My name is Will. Hello.
If you are reading this page, you're probably me. Or my mum.
Anyway, here is my life history in reverse chronological order. Kind of interesting exercise to sum up entire years in a sentence or two.
(Disclaimer: This is a shamelessly stolen idea from Jim Whimpey, who stole it from Jason Kottke.)
2010: In progress...
2009: Incredible year on the work front — my team went from 13 people to 40 people which completely changed the nature of my job. I will remember this as the year I had no choice but to stop coding (at least professionally). Picked up a lot of hobbies (timelapse and photography in general, traditional shaving, Chinese, cooking) in what was probably an attempt to stay stimulated while work required less and less creativity. Gained a new nephew, Thomas.
2008: Gained a nephew, Oscar. Met and ended up living with Yu, who I gave the nickname Lilly to avoid confusion when speaking in English.
2007: Bought an apartment, firmly laying down roots in Tokyo.
2006:
2005: Built and released my opus. Took over as manager of the team. Did a lot of hard coding, which was fun.
2004: Left Merrill Lynch to join Mizuho. I remember thinking on Day 1, "this is a huge mistake". Couldn't have been more wrong.
2003:
2002: Had a minor heart problem, which led to a long paranoid anxiety about it. Never actually caused any real trouble, but lost a lot of weight just from worrying.
2001: Joined Merrill directly, and finally got a proper salary. Started living with my first real Japanese girlfriend, and getting fat.
2000: Moved to Tokyo. Finally, my dream. Got a job with a dodgy company doing contract consulting at Merrill Lynch. Enjoyed all the benefits of being a gaijin bachelor in Tokyo.
1999: Got my first team and my first project as "Architect". Worked like crazy — went to work one Friday, worked all night, all day Saturday, all night again, all day Sunday, went home to shower & change, worked all day Monday. I think I wore rollerblades the entire time which in retrospect was more than a little eccentric.
1998:
1997: Started working in a company job. My tendency for workaholism started early. I was exposed to Java, OOP, and couldn't believe I was being paid to code. Basically had fun 95% of the time.
1996: Started living with a girlfriend for the first time. Also finished uni.
1995:
1994: Started university, and moved out of home into an apartment with uni friends. What a life! An explosion of interest academically, socially, philosophically... I would say that I didn't appreciate how good I had it at the time, but I did.
1993: Exchange student for 1 year in Tochigi, Japan. Specifically requested to be sent to a place where nobody speaks English. My request was granted. Studied my arse off and gained fluency, at the expense of much social life.
1992: Last year of high school was pretty hard work, both academically and socially. Learned to drive.
1991: Went to Japan for the first time on a 2-week school exchange, which was the first time I found something I had learned in school (Japanese) had real-world relevance. This was the moment I locked my focus on mastering the language.
1990: Annual inter-school musicals and plays gave us a way to meet girls. Enjoyed that!
1989:
1988: Started high school. Went suddenly from being in the oldest kids' class to the youngest. Felt small, standing on the edge of something big. Started studying Japanese.
1987:
1986: Got Amstrad computers with floppy disk drives at school. Learned more programming and loved it. Marbles were for some reason popular. I don't remember anyone actually playing any games with them. It was kind of a collecting thing.
1985:
1984:
1983: Started prep with my mum as my form teacher. I got the form prize, and remember it causing her a lot of stress and anxiety because of the implied nepotism. (As far as I know, no-one ever made the accusation though.) We got our first computer at home - a Commodore Vic 20. Learned BASIC programming. Hooked.
1982:
1981: Found out that following the rules despite common sense can lead to disaster. We were supposed to ask for permission to go to the toilet, quietly, by raising a hand. One day, my teacher ignored my raised hand for a long time, and got a puddle on the floor for her obstinacy.
1980: Started school a little early, after insisting that I wanted to go to school like George, who was a year older. I don't remember being phased that he didn't go to the same school.
1979: Kindergarten. Met George (at the time I called him Anthony... long story) who would become my longest-serving friend.
1978: My brother Alex was born. Don't remember that either.
1977:
1976: Born in Edinburgh, Scotland to Australian parents. Moved back to Adelaide, South Australia with stops at Tutankhamun's tomb among other places along the way. Don't remember it.
