I've been using Ubuntu since 2010 or so. The first update I saw was the removal of Gnome as a default UI. I didn't know enough at the time to care, as I was just getting started and simply opted to learn Unity.
I've been using tiling window managers since early to mid 2012. Currently I use i3. I switched from Ubuntu desktop to Ubuntu server shortly after beginning use of i3 and after dropping Xmonad because of the time involved in configuring it. The entirety of my UI, discounting gnome-terminal, weighs less than the gnome-terminal. I stick to the LTS releases of Ubuntu.
I have experience with a wide variety of user experiences including Windows 95, 98, XP, 7, 8, and on the GNU\Linux side of things Unity, Gnome, Xmonad, and i3.
I'm good at breaking boots and frying the partition table. At least I was :p Now I'm quite good at fixing those things, because of how often I've broken them. Experimenting has also given me knowledge of how to avoid those problems.