I talked about this quite a while back in another node that I'm too lazy to look up. Since I'm at work when I visit the Monostary, I rarely have a lot of time to spend, and so I rarely use my votes. Hence my being a Monk for around a year now.

I've found that I often use my votes (when I have time) in the Code sections. I love the idea of giving people feedback on code that they contribute, even if that feedback is simply an upvote pat on the back.

The other place that I like to spend votes is in the poetry and obfuscation sections. Whereas the coding section provides a functional set of tools for others to learn from and improve, the poetry and obfuscation sections are artistically based. And being a former theatre graduate, I like that.

Every now and again, I'll come across an exceptional node (or more often, and exceptional point made in a node), but those times are a lot more rare than the creativity in other sections.

But, then, if I'd been spending all my votes everyday, I'd be a little bit higher than a monk. But it's been, and continues to be, a great experience.