Even as I am fully known...

On Tuesday night, I found out a critical piece of information about our friend Kevin Ding: when you ask him a question, he'll often repeat it before answering. For instance,

Me: Hi Kevin, how was your day today?
Kevin: How was my day? Oh, it was good.

Aside from this being a bit quirky, it's quite normal and you won't notice this in normal conversation. Unless, of course, you actually don't want him to repeat what you asked. This past week we planned a quick celebration for Kevin Huang's birthday which involved Brian and myself buying a cake from Safeway, barging into the apartment with cake in hand, candles lit. Question was, were there candles and matches already there at the apartment? The phone conversation went a little something like this (bolstered with a few extra words for context and comic effect):

(ring ring)
Kevin: Hello, Brian?
Brian: Hi Kevin. Hey, do you know if we have candles and matches at home?
Kevin: Oh, do we have candles and matches at home? [pause] Oops.
Brian: Uh-Did you just say that with Kevin Huang standing next to you?
Kevin: Kevin Huang? Yeah. He's right here next to me. [pause] Anyway, yes, we do have them.
Brian: Ok, could you just put them out into the hallway?
Kevin: Put them in the hallway for you? Yeah, sure.

Haha, yes, this is just a bit exaggerated. But needless to say, Kevin Huang knew exactly what was going on outside in the hallway when he chose to open the door on us, and pretend not to see us scrambling to hide behind the hallway trash can. Happy Birthday, Kevin. :)

So do we still ask Kevin Ding questions? Of course! But if you don't want him to give it away, be sure to warn him before you begin.