Personal Interests

I sincerely appreciate seeing the work of talented people who are masters of their craft. Many people experience psychological satisfaction in seeing other people realize the ceiling of human potential, and I am no exception! For me, it's motivating, and I love learning about the process and discipline that goes into doing something great. I'm fortunate to live in NYC where I'm able to see so many great shows: at the Met and many other museums, Chelsea and LES galleries, on Broadway, and at Lincoln Center.

I don't dedicate much time to reading fiction (even though I know I should). These days, it's mostly NYT / Bloomberg / WSJ, the film trades, The Dailies, and Politico's New York Playbook. As media increasingly fragments into bite-sized content and algorithm-driven explanations, I'm drawn to the thoughtful analysis and thorough / nuanced reporting found in traditional journalism, so I try to read long-form stories in New Yorker or The Atlantic (as well as investigative stories from NYT / WSJ) as much as I can. I read a lot of interesting things I find on Hacker News as well (especially tech topics).

As a kid I backpacked all around Los Padres National Forest, Kings Canyon National Park, and Sequoia National Park. Nowadays as a city slicker I try to check out AllTrails when I travel, and I only do dayhikes. I also need to explore more in upstate NY. In terms of running, as of summer 2025, I'm in the process of building my endurance back up before I focus on speed—my school schedule made it difficult to work runs in, but my goal is to put up a solid marathon time in the next few years.

This year, I ran the Brooklyn Half slowly after barely training for 5 months, and next year I plan to run the NYC Half faster.

In NYC, we're lucky to host a number of migratory species in Central Park (in fall and spring). I'm always checking Twitter (@BirdCentralPark) in addition to going out and trying to see what I can find on my own! Everywhere I go, I try to see if there are any unique birds in the area. For me, hearing different calls and seeing unique behaviors of different species enriches the experience and mindfulness of being outside and appreciating nature.

I would not consider myself a serious birder because (1) I don't dedicate enough time to it, (2) I usually forget my binoculars, and (3) I don't have a gigantic camouflage telephoto lens. I do try to keep my eBird account updated, though. My favorite birds that I've spotted to-date are probably the scarlet honeycreeper (the Hawaiian 'I'iwi bird) and the American goldfinch.