Quarterly Update Q4 2025

Fun

Roslyn and I went to two weddings in October together. One for my cousin Analynn and her husband Sean (who is a fellow USC football fan) and one for Roslyn’s old roommate Sarah.
Analynn’s wedding was in Ostuni Italy at a winery/resort. The whole family travelled to Italy to attend and we ended up being the only party at the resort for the entire stay. My mom, Roslyn, and I went to Rome, Bari, Ostuni, Lecce, Nice, Monaco, and Marseille on this trip.
- In Rome we did some sight seeing because Roslyn had never been. We did an e-bike tour where I did crash in the middle of a street but thankfully no injuries. The food was great especially this tiny restaurant near the Vatican Rione XIV Bistrot.
- In Bari, Ostuni, and Lecce we took day trips from our hotel in Ostuni to Bari and Lecce. The train between the cities was convenient and helped me avoid needing to drive in Europe. Lecce was our favorite city out of the three. It was the most beautiful and felt like Florence.
- After the wedding we flew to Nice in France. I loved that city. It was beautiful right on the coast, extremely walkable, and it had a lot of great shopping. We took a short trip to Monaco from there to also do some shopping and sight seeing. The trains between these cities in Europe are so convenient. It really made me wish we had a more robust train network in America.
- Marseille was at the end of our trip. We took it pretty slow since we had been traveling for a while by then. Roslyn and I went on a pontoon tour of the coast and did some swimming and paddle boarding together. We had some really good food at a place run by two sweet old woman who happen to only have enough time and food for 6 tables each night. We were really lucky to have stumbled upon it at the right time.
Sarah’s wedding was one week after we got back from Europe and we flew to Philadelphia to attend. Roslyn and I only knew two people at the wedding so the event tested our social skills a little bit. We ended up talking to quite a few people and had a really great time.
- I like philly cheesesteaks in general and we had some pretty good ones. Unfortunately, I think I made the mistake of never ordering one with the cheese whiz and I deeply regret that choice.
- We met up with our friend Carolyn who recently moved to Atlanta but was visiting her family in New Jersey. She took the train down to see us in Philadelphia and it was great hanging out with her for a few hours.
Thanksgiving was fairly tame and uneventful this year. I celebrated my birthday at Sugar Fish with my mom and cousin Darian. I played golf with my friends for the first time at Camarillo Springs. Overall, I needed some relaxing low energy time after all the traveling the previous month.
I’m going to Chamonix with a group of friends to ski in early February. My friend Austin and I are looking into Swiss watches since we fly into Geneva and will spend a few days there on our trip. I’ve been going to watch and jewelry stores the past few weeks to really understand watches and what I like. So far, the only watch I can’t stop thinking about is the Tudor Ranger. Roslyn hates the look but something about it keeps grabbing my attention. We’ll see what I end up getting the future. It’s been really fun learning about horology and the history behind all these watch makers.

Fitness

Back on the running grind again. This time taking advice from Karlen who recommended zero speed work until way later in my training. I’ve found myself getting injured every time I do speed work so this plan will hopefully work out.

Career

I’m starting to be more heavily involved in larger multi-quarter projects at work. I’ve been given a lot of responsibility for our ambitious next generation onboarding workflow. I thought it would be more nerve racking but I’m feeling pretty excited actually!
I had my first stock vest since joining databricks and I just can’t help but feel very grateful, lucky, and proud of the career progress I’ve made the past 7 years.

Life

Roslyn and I finally found a place to procure her engagement ring. We went to a custom jewelry shop, Green Lake Jewelry Works. They were so helpful and patient with us while Roslyn was exploring what styles she liked. Luckily they had the kind of diamond shape and cut that she was interested in (cushion with an old mine cut) so we ended up purchasing that on the same day. They also got started on 3D modeling the band to house the diamond so we should have an actual engagement ring by the end of the next quarterly update in 2026!
The city council race I volunteered for unfortunately didn’t go the way I had hoped. A bunch of other candidates that I supported did get elected but the main race I was pushing for sadly ended in a loss.

Interesting Links

The Most Important Decision You’ll Ever Make this article really caught my eye and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. It’s about the choices we make with regards to our time, our attention, and what has meaning to us. If I had to recommend one article to everyone I know this would be it.
The Goon Squad. Just a surreal and wild article about a sub-culture that most people have no idea exists. I was in disbelief at multiple points in this article. I would recommend reading this in a non-public space. It’s both sad and off-putting but I feel like the people in described in this article should not be ignored. These people in my opinion need some sort of help and our society is not providing them with the support they probably need.
Watch Menis a great deep-dive into the quartz crisis that threatened to destroy the Swiss watch making industry. This article came out at the perfect time since I’ve been steeped in the world of horology for the past few week. It’s an interesting history that explains a lot of the current watch industry.
Why I’m Not a Centrist this article by the great journalist Jerusalem Demsas distills the difference between being a liberal and being a centrist. I had not really made the distinction in my head but I agree with the vast majority of political stances attributed to being a liberal. This is a subject I want to write more about because I’ve noticed that some of my political stances and opinions get misinterpreted as “conservative” by a lot of my peers. This is a good article that explains a lot of what I personally feel.
Breakneck this book by Dan Wang was one of my favorite reads in a while. He lays out a view of both China and America in their similarities and distinct differences. He explain a lot about how China operates that gives me as an American a better understanding of how China works. Dan is able to describe the beauty and flaws of both states in great prose. His writing is top notch and I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in better understanding China and its relationship with the United States.