It is amazing how many skills I’ve learned from playing video games. So many hours playing StarCraft and Command & Conquer: Red Alert taught me to monitor everything in project management and multi-task. The SIMs taught me that if I drink too much water I might piss myself in the living room floor in the middle of a party.

Just kidding. Seriously. I don’t pee my pants at parties.

I have recently been playing Star Wars: The Old Republic where I play as a Sith Bounty Hunter. I am a freelance contractor, it only made sense to be a bounty hunter, right? The game is your standard Role Playing Game (RPG) where you start with a basic character. From there, you go on quests and do missions to earn experience points. Once you acquire a certain amount of experience points, you level up … Read More »

I was looking through my Instagram photos of 2011 and was blown away by so many great moments I’ve had. One thing I like about Instagram is your ability to try to manipulate the essence of the moment, not just taking a photograph of what was exactly seen. Here are ten moments that I really remember. This is by no means a top ten list, but just some to share.

Empire State of Mind. Emerald City at Heart.

A view from the Top of the Rock. This city is amazing…so many people here doing great things. I hope I can contribute something.

A New Hope

It was this photo that I was able to connect with someone I really care about. Whatever one believes in, there is something surreal about the way things align for people to meet each other. The photo itself … Read More »

This photo of my cat Wilson, looking out the window in the undiscovered Brooklyn street is probably fitting of my experience so far. Everything is new. There is so much to see. So much to explore.

It is a bit unreal to think I have lived in New York City for a week already—seems as if I was just lifted up by a tornado and dropped over here. There has been no time to rest, but there’s no rest for the wicked. The last week in Seattle was hectic. My parents, aunt and uncle came to help me move the rest of my stuff. Knowing me, I did not finish packing until the night before I flew out.

The Flight

The flight to New York City itself was probably the most stressful part for me. One reason…the cat. This was the first time … Read More »

I’m moving to New York in eight days. Wow. My mother and I are very close, and I know she’s having a hard time accepting the fact that I will be so far away. We went shopping today and I decided to buy her a MacBook Air so we can talk on FaceTime and Skype. It’s not the same as in real life, but hopefully it’ll help her.

Mom bought me so many things for me when I was a kid. Now that I have money, it’s time for me to return the favor.

I have some bitter/sweet news to share with everyone. It is bitter because of how much I will miss everyone but sweet because of the fresh opportunity and adventure. After living in the Emerald City, a place I’ve called home for the last five years, I have decided to move to Brooklyn, New York.

My desire to move to the Big Apple was not a quick decision, but rather one brewing over the course of many years. In high school, I always talked to my art teacher about dreaming about New York to see Warhol paintings in real life and photography all the urban landscapes. After college I had the hope of going to grad school at The School of Visual Arts or Hunter College in which the opportunities did not pan out. Finally, I went to visit NYC with my … Read More »

Been thinking about the concept of “letting go” recently. However, I haven’t thought of it in the sense of “losing something” or moving forward, but applying less pressure. When it comes to work, loosen up a little bit for breathing room. When it comes to dating, don’t look to too hard or try to hang on. Because when we hold on two tight, we can break things and never recover from it.

Dear Steve:

I never got the honor or pleasure of meeting you in person, but I feel compelled to write this to share with you and others in the community about how much you meant (and continue to mean) to me.

Hearing the News

I was at Uptown Espresso near downtown Seattle, where I was working on some User Interface designs on my 15″ MacBook Pro. It was a normal day of sitting with my computer, thinking, creating and designing. My friend Melissa IMs me and asks if I was okay. I said “Yeah, why?”

I had no idea what she was talking about.

Mel asked me if I heard about you, and I said no. She told me that King 5 News and Komo were reporting that you died. I responded to her “Steve Jobs has died about five times on Twitter.” I didn’t … Read More »

I don’t know what it is, but something about New York City seems to bring out the best in me. It is very cliche to say, but this city is so inspiring. You can either ride the wave of energy or get buried by it. I’m choosing to ride that wave and seizing the opportunity. Today we made our first contract offers to three people at Xhatch, a huge step for Adam and I. As I sat at East River State Park I looked at the Williamsburg Bridge, just thinking about what we have done.

Nothing.

We haven’t done anything. All we have done is set the pieces to do something. Life is about momentum and taking advantage of that. We can take all that energy (positive and negative) and utilize it or get overwhelmed by it.

We have decided to utilize it. … Read More »