Life · the extended vibe check

The parts that make the rest worth doing.

Work matters to me, but it is not the whole identity. This page is for the interests, communities, places, and long-term ambitions that shape how I think and what I enjoy. They get to exist here without becoming résumé bullets.

John traveling through an international airport Many lanes. One person.
A life beyond job titles. Games, travel, language, music, computers, culture, community, and future plans.
John gaming with a controller beside a PC setup

Systems, stories, competition, and the occasional ranked-lobby humbling.

Gaming is where my analytical and playful sides overlap. I enjoy learning matchups, builds, economies, team roles, and the strange social ecosystems that form around a game.

Current anchor Marvel Rivals, with Rocket Raccoon as the long-term main
Competitive history StarCraft II, Pokémon VGC, fighting games, and team-based ladders
Favorite worlds Persona, Elden Ring, Fallout, Baldur’s Gate, Pokémon, and strategy games
What keeps me playing Meaningful progression, strong systems, and experiences worth discussing afterward

New places are part adventure, part field study.

I notice how cities move, what everyday life costs, how people gather, what food says about a place, and whether a location supports the kind of life people claim it does. Travel also keeps family history, cultural identity, and long-term relocation questions grounded in reality.

Places that matter California, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the wider Asia-Pacific
What I look for Transit, food, neighborhoods, community, affordability, and day-to-day livability
Travel style Structured enough to use the time well; flexible enough to discover something unexpected
Long view A strong home base with meaningful work, family connection, and room to keep exploring
John traveling with luggage in an airport
John studying Japanese at a desk

A long-term language project with an enormous cultural side quest.

Japanese began as an academic minor and became a durable personal project shaped by formal study, travel, exchange programs, media, history, and the satisfaction of slowly understanding more than I could before.

Anime is part entertainment and part cultural conversation: ambitious worlds, dramatic character arcs, folklore, technology, identity, and a backlog that remains undefeated.

Japanese language Japan travel Folklore & history Anime & manga Cross-cultural exchange

Full commitment once the microphone is live.

Karaoke, dancing, conventions, cultural events, and group activities matter because life should contain spaces where people can be expressive, unserious, and genuinely present with one another.

Earnest performance. Questionable restraint. No half-measures once the song starts.
Karaoke Dancing Anime conventions Cultural festivals Friends & community
John singing karaoke in a neon-lit room
John assembling a custom desktop computer

Half practical system design, half enthusiast rabbit hole.

Building and repurposing computers combines research, compatibility, budgeting, aesthetics, troubleshooting, and the deeply satisfying moment when a complicated collection of parts finally behaves like one machine.

What I enjoy Balancing performance, thermals, noise, power, upgrade paths, and value
Current ecosystem Multiple desktops, a SteamOS machine, a gaming laptop, and a home server
Use cases Gaming, local media, creative work, AI experimentation, LAN setups, and learning
The danger Turning “one sensible upgrade” into an architecture review of the entire household

I want a life with meaningful work—and enough ownership to keep building.

Entrepreneurship interests me less as a fantasy of escaping work and more as a way to create useful systems, make decisions with accountability, and eventually build more control over time, location, and the projects worth pursuing.

The long-term picture includes nursing, advanced business education, global mobility, family, language study, and ventures that are real enough to survive contact with customers and operations.

Healthcare career MBA plans Global living Practical ventures Family & community
John brainstorming business ideas in a modern workspace

A full life is not a distraction from serious goals.

Curiosity, play, culture, relationships, learning, and creative work are part of the reason the professional goals matter in the first place.