2025

i first picked up the guitar around 8 years ago after watching a cover of canon rock on youtube. started with a cheap yamaha acoustic and spent months just learning basic chords. over the years i've gone through phases — fingerstyle, blues, john mayer stuff. i eventually got a prs silver sky which completely changed how i play. these days i mostly jam with friends on weekends and learn songs i like. i'm nowhere near where i want to be, but that's kind of the point — it's the one hobby where i don't care about optimizing.

started lifting about 8 years ago with stronglifts 5x5 — the classic beginner program. spent my college years doing a proper bulk phase, eating everything in sight and getting way stronger on the big compound lifts. after college i shifted to more of a maintenance approach, training 4-5 days a week with a push/pull/legs split. i've learned that consistency matters way more than any program. my current focus is staying lean while keeping the strength i've built. it's become less about numbers and more about how i feel.

my japanese journey started about 5 years ago after binge-watching terrace house. i started with duolingo (like everyone), then moved to genki textbooks, then anki flashcards. the real breakthrough came when i started consuming native content — podcasts, youtube, manga. i passed the jlpt n1 which felt surreal. now i'm focused on output — speaking and writing more naturally. living in tokyo has obviously accelerated things, but i still have days where i feel like a beginner.

i've been making youtube videos for a few years now and it's turned into my main creative outlet. what started as screen recordings with voiceover has evolved into a full production process — scripting, filming, editing, thumbnails. i use a sony a7siii and final cut pro for most of my workflow. the channel crossed 200k subscribers which still feels unreal. the hardest part isn't the technical side, it's consistently coming up with ideas that i genuinely care about.

running is my newest pursuit — only about a year in. got inspired after watching casey neistat's running videos and just started with short 2-3k jogs around my neighborhood. slowly built up distance and signed up for my first half marathon as motivation. ended up running a full marathon in taipei and finished in 4:08, which i was really happy with for a first attempt. running has become my favorite way to think and decompress. there's something about being outside with no phone that resets my brain.