This is ME!

Hi, my name Terry. I am a software engineer at Google, currently navigating the tech world from Sunnyvale, CA. I love solving problems, optimizing solutions, and occasionally getting sidetracked by completely unrelated but fascinating thoughts (like how my dog might actually be the cutest living being on Earth). I don’t just write code — I think in it. Whether it’s designing efficient systems or figuring out why my brain won’t stop debugging life itself, I approach every challenge with curiosity, humor, and maybe a little too much overthinking.

The Detour That Made Sense

I grew up in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. after my first year at National Tsing Hua University. I spent two years at Northern Virginia Community College before transferring to UVA, where I finally made peace with the fact that I’m happiest when building things (especially things that work). My path wasn’t linear. I tried music, mechanical engineering, general engineering, and even sales. Each step gave me something — perspective, skills, or at least a good story — and brought me closer to where I am now. I’m still figuring it out. Still curious. Still occasionally lost in thought about something unrelated, like the structural integrity of spaghetti bridges.

Skills... According to Me

• Programming Languages: Mostly C++, but I speak a few other dialects of chaos
• Problem-Solving: Turning complex messes into clean solutions
• Debugging: Both in code and in life (the latter takes longer)
• Teamwork: I enjoy learning from smart people and occasionally pretending I’m one of them
• Efficiency: Making things faster, smoother, and ideally break less

What Drives Me

I bring a mix of logic, creativity, and stubbornness to everything I do. For me, coding isn’t just a job — it’s the best way I’ve found to explore ideas, solve puzzles, and occasionally impress my dog (who remains unimpressed). I want to build tools that simplify the complex, and products that feel as good to use as they do to build. And maybe, someday, I’ll actually finish a blog post that makes it out of my drafts folder.

Bonus Round

• I over-optimize everyday things for fun (and for no reason).
• I like to annoy my dog on purpose. She tolerates me. Kind of.
• I go on tangents that somehow circle back to programming.
• I forget what I was saying mid-sentence but remember which line caused the bug.