Past
2 May 21
I’m still an Assistant Vice President in the Customer Experience (CX) division, Singapore Economic Development Board (“EDB”). I also oversee EDB’s Connections Concierge, a listing of Singapore service providers to potential investors of Singapore.
Of the two strategic workstreams which I can’t really talk about in detail:
- I am in wrapping up the joint project with a private company: it has now transitioned into an awkward phase, where it is mostly work within government. A lot of stakeholder management going on…
- For the strategy development workstream, we are likely only going into high-gear later in the year, due to organizational considerations.
Side Projects
I am still learning coding.
- for Racket, I am concluding How to Code – Simple Data: I have been working on/off on my final project, which is to code space invaders. Still working through this code…
- I am concurrently also using the CSC’s partnership with Udemy to do Angela Yu’s Web Development Bootcamp, which came highly recommended from a friend who teaches these things. Progress on this is much slower, so I have been working through the front-end stuff, including a fugly profile page here and a nicer one here.
Mulling Over
I am in a bit of a dilemma. The reason why I signed up for the How to Code- Simple Data course, was because I had trouble learning the difference between my Javascript syntax vs. my programming logic. So I thought to learn about programming logic.
I am thinking about the principle of Directness in Scott Young’s Ultralearning, specifically how difficult it is to transfer learnings from one context to another, from Robert Haskell’s research. This has made me reconsider the path of continuing with Systematic Program Design: while I respect and agree that it will be useful to learn the basics, another part of me feels that maybe that is not the critical thing I want or need to learn at this point.
Other Stuff
Reading
I’ve been reading a lot of posts by fellow Singaporean Shawn Wang aka swyx . He writes really well, and is a man after my own heart given his transition from finance into coding in his 30s. You can read more about his career transition here and here.
What caught my eye was his Part Time Creator Manifesto post, which was shared on Indie Hackers, and is a joy to read.
Another must-read that I encountered recently is a very long blogpost by Y Combinator co-founder Jessica Livingston, very aptly titled “Grow the Puzzle around You”. She shares a lot about her life, and about how her pathway developed a very unique set of experiences and skillsets for her that turned out to be super useful for Y Combinator. I am going to update my Career Advice page to include her excellent advice.
Meditating
30+ mins a day.Still using BSWA’s recordings
Working out
I injured myself working out with barbells: it got pretty bad, I had to use a standing desk for a whole working day one time. Two words: IBUPROFEN & PARACETAMOL. They allowed me to sleep and recover.
But I also switched my workout, using GMB: I had bought these packages during the last months of CIID in Copenhagen, when I cancelled my Danish gym membership. I am using the Integral Strength and Mobility packages concurrently, and they work: no more pain either in the lower back nor shoulders! (which was a literal pain point earlier this year)!
Updated as of 2 May 21