How would you describe yourself to someone?

Honestly, the chance to sit down and have a proper conversation with a complete stranger doesn’t come up that often for me.

Except maybe when I’m camping, I rarely have opportunities to spend time face-to-face with new people.

When I first meet someone, I don’t rush to talk about myself. I usually prefer to listen first, see how the other person opens up. Some people are talkative, some take their time — I’m fine adjusting to different paces.

But if they ask, I usually start by mentioning my work. After all, aside from sleeping, most of my waking hours are spent there.

I work in IT, doing a bit of everything: developing apps, managing systems, fixing bugs, building internal tools, and sometimes even giving training sessions. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, but that means every day is a little different, and I’ve gotten used to it.

Lately, AI has become a hot topic and often comes up in conversation.

If the other person is interested, I’ll talk about voice controls, AI-assisted applications, or projects I’ve worked on. Sometimes the conversation gets technical, sometimes it stays practical — it depends on the situation.

But honestly, more than AI, what I’m really looking forward to right now is an upcoming trip to Japan.

I’m planning the itinerary and have heard a lot of tips from friends. Taiwanese people really share a kind of collective travel memory of Japan — things like buying cosmetics, enjoying yakiniku, visiting shrines, riding the Shinkansen… everyone has their favorite go-to spots.

Talking about travel tends to be more relaxed than talking tech, and people’s faces usually light up much faster.

As for politics — a topic often stirred up here in Taiwan — I generally avoid discussing it and have no desire to convince anyone.

Sometimes, it’s enough just to listen. Differences in opinion aren’t a big deal; what matters more is keeping the conversation comfortable.