I work in tech — not as a commentator, but as a practitioner.
Japan is my highest-fidelity test case for learning how influence and trust scale.
Notes from the field
- Payments teach you that “edge cases” are where trust is actually tested.
- Live incidents are the fastest way to learn how a system truly works.
- Support work shows you the gap between what a product promises and what it delivers.
- A system can be up and still unhealthy if clarity doesn’t move fast enough.
- In Japan, trust scales through precision, follow-up, and restraint — not optimism.
- Small local assumptions can quietly become global failure modes.
- Reliability is built through repetition, not recognition.
- Writing alongside production work is how I slow down enough to notice what matters.
Writing | Speaking links
[Writing & Books] → Essays and books based on lived experience
[Speaking & Illustration] → Turning lessons into stories and visuals
[My Learning Lab] → Real journeys and insights from building a career in Tech 💻 (Substack)
How I got here
2020–2021 — Learning how work actually happens.
Helped launch and scale operations in Asia. Spent my days fixing handoffs between tools, teams, and reality. Learned early how much human judgment sits between systems.
2022 — A break, then writing.
Moved into a programming role, building consumer-facing services. After being laid off right before Christmas, I started writing online to document the interesting things I was noticing in my life. See 2022 highlights.
2023 — Support work, public curiosity.
Worked in payment infrastructure, responding to merchant issues during live incidents. At the same time, I wrote about questions I found myself returning to. One answer—about Japanese culture—became the most-read thing I’d published. See the answer. See 2023 highlights.
2024 — Parallel tracks.
Continued working in payments. Published my first book. Writing remained a separate practice—one that helped me think more clearly about how I live and work. See 2024 highlights.
2025 — Responsibility and reflection.
Took on platform health and incident response duties during critical events. Published my second book alongside production work. See 2025 highlights.
Now — Two practices, one life.
I work in tech to keep systems running. I write to reflect on how I choose to spend my time.