Pulling Up from Three
18:51 today officially marked three months since I landed in San Jose. Things started a little slow, and there were mornings it wouldn’t feel real — until I got dressed and stepped outside, and I didn’t immediately start sweating through my shirt. There are definitely things in Texas that I miss (but not hurricane season — stay safe, Texas friends), but this summer has been a pretty wonderful warm-up (maybe cool-down?) to this next season of life.

Joy
How was your weekend? Mine was better. I just got back from Yosemite, with the Peninsula Bible Church (PBC) Young Adult Fellowship (YAF). The week leading up to the trip, my expectations just kept rising. A lesson I have learned again and again is setting expectations low and just appreciating what God provides tends to be a better plan than letting emotions build things up, but my brain was not calming down. I kept looking at pictures at work, googling trails, and perusing insta, and the anticipation built up. Luckily, though, Yosemite did not disappoint.

I’m still processing (but I want to get this post out today), but what a trip. We drove in Friday and stayed at Housekeeping Camp, in these tent-barrack-cabin things, for two nights. I don’t want to write out the whole play-by-play, but here are some random snippets: Chick-fil-A frozen lemonades (how have I never tried these before, my goodness), chasing the sunset, a delicious dinner, campfire conversations, waking up at 5am for the sunrise, making basic insta buddies, not being disappointed at all, bacon and eggs —

— hiking the Mist Trail up to Vernal Falls, seeing a ridiculous rainbow, continuing up to Nevada Falls, almost becoming a statistic for the ‘gram, hiking back down the John Muir Trail with bandaids on because chacos, one of best showers I’ve ever taken, tacos for dinner, chasing sunset (kind of failed), campfire games, beautiful worship jam time ft. Linzy Westman, stargazing, waking up at 6am to go on a solo adventure, reading and praying through random Psalms in complete awe at God’s grace, more bacon and eggs, leaving the park, delicious tacos and burritos on the drive home, and finishing the trip with a Happy Lemon Mango Matcha because why not.
Editing and filtering through pictures has to happen (I took over 450…), and I plan on making a video (sorry YAFers for filming all weekend), so look out for that on Facebook! Again, still processing, but overall, it was a wonderful weekend spent with some wonderful people. The YAF community has been such a blessing this summer.
Besides YAF-Semite, God has provided community through YAF through many other memories. What started as just Thursday night teachings and discussions on the Sermon on the Mount became movies, hikes, and more. I joined a small group and read through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together, being reminded that Christian community is a gift and what links us is simply Jesus Christ. It’s been fun to discuss theology and faith with some super intellectual PhD students and other smart folks, and I have been convicted of ways I need to be more intentional with how I approach community.
I also got to learn more about the needs of the Bay Area — which isn’t all rich software engineers with million-dollar houses. A group of us attended the City Impact Conference, where we learned about the needs in the Tenderloin District of SF and spent some time actively serving the community. I joined a group to throw a “building party” in one of the low-income apartment complexes. We played bingo, entertained an adorable little girl, and learned to listen before we spoke and understand the realities of the place where we were.
A few weeks later, Karen (YAF friend, super sweet and kind) and I drove down to Mission Springs for Help One Child’s Signs of Hope camp. The organization works with children anywhere in the foster system, and the camp provides a chance for these kids to get outside, have fun, and learn about God’s love for them. It was fun to be outside and play with the kids, but it also shed light on how the gentrification in the area can hurt the families of those who don’t work in tech. The experience also challenged me to think — I have no trouble loving these kids. They haven’t done much wrong to put themselves in the situations they are in. But what about their birth parents? What about their substance abuse, their poor decisions, etc. that have led to these kids living such difficult lives? God’s grace is not just for the innocent (or else I would be on the outside looking in), so I’ve started learning and grasping that God’s grace is bigger than I really even thought before. We are all sinners, but Jesus conquered death for all of us.
Yosemite hasn’t been the only outdoor adventure — just two weeks ago, I was camping and hiking through the Arroyo Seco Gorge, two hours south of the South Bay. It was a more extreme hike that was almost more swimming than hiking, as we made our way upstream. It was a wee bit painful…

