him... I do.

Where is your favourite spot? My favorite spot is about a mile up the dirt road from my house. It’s on top of a little hill and in the distance is nothing but prairies. Tall wild grass grows there and the wind blows soft. No houses or cars anywhere to seen! I love it! I go there when I'm sad or to think about things. I spend a lot of time there. There's a lot of beautiful places on earth but God paints the best sunsets here for sure.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Ten

11/1/15: An uber honest and cute noided DJ/artist via the internet

Hi. Who are you? Hellooo! I'm an 18 year old Melbourne girl who bases her life around the idea of being kind and leaving a positive impact on the world. I like to DJ and paint, I think this sums me up pretty well to people who don't know me. 

What do you think makes you different from others? I think my brain is a lot less linear than others. I find myself switching between ideas way too often. I am also so obsessed with mental illness that I spend all days watching videos of incredibly unstable people. Lately I'm worried that I'm going to lose my mind because of this! Is this about yourself, or just plain curiosity? Well it started out because I was researching a character I'm playing in a uni play but then I got a bit obsessed.The character description was 'insane' which I found stupidly vague and she had to ramble things so I had her mostly ramble MC Ride lyrics haha. 

How do you feel about your family? Ummm, a lot better now that I'm not living under the same roof as them. I love them to bits but being in a small house with like 5 other people got old fast. I still don't see them as often as I could because I need time to recover but they've been nothing but supportive and I love them very much :D 

What is something you are passionate about? I'm really passionate about the way music can influence and move people. Without a single word it can describe your current situation perfectly. There's nothing better than blasting your favourite vinyl and totally immersing yourself, it feels like you're literally falling into the music and it's a comforting (or sometimes obscuring) feeling that in my opinion is definitely on par with a drug trip or a brilliant orgasm...with none of the guilt afterwards haha.

What are five words that fascinate you?

Rhythms - Because it's the longest word without a vowel.

Insanity - Insanity is such a loose concept that is now used as an umbrella term for mental illness, but few people with mental illness are insane so it's really interesting where to draw the line. It's just a really outdated word for a time where mental illness wasn't really discovered and I wonder why we still use it.

Perfect - Nothing in nature is perfect so why do we use this term to create unrealistic expectations for our fellow humans.

Mystery - Don't know why.

Krankenwagen - Okay this one is foreign but it's a perfect example of why German is such an awesome language: it's German for ambulance but the word literally means Hospital car....shows you how straight forward German words are. Also it's fun to say with an angry German accent.

How is your time spent? I've gotten so good at procrastination that I now procrastinate the thing's I originally procrastinated with. 'I should go play a video game!....Nah' *sits there doing nothing for an entire year*. But when I do get off my butt, I just paint and mix, I try and do everything really slowly and never rush...I have a whole life time after all.

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? Probably sloth looking at my previous answer, but I think it's something that our generation as a whole has. We have lots of instant gratification and I think that's something we're going to have to get over, but hey as far as sins go, laziness is a pretty harmless one.

What’s your opinion of cut down trees? To me it's destroying history when people clear whole forests. It's akin to book burning (which is ironically made from trees). There's like thousands of years of history people are just destroying to such a horrific extent. You got to cut a few down I guess but it's getting pretty excessive. So are you pro tree farming? Tree farms are cool. I mean trees kinda important to our social growth which I think at the end of the day our society does more good than harm (though more easy to see the harm sometimes). You think? Many people perceive society as doing far worst than good, with CO2 emissions, and killing animals. Yeah but the bad is right in front of you. Last week I saw a drunk girl hit her head on the concrete. Literally all of the neighbours including me rushed out with ice packs, frozen vegetable packets and their mobiles ready to call 000. It's important not to forget stuff like that. 

Name someone you love and hate. I guess I have a love/hate relationship with my dad though not so much hate....just don't like his attitude sometimes. He's really bitter, he was always supportive of my music but also extremely judgemental haha. Sometimes you need to learn to block out the negatives of someone or else you'll end up consequently blocking out the positives.

