Who are you?
Hi there, my name is Chieh (pronounced Chay/Jay) and I’m 31 years old. Born in Taiwan, grew up in South Africa and recently immigrated to The Netherlands.
What would you like people to know about you?
I love coffee and memes. A good cup of coffee with some meme browsing is always