Frequently Anticipated Questions
- Q: Are you aware that your current navigation scheme introduces one additional click if the viewer wishes to see another page?
- A: Yes.
- Long Answer: Not having persistent top-level navigation was a very early design choice made based on a gut feeling. Reflecting upon it now, I believe it may have something to do with how presenting personal webpages in the same way as one would a commercial site has always rubbed me the wrong way. While persistent navigation provides easy access to all of the site's content, it kills intimacy and deliberateness. The purpose of this site is to convince the world that I am a comptetent knowledge worker with useful marketable skills - but also to be an online representation of the human I am.
Art
- I like illustration and comics, in case you couldn't tell. I'm also fond of, but less good at, calligraphy and large outdoor installations/public art.
- Favorite artists: James Gurney, Olafur Eliasson, Alexander McQueen, Donato Giancola, Petar Meseldžija, Vincent van Gogh, Mona Hatoum, Phobs, Paul Duffield, Shilin.
Travel/Favorite Cities
- My travel style usually involves visiting museums, parks, and a lot of walking/cycling and city exploration.
- Singapore: I say this as unbiasedly as I can be, after having been to many places.
- Aarhus, Denmark: a charming city that comes with many of my favorite things - bicycles, nice parks, a museum with at least two great Olafur Eliasson pieces, and the sea: I'm in love. (I've only been there in the summer, though. I'd very much like to live there for a little longer.)
- Pittenweem, Scotland: not a city; a tiny, tiny village really. It's very beautiful in the summer and has a sweet shop that sells the most delicious tablet. Also on the sea, which adds 100 points in my book.
- New York City, USA: a very different kind of city from Singapore, and the closest I can feel to home in this corner of the States. Manhattan is on the sea, I guess.
- Taipei, Taiwan: an interesting blend of old and new; it felt a little like the Singapore of my early childhood. Also on an island! I think we're starting to see a trend here.
- Hangzhou/Suzhou, China: a rarity: a mainland Chinese city I feel at ease in.
Books and Comics
- I keep track of reading on my Goodreads profile.
- Favorite fiction: Most of the Tolkien legendarium, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson's stuff, Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials. Yes, my favorite genre is high fantasy. I also like Haruki Murakami's writing style.
- Favorite comic EVER: The Order of the Stick. Smart humor, occassional geeky references and great character development. The first 100+ strips aren't that great, but it gets good quickly after that.
Gear
- Camera: Olympus XZ-1. f/1.8 lens = great low-light shots. I like it a lot.
- Laptop: Sony Vaio SA35. Light and powerful, but annoyingly enough, no combo headphone/mic jack.
- Phone: Motorola Moto X, version 1. Android is all right; I prefer Windows Phone. Active Display is genius.
- Sadly retired phone: Nokia Lumia 800. [Died of a brutal fall off a bike that resulted in impact exactly perpendicular to the screen, rendering the display unusable.] The Windows Phone OS is gorgeous, responsive, and meets all my phone needs* without any fuss at all. This thing was incredibly durable: I dropped my phone on the floor at least three times a week and also completely submerged the phone in water (with the power on) with no issues. Immediately before time of death it only had two barely-visible scratches on the screen.
- Kindle: The now-discontinued Kindle Keyboard (called the Kindle 3 at the time I got it). Ask me why I love it!
Music
- I am currently a member of the Yale Glee Club, and used to sing with the Hwa Chong Choir and Hwa Chong Voices. Come see us sing in Spain in Spring 2015! Past tours: Cuba in Spring 2014; China and Hong Kong in Summer 2013.
- Favorite music: Debussy, Lorde, Coldplay, Florence+the Machine, Debussy, Beethoven, big band, most kinds of jazz really.
Games & Other Entertainment
- I like watching people play video games. Whoever started the Let's Play trend has my eternal gratitude for allowing me to vicariously play games I'd never be able to complete otherwise. I also like playing video games and being terrible at them.
- Currently playing: Pokemon X/SoulSilver The Lord of the Rings Online - look for Cedia or Sissal on Elendilmir, and Deorcwen on Laurelin (the European roleplaying server).
- Other games I sometimes play: Assassin's Creed II + III, The Sims, Civilization V, Torchlight, Settlers of Catan
- TV: I enjoy Sherlock (the BBC one), Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory, and Fullmetal Alchemist.
- Periodicals: WIRED used to be great, but then their 2013 editorial shift happened.
* Namely - SMS (text), calling, email, contact and calendar management with good cloud synchronization, decent camera, and basic apps: messaging, Facebook, fitness tracking, Instagrammy camera filters, Skype, virtual piano.