Where is your favourite spot?

Probably my bed. No matter how much I mess up life, it's always waiting there for me, completely non judgemental of the stuff I do in it: I snore, drool, masturbate and cry there but I always associate it with pure comfort. No one's bed is as comfortable as your own really. despite how many springs have popped out. Other beds just don't feel right.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Nine

10/1/15: An artist who should be on a run-a-way runway via Facebook

Hi. Who are you? That’s such a loaded question haha. Do I just state my name, or? In that case, it's Phoebe.

What do you think makes you different from others? I suppose on a very basic level we are all innately similar with the same drives and biological needs, but then more superficially, I suppose our our experiences of life, how and where we grow up and the situations we face shape the way we view the world and ourselves. On that level every single person is different from others. I like to think that I'm 'different' and unique, but then I remember how insignificant I am in the scheme of things. Haha. 

I guess when you think about how many people there are on earth, and how many there have been, and ever will be, nothing seems very important. It comforting and terrifying at the same time. I feel different to most people because I tend to see things very objectively. I tend to view things very clinically and not apply real-world issues to myself, if that makes sense. Somehow I'm also a very emotional person.

How do you feel about your family? Haha, well. From outside I guess we look like a perfect nuclear family, but if I really think about it I'm content with the values and morals my parents raised me with, they both have a strong social conscience, which is something I also share. We don't always get along because we're all very different - I have two younger brothers (that says it all, doesn't it - haha), but they really are good, honest and authentic people who are trying their best. Do you think your family fits in with the term 'nuclear family', even you imply it doesn't? In the traditional sense of 'soccer mom', male breadwinner thing yes, but value wise they, (we?) are very egalitarian I suppose; they're very accepting people, they're not fussed that I'm queer or anything haha. I'm not sure how to explain it really, but despite being a typical 'family' unit, they are very open-minded and progressive, they don't hold conservative 'family-first' beliefs.

What is something you are passionate about? I'm passionate about so many things/ I'm passionate about knowledge and trying to better myself as a person by learning and absorbing all I can; I'm constantly reading all these facts and bits of information about random topics, there's a small part of me that wants to know everything there is to know about this world (however unrealistic this is, haha). Similarly, I'm very passionate about social issues and the treatment of minority groups historically and contemporarily. I suppose I would classify myself as an intersectional feminist; I'm passionate about not just equality, but also justice for oppressed groups, and how issues of sexism, racism, discrimination of LGBT+ people, and other civil rights issues overlap.That's really awesome. I don't really see it as awesome. I see it as a part of everyday life that's necessary if we want to achieve a better society. What do you think people can do, to achieve a better society? I think it's all about education. It's good to see youth today educating themselves and actively participating in bettering society, but I definitely think it needs to be brought into the mainstream. Even being a feminist is seen as 'radical' rather than the norm. Many social issues aren't covered in mainstream media, for obvious reasons, so individuals have to seek out knowledge and information if they want to see change. As you said, opinions change opinions.

What are five words that fascinate you? Acquiescence. Transience. Archetypal. Ethereal. Not so much the word itself, but it's meaning and people's preoccupation with 'virginity.' Those are the first that come to mind. How do you define virginity personally? I understand that someone's first sexual experience may hold emotional or spiritual value for them, and that's totally fine, but I don't like how the concept of 'purity' is used to shame women for having sex (or not) and choosing to use their bodies how they please. Interesting enough, the same standards aren't upheld for men; women 'lose' their virginity, while men 'take' it. I find it totally archaic.

What one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? I'd like not so say sloth, but if I'm being honest... What would you prefer if sloth isn't the 'truth'. My main 'resolution' for this year was to do more, create more, live more. Sloth contradicts that. I don't think there would be a preferred answer, considering they are sins after all, but lust I suppose if I had to pick one. Living in the moment, giving in to temptation rather than maintaining self-control. That sounds fun.

