And then?

I had to attend a WIER research study today. It was held on the 7th floor of S block and the view out of the windows is amazing. I could see right to the CBD and Yarra River was visible too. That was not why I was there though. I've been requested to attend the WIER research study to improve the site. WIER stands for Web Industrial Experience Resource and it should be noted that I am part of the IE team that is actually going to make the modifications to WIER. I'm rather puzzled as to why we're asked to attend since there is a potential conflict of interest. We as the developers would obviously like the features on the "To Be Added" list to be kept to a minimum. Anyway, the study only took 30 minutes and it involves me answering a couple of questions while a tape recorder was running and doing a couple of tasks in WIER while a video camera recorded the screen. I got A$10 for participating in the research. A$10 for 30 minutes...hmm, I just realized that's the highest wage I've gotten to date. Little known fact about me: I worked part time for a short stint at a Chinese restaurant last year. The wages are really shitty (below legal minimum wage) but the upshot is you don't pay any tax. I did not stay long though, because I could not write any Chinese and all the cooks can read is Chinese. My poor Cantonese didn't help matters either. =D