About

Me

Welcome to my blog, you can call me Chan since that's what my friends call me. My first name is apparently too common, so they use my "unique" last name. I am a Chinese Canadian living in Victoria, B.C., Canada. I've been here all my life so far. I am also a follower of Jesus Christ, and I'm of the pentecostal flavour.

Academic

I am a computer science graduate student pursuing a Masters of Science at the University of Victoria. My undergraduate degree is also from the University of Victoria, I completed their Bachelor of Science program in computer science. During my time as an undergraduate, I completed 20 months of co-op work terms, and have gained valuable work experience. I have also specialized in the business option (think of it as a minor), which has provided me with more breadth in my studies. My primary interests in computer science include web programming, software engineering, databases, and user interfaces.

Profession

Professionally, I am a web developer / web designer / programmer as you can see in my portfolio. In plain English, it means I build websites. I've been interested in building websites since high school, and it is the main reason why I am in computer science. I enjoy web development as it has a nice balance of technical and artistic aspects to it. I develop primarily with Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, Flash, PERL, Java, VI, XHTML, CSS and Mozilla.

A secondary job that I do is working with stage audio and lighting. That involves running sound and light systems for various events such as assemblies, plays, fashion shows, etc. I have run sound/lights for literally hundreds of shows. I have about nine years of experience in this field.

Interests & Hobbies

I enjoy reading about Christianity, history, technology, current events, and politics. I've been described as a newspaper junkie before, and that I'm irritable when I don't get my daily fix.

As a programmer, I inherit the interests that makes geeks...well... geeks.. the slashdot, the Star Treks, it's all true, and I like them. I'm also a big fan of the Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, and King of the Hill. Favourite movies of all time will probably be the Matrix trilogy and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. (2003 was a good year in films). For music, I like electronica, classical, alternative, rock, and any music that blends them together (see Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra or Rob Dougan). The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack represents a good cross section of music I like (minus the Marilyn Manson).

I am also a PC gamer, and I like real-time strategies, simulations, first person shooters, and role playing games. Some of my favourite games of all time include Tribes, Monkey Island, Gazillionaire, Civilization, Sim City, Hitman 2, Starcraft, and Independence War 2.

So what do I do in the real world when I'm not in front of the TV or computer? For sports, I like jogging, badminton, table tennis, and paintballing. Aside from sports, I also really like food. It's probably why I watch the Food Network all the time (which is the best channel in the world).

Blog

My blog will cover topics that include technology, current events, and more. The intended audience for my blog will be people my age. An emphasis will be placed on current events / politics as people my age are generally unaware of these matters (yes this is a gross generalization).

End Game

You're probably wondering why version four of my website is called end game. This reflects where my life was when I built this site. It was my final term of school, and with that came many opportunities and choices. The road diverged ahead which made it both scary and exciting at the same time. The path was to be decided in the coming months. So, let end game begin!

Thank you for visiting my site. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me.