What's you opinion of cut down trees? It's not preferable in regards to environmental impact, I don't see why tree farms aren't used more widely. So, would you consider yourself an environmentalist, or not that fussed? To be honest, I'm not actually very concerned. I know it's something I should care about but there are other issues I feel more strongly about that I prioritise over environmental activism. That may be selfish to deem the environment, plants and animals inferior, but thats just my personal belief. I know a lot of people disagree, but I don't see how people can work together to fix environmental issues and animal rights issues if we don't fix human rights issues first.

Name someone you love and hate. I love so many people; I don't believe that loving lots of people openly or verbally diminishes its meaning - they're different types of love that manifest themselves in different ways. That being said, I do love some people more than others, like my mum, my girlfriend, you know.

Hate - in a way I can't hate anyone because every single person I've met has altered me in some way and caused me to grow as a person. I can't resent that. 

Where is your favourite spot? I don't think there's a single place in which I'm 'happiest' or whatever, it has more to do with who I'm with and what I'm doing. Conversely, I always feel at home curled up on a couch with a book, no matter where I am.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Eight

9/1/15: A Bailey's addict via Facebook

Hi. Who are you? Hello I am Teneesha.

What do you think makes you different from others? I don't really think I am that different from others, people as a whole really seem to like clinging to the idea that they're special and different, but really for the most part we're all pretty dull and I am okay with that.

How do you feel about your family? Haha well... Let's just say we have very different values that we hold dear, and that results in a lot of clashes but I recognise they're just trying their best and all.

What is something you are passionate about? I don't think I've really found anything I'm passionate about yet I'm kind of just floating along, and I mean I'm not too fussed about it because I'm still young so I have heaps of time to find a passion and all. I just don't want to like force a passion and end up being like 'well I don't really care about this that much after all' after investing a heap of time and energy into it.

What are 5 words that fascinate you? To be honest, I'm really not that big on words themselves but usage can interest me. Especially ones that get caught up in pop culture like the evolution of LMFAO. Does that even count as a word? Who knows. But look at it grow from the MSN days to now... I'm trying to think of four other words, but it’s hard.

My vocabulary is letting down the team. Oh! Another thing I like that I forgot about words, are those words that can't be translated. Like words from another language that don't work in English I've seen things about those they're cool. It's just really interesting that we don't have words for some things.

How is your time spent? That is the million dollar question seeing as everyday at like midnight. I'm like 'oh dear where has the entire day gone?'. Lately I've been spending a lot of time transitioning between 3 iPhone apps while watching TV shows. Also walking is nice except not in 40 degree weather. What apps are you switching between? Snapchat, Messanger, Snapchat, Yik Yak, Facebook and Tumblr really. Which is more than three. I lied. Sorry. Also a lot of spider solitaire. This sort of sounds like procrastination, but you're not procrastinating against anything. Exactly! It's like I procrastinated this entire year because of year 12 and the habits have just kept up.

What one of the 7 sins do you believe you commit the most? Wowie, that's a hard one (it's not). Sloth. For sure. I do as little as possible to get by and have for like, my entire life. Oops.

What’s your opinion of cut down trees? Don’t do that. Things live in the trees and either they die or they relocate. And I do not want them dead nor in my roof.

Name someone you love and hate. I don't know. I don't really have strong feelings towards most things. I'm pretty apathetic really. I hate Skyler White from Breaking Bad. Anyone you love? Oohhh! Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds is up there. Because I just finished watching all ten seasons in my time wasting. Also Tricia Miller from Orange is the New Black. 

Where is your favourite spot? Probably the Coronet Bay beach, less because of the actual place (though it is very very lovely), but because whenever I'm down there it's with people I really like and carries a lot of good memories.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Seven

8/1/15: The cute but terrifying musician via Facebook

Hi. Who are you? I'm Alex.

What do you think makes you different from others? How I think. Experiences. I like Nutella way too much.

How do you feel about your family? They're cool. We're close. Sometimes they're a tad annoying but you know, that's how it is. Plus, I'm also probably super annoying so it kinda balances out.