It culminated in a waterfall that we climbed at the end (like literally grabbed a rope and pulled ourselves up), which was pretty epic. There’s just something great about conversations around a campfire, sitting in the middle of God’s beautiful handiwork. Peep the ‘gram for some pics.
Although the summer started a bit lonely, and there are still times when I get in my own head and FOMO and worry about my conversational abilities and social behaviors and how people view me, I’ve seen God providing so many people who love Him and love me. From biweekly coffee meetups with Dan (young adult pastor, drinks black coffee, is forgiving of my awkwardness), to boba nights (at Teaspoon, where I go way too often), God has provided again and again.
I’ve also had the opportunity to catch up with some old friends, which has been bittersweet, seeing how life flies by. The highlight, for sure, was having my best friend ever and maybe-future-Facebook-data-scientist in the same area, so I didn’t have to say good-bye after graduation. We watched a rom com and some Terrace House, sent ugly snapchats, and had our classic challenging-but-satisfying conversations. While it’s hard to say “see ya later,” I guess it’s better than “good-bye.”

My other best friend and fellow messy roommate came to visit over July 4th weekend, which was a fun time of eating too much Sichuan food (sorry stomach) and talking about random things. We caught up with some old high school buddies, which was a nostalgic time.
A rather random but exciting trip I did get to go on was a Scottish-American wedding in Middle-of-Nowhere, South Carolina. The coolest German-Scottish-and-Spanish-speaking guy I know came to visit the Bay, then we headed to the East Coast (gross) and met up with our Singaporean-American-and-Honorary-Scottish friend from Indiana. The wedding was an interesting experience — old church, some Presbyterian traditional aspects, a more liberal theological view (hmm), and an adorable couple. Then, we drove up to DC (which included a creepy stay at a motel in redneck Fancy Gap, Virginia) and touristed it up. It was great to spend time with great friends from just one semester of studying abroad.
Although I’ve been away from home now for three months, I’ve been able to keep up with my lovely, accomplished family. I saw my older sister walk across Caltech’s graduation stage, which is kind of a big deal. We ate great Korean barbecue, took cute family pictures, and had a great time. Even though we don’t get a ton of time together anymore, physically, spending time with family is always fun. (But also, recent realization — have I reached that life stage where I won’t see my family as often except for most holidays and that’s it because whattttt.) My little sister also got to come up to the Bay and spend some time at SNFI at Stanford, so I got to treat to her to some good eats.
And while I’ve been far from my biological family, I’ve had the pleasure of living with an adorable young family this summer. We’ve had cool theology discussions, I’ve gotten to babysit their cute kids, and I’ve just loved the family feeling. That’s something I’ll miss when I have to move on campus.
Finally, there has been much joy in just enjoying the free time that I have that comes with a relatively laid back internship and being in the Bay. I’ve started getting into rock climbing, explored Sunnyvale’s Farmers Market, bought and experimented with an ice cream maker, learned how to 3D model and print, purchased and toyed with a Raspberry Pi (and a ridiculous amount of other electronic toys to play with), and had so. much. food. Boba, ramen, xiao long bao, dim sum, poke, In-N-Out, Korean food, the list goes on. The coffee in California is also objectively better than the rest of the world because we have Philz. My wallet might be a bit empty, but it’s been good.
TL;DR there’s just been so much joy. I’ve been loving the old school hymn, It Is Well, lately. I’ve been learning that whatever lot I am cast, whatever trials I might face, God provides for His glory. My primary goal this summer, coming out to the Bay, was to get a head start on finding community and getting plugged in, and I think that’s definitely begun. I do want to be more intentional and go deeper with my relationships with people, but it’s been a good start. It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Excitement
This post is getting quite long, so I’ll start to be more brief. I did want to highlight some things I am looking forward to. I have just four more days of my internship, which is pretty exciting. Then, I get to spend a week at home in Dallas with family. I will consume anything my mother makes because I am a terrible cook.

