Stay Grounded

Now

Updated on May 5, 2026

Santa Cruz, CA. Eating a breakfast burrito.

What am I up to right now? That’s the question you have wondered since you landed on this page, unless you aren’t familiar with /now pages. In such a case, it’s simple. This page is about what I am currently doing in multiple aspects of my self-being. It provides a broader snapshot, a moment in a larger timeframe of my current situation, both physically and mentally, than any updates on my social media.

Thanks to Derek Sivers for bringing up the idea of having a /now page! You can read more about this concept in the following link: this “Now” page.

So, what am I up to?

Life

Updated on May 5, 2026

  • I lived in San Diego, California, for 5 months. Now I left a few days ago to embark on a new adventure. I won’t have a home base for a while; instead, I’m driving up north, aiming to reach Alaska at some point.
  • In summer, I plan to drive back to San Diego and potentially stay for another 5-6 months.
  • It will be a challenge to keep a routine while traveling. I’ve developed a mobility/stretching morning habit that I want to keep. Also, in the past months, I’ve made good progress on my running, climbing, and Chinese learning, so I will have to figure out how to keep up with all those things.
  • Would you be sharing your trip on social media? Most likely yes. Also, I’ve been thinking about using the “travels” category of my blog more to post more frequently about my whereabouts.

What other things am I doing?

  • Learning Chinese. Beginner level: 你好！I am gradually learning to write as well and to recognize characters and sounds.
  • Brushing up my French. Once a week, I take an hour or so to learn French. I haven’t been able to keep up practicing French…I need to find a more efficient way to do this.
  • Gradually embracing the barefoot movement and replacing my footwear with ones that are better adapted to my natural foot shape.
  • Exploring the car camping world and making some initial steps to have my car adapted for it.

Travel

Updated on May 5, 2026

  • Do I have any future travel plans in the coming months?
    Yes…I am currently on a road trip to the northwestern part of the US. Alaska! I will be taking my time to explore as I drive up north.
  • Am I traveling right now? Yes. Digital nomad mode ON!
  • Where have I been recently? I made a short road trip from Santa Cruz when I was moving to San Diego. So I drove first, a little north east of Santa Cruz to Grass Valley, CA, to meet up with a friend for lunch.

    I headed to Reno from there and then south to South Lake Tahoe, where I stayed for a night. It was windy and snowy. Some of the road passes were sketchy and dark. Made it safely to Tahoe. I kept going south on the road of the eastern Sierra of California. Near Mammoth Lake, I spent an afternoon soaking in a natural hot spring. It was beautiful out there, surrounded by snow while being warm in the little pool hole. Stayed for a night.

    I made my way to Manzanares to pay a visit to the Japanese Memorial. Then I crossed Death Valley. It was surreal. The dense fog, the landscape, the sand. This was my second time driving through Death Valley, but this time it was a completely different sight because days before, there were intense rainy days when going through that desert. I found another natural hot spring that required crossing a super muddy trail. It was worth every inch of mud.

    Got to Joshua Tree, and I spent a night out there. Went for a short hike in the darkness of the night brighten by the reflection of a full moon. The next morning, I headed to Bombay Beach and dug Slab City. I met a few interesting people.

    Eventually, I reached San Diego.

Pursuits

Updated on March 8, 2026

  • Running
  • Climbing
  • Yoga/Pilates
  • Surfing

Running

Last year I had a goal of finishing my first 50km race…unfortunately I got injured and couldn’t make that happen. I got injured in July 2025, and since then, I have been recovering from my runner’s knee. Now, I start feeling that light at the end of the tunnel. I can run 10km at an easy pace without feeling any knee discomfort, so gradually I will start again building up my endurance. However, I don’t clearly see that I can make those 50km this year, to be honest.

Climbing

I got Lead Climb certified a month ago! This is opening a whole new world in the climbing atmosphere. I met a guy with whom I now regularly climb, and we are gonna start rock climbing outdoors. So excited!

Yoga/Pilates

I slowed down on Yoga and Pilates. As a matter of fact, now I don’t even do Pilates anymore. However, I go once or twice a week to Steven’s practice, which is 80% about myofascial release trigger points, and 20% of yoga. That’s perfect for me.

Surfing

I wasn’t surfing much when I first moved to San Diego. Now tho, I found a spot that I like around here, which I go to once a week. I am riding my mid-length board more often. That’s a fun board. Recently, I even got to duck dive that thing!

Books

Updated on May 5, 2026

Currently Reading:

Recent Finished:

Next pick:

  • Not sure yet…

Thoughts

Updated on March 8, 2026

  • What keeps me awake?

The advancement of AI and its impact on the future of software engineer positions.

How to keep up with the other languages that I know to prevent forgetting them? Here I am talking about Portuguese and French.

Work

Updated on March 8, 2026

I am a software engineer at Flipboard. Check out my LinkedIn page if you are interested in knowing more about my professional career!

Socials

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