Food is a joy to eat, but it is also an amazing journey to make! I love making my own food, and I try to enhance my cooking by trying different recipes or by cooking with friends to learn more.

I grew up learning to cook from my Mom, simply through watching and assisting her in cooking dishes at home. In Boy Scouts I learned how to budget cooking time and attempt old recipes with limited equipment and groceries. I now try to cook at least one big meal for dinner and many breakfast/lunch items throughout the week.

I lean towards a more Asian style of cooking, mostly making dishes that pair well with noodles or other pastas and starches. Since many friends have various dietary restrictions, you may notice dishes based on select types of meat and ingredients (and if they are not restriction-friendly, such as the eggs with spam, are made in personal serving sizes and are not shared). I egg-cel at cooking with eggs and breakfast dishes, and recently I have ventured through the world of Mixology and tried making drinks by hand and by memory. My most recent endeavors involve variations of stir fry and rice noodle dishes. 

I played Brass since I was in 6th grade, starting off playing the trumpet. I played trumpet for the Wind Ensemble up until 10th grade (in which I switched to low brass playing the euphonium), while I still played trumpet for the Jazz Band. I finally stopped playing trumpet altogether in 12th grade where I switched to trombone in the Jazz Band, at the request of my band director. 

Turns out, I was pretty good at trombone. I ended up playing in my school's Drama play Chicago as Trombone 2, and in Jazz Band as Bass Trombone. I got solos for both gigs and I had a blast playing this new instrument. 

Thus heading into college, I joined the Jazz Orchestra as the "Bass Bone" and played for both Fall 2019 and Winter 2020 concerts. After being remote due to COVID-19, I was back for the Fall 2021 quarter as Trombone 2, and continued throughout my third year of college.

My Dad got me into chess when I was young, and I took lessons under the Hanley Chess Academy until 6th grade. I got to a rating of about 900-1000 rating points in over-the-board chess, and won 4th place in my rating category (Elementary School Rookie) in the 2012 CalChess Super State Championship chess tournament. 

Since stopping lessons, I have engaged in chess with my friends and peers as a hobby.