On September 8th, I get to head to Johns Hopkins University for MedHacks, one of my favorite hackathons from last year. Part of me is a bit worried that I don’t have what it takes to go sleepless and hack hard, but it is nice that the pressure isn’t nearly as high to perform. I look forward to networking with some medical professionals and hearing about some needs I can work to address with technology.
On September 15th, I get to move into Escondido Village, into my own studio! I might be paying more than I probably should, but I look forward to decorating (I may have already purchased a huge Texas flag) and hosting people for meals. I also plan on streaming all the Houston Rockets games, so open invite to any Rockets fans in the Bay Area… I’ll also be learning how to smoke a brisket (Texas-style, of course) for PBC’s Men’s BBQ Cook-off. With no smoker and no experience, I don’t expect to win, but it’ll be fun to learn.
On September 25th, classes start, and some of this excitement might turn into more stress, worry, and frustration. I do look forward to finding ways to continue to be plugged into the area around me, though. Eric (MechE MS/PhD, chill, does bird robot research??) has agreed to join me in an attempt to start a weekly “dinner club” to get to know and love our neighbors (physically or just people we meet in classes and grad life). I signed up to be mentor at Menlo-Atherton HS, for kids from low-income backgrounds. And I’m considering serving at church in either Junior High or Children’s ministry, so that’ll be a fun way to use some of my, uh, child-like energy, haha.

Challenges
It hasn’t all been easy, and I do anticipate more challenges in the future. There have been spurts of loneliness and FOMO, as I try to settle into new social circles. My super self-conscious brain likes to work itself into feelings of awkwardness and anxiety, which makes building relationships with people harder than it should be.

My internship has been interesting — the pace has been slower than I anticipated at a startup, and the culture has been really strange. I don’t feel like I’ve gotten to know anyone at work extremely well, and people seem to be okay just having this random Asian teenager (dressed in shorts, a t-shirt, and chacos) wandering around the office with no introduction. There’s also some super liberal political conversations and jokes, which irk me. Overall, not a place I think I would want to work, but I guess a good learning experience?
And looking forward, I think the biggest question that looms in mind: am I doing a PhD, and what do I want to do with my career? The MS vs PhD question has bothered me since last summer, as I applied for grad programs, but I still haven’t reached a final answer. Currently, I am leaning towards just a MS for now, since I don’t think I’m quite cutout for the intense, pure-science research lifestyle. Alternatively, though, I am drawn to the simple fact that a PhD guarantees that I get to be in this area for at least five years (maybe infinite). I like adventures for the ‘grams, but I definitely crave stability and consistency, especially after the last few quick-transition periods of life (one year of high school in Plano, two years at TAMS, three years of undergrad, one semester in Scotland). Stanford does seem to have an endless amount of opportunity, though, so I look forward to challenging myself and trying a lot.
Nostalgia
There are things I definitely miss about Texas. Tex-Mex, brisket, big portions, all-you-can-eat places, Cow Tipping Creamery, and all the other affordable deliciousness Austin boasted. With the new EERC opening, I do look back fondly at the late nights spent in the ECJ and UTA labs, slaving over awesome ECE and BME projects. And finally, of course, the people. I miss the undergrad lifestyle of being able to just hang out with people whenever I wanted to, and being around people who were all at a similar stage of life. But I do look forward to a more intergenerational community that God can use to challenge and grow me.
What’s next
Just a brief note that I do plan on working on writing up more projects that I work on, so this platform maybe transition from just the occasional random “this is how I’m feeling” blog to a more consistent spot for some engineering projects. I don’t know how to photo blog or anything, but perhaps I’ll mix in some outdoor adventures, too, since the weather here is so great for hammock camping and being outside.
Currently, I’m grinding on a project I call StudIoT — trying to make my studio apartment into a “smart home” sort of thing, as well as ExG — recreating the biopotential measurement projects from BME 374L last year, but seeing if I can add a Bluetooth + mobile component. Neither is particularly innovative, but I look forward to learning new skills.

Oops, sorry, Ron.
Well, this was longer than I thought it’d be, and the day is almost over. Also, everything hurts because, well, Yosemite. So…

Good night.
