Personal

For that dash represents all the time that they spent life on Earth. And now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth. For it matters not how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash. What matters is how we live and love, and how we spend our dash. – The Dash by Linda Ellis Every individual life is built from countless stories of paramount joy, inexplicable anguish, and rare moments of sober clarity. Overcome by the seemingly tantamount burdens of daily obligations, we close ourselves off to our own stories. We forget the vast valleys of mediocrity we pulled ourselves out of. Baked in those memories are characters who have significantly shaped our character and brought us immense joy. ...

I’m really into Stoicism. In fact, I gave a speech about to my graduating class in high school. So when I saw the Marcus Aurelius quote on the first day of Leadership and Personal Development, my eyes lit up. The philosophy taught me to push myself physically and mentally and to not complain about adversity because I internalized the idea that hard times build character. However, not complaining about obstacles meant that I kept a plethora of feelings to myself. Negative emotions and hurtful thoughts. I thought I was taking complete ownership over them by holding on to them and using self-coaching strategies to mitigate their effects, but they inevitably leaked into my behavior and harmed my outlook. ...

If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking By Emily Dickinson_ If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain_ I wasn’t expecting to have a deep conversation about life on my way back home from SFO after a weekend in LA. My Afghani Uber driver was particularly determined to make it in America, notably in the expensive hellhole that is the Bay Area. Despite our age difference, he stumped me with a plea for advice as we approached my driveway: “As a well-educated person, what advice can you offer me?” ...

The discussions emerging from the recent debate between Trump and Biden have not been about immigration, their stances on China and Russia, inflation, civil rights, or anything resembling policy. Rather, they have been about the uneasy performance of our current president. Americans today are choosing between a man with a questionable cognition and one who threatens decades of progress made on the ideals laid out in the Constitution. People are increasingly losing trust in the political process. At least in the circles I hang around in, people speak of the law from a distance, viewing new legislation as firm decisions without any sense of ownership or a realization of the consequences that society may bear. ...

At the dawn of the age of computing, one man was launching products that caused step-function transformations across numerous industries - personal computing, music, education, filmmaking etc. Having started Apple by first building computers in his garage, Steve Jobs went on to lead world-class teams that created the first Macintosh, iPod, iPad, and iPhone. To most people’s surprise, he was also pivotal in taking Pixar off the ground, initiating an era of powerful storytelling through 3D computer graphics. ...

Much has transpired in the two year hiatus I’ve taken from this blog. Here’s just to name a few: I spent another winter in Bangladesh and returned less fulfilled than the previous time. Tried BJJ for half a year and submitted a guy with an arm bar. He went on to offer me my first internship. Had my heart broken then went on to date her. Got a C in my tapeout class but landed an internship in the CPU team at Apple. ...

I spent 4 weeks in Portugal studying abroad, the first being in Lisbon and the following 3 weeks in Porto. I participated in the European Innovation Academy, an entrepreneurship program that hosted keynotes by Silicon Valley professionals and required students to build and develop a startup in teams of 5. What went well? Finding a great team Mati, Francesca, Pol, and Jachym are the best people I could be spending most of my 3 weeks in Porto with. Signing onto Teamo on Day 0 after being charmed with this Irish man in his shades was the single best decision I made. There were lunch meeting when I didn’t feel comfortable speaking up but otherwise I felt welcome in their presence. They all valued my contributions, however little that may have been in terms of ideas and tangible results. As the youngest in the group, they acted as proper mentors and friends, sharing stories and insights while being eager to spend time with me out in restaurants, bars, and escape rooms. They were hard-working, passionate, and just as playful in taking Teamo to the next level and succeeding in EIA. I found their company more fulfilling than that of the Berkeley cohort and accordingly gave them more of my time. ...

I’ve been reading psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman’s highly influential book Thinking, Fast and Slow, a foundational work in behavioral psychology, decision-making, and the biases inherent to the mind. The book centers around the concept of System 1, the immediate and automatic part of our thought process responsible for intuitions and snap-judgements. While reading, I couldn’t help but find implications of Kahneman’s findings to the social domain. Whether it’s currying favor with a boss or impressing a love interest, there are gems in this book that can be valuable in scoring key social points. I’ve distilled the key insights in this post. ...

The Book in 3 Sentences Consciousness is the only undoubtedly real thing in the universe, and one’s relationship with its contents (thoughts, sights, emotions) determines the quality of their experience. Religion is a flawed and acutely dangerous path to spirituality that must be replaced by a more experiential, rational approach to contemplation. Constant identification with the contents of consciousness, namely thoughts, shapes the illusion of the self that is responsible for much of human suffering. How I Discovered It I’ve listened to several podcasts that Sam Harris has appeared in where he has mentioned this book. He frequently quotes passages in the Waking Up app too. ...

Family is integral to my life The resiliency of a bond borne of shared blood has been made clear to me this year. I’ve spent the better part of my teenage years in contempt of the concept of family which I considered an arbitrary obligation thrust upon us, and was subsequently superficial. The warm acceptance of husbands and wives into our extended family has shown me otherwise. It isn’t so much the fact of biological relation that holds this dynamic intact; instead, it’s a culture of kinship and mutual affection for cousins and aunts and grandparents raised together that forms the scaffolding for this fulfilling set of relationships. ...