What is something you are passionate about? Music. How it works. How it's put together. How different composers use different elements to make different sounds. Composing it myself.

What are five words that fascinate you? Can we skip this one? I don't know. Words themselves don't really fascinate me, more like how they're put together or actual concepts you know? Single words by themselves aren't so interesting.

How is your time spent? Reading. Currently, Jane Eyre. 

Which one of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? Sloth. lol. Gluttony. Wait. All of them.

What's your opinion on cut down trees? On a massive scale, a big nono. But then Christmas trees. Like the destruction of the Amazon is not a good thing. But CHRISTMAS TREES!!!

Name a person you love and hate. My sister I guess. I mean, she's my sister, but she's also a little shit.

Where is your favourite spot? I don't know. Wherever there's good weather, friends, and a certain feeling of existentiality. Like, wow, I'm glad all this exists you know? Plus it's pretty. I don't even think existentiality is a word. I'm sure that it all doesn't matter if it isn't, because we will all died in the end. omg. stop. omg.

[thesameinterview]

Interview Six

7/1/15: A stoner that doesn't do weed via real life talking

Hi. Who are you? Adam.

What do you think makes you different from others? I care too much about the things that aren't important, and don't care about things that are. I do, but, I don't having the work ethic with important stuff compared to not important stuff. What's important stuff? As a student, academic studies, or like, scores. So, what's not important? I have an excel document, where I put my movie racking and ratings, and I keep changing the ranking of different movies... And I look up stuff on IMDB instead of physics or like, engineering.

How do you feel about your family? They work very hard, and I should learn from them. They care for people, and are good parents. But they can be old fashioned, such as their opinions on patriarchy and homosexuality.

What is something you are passionate about? Movies. Pieces by Rachmaninoff, just because they are passionate and intense. I don't know. TV shows like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, True Detective and Sherlock.

What are five words that fascinate you? 

Menu - One time at a friends house, my friend had folders everywhere which had labels on them to do with cities and places, like Paris, Belgium. There was one label which had 'Menus' and I asked him where Menus is, as I've never heard of it. He told me that it was menus. 

Swear words in generally - I don't mind if I say them, but if others do, I feel uncomfortable.

Hypocrite - Because I am one.

Life - A lot of movies talk about people's perspective on what a good life is, with religion, ideologies and cults. Some work out well, but then are some bad ones. Which is interesting.

              - (Adam states that, probably, in three weeks, he'll find another cool fascinating word)

How is your time spent? *stares at phone* pardon? Usually watching movies and TV or rewatching stuff on YouTube, redoing things and doing nothing. What do you mean by doing nothing? Wanting to do something, but not feeling like it so I procrastinate by revisiting or rewatching something until I'm in a good mood, which is usually at 2am. But then I'm too tired to do anything, so I just fall asleep. The cycle continues. And I wake up so late, that my alarm clock is the house alarm, which is at 1pm. I have to go out and switch it off, but I've got like crazy hair and am in my underwear, and there are people walking past, and it looks like I'm robbing my house, but I'm a really desperate robber. 

What ones of the seven deadly sins do you believe you commit the most? I know the sins because of the anime Full-metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, as the characters are named after them. Definitely not lust, pride or gluttony. What don't you think you overindulge on movies and shows? Errr, not really. I guess. So, I'm a combination of gluttony, slow and envy.

What's your opinion on cut down trees? I think it's bad, but I'm a hypocrite because I like the look of it. Not good for ecosystem right? It takes time to regrow, and the animals don't have a home. I like it when there is city and country. Japan has a good ratio between city and country.

Name someone you love and hate. I like Hugh from Full Metal Alchemist, Katsura and Kondo from Gin Tama, Steve Carell, Kevin Spacey, Henry Carvill, Brian Cranston, Anime, TV people. I hate some characters in TV shows, anime movies. Why? The characters are shit people. They do terrible things and are not nice. 

Where is your favourite spot? Where I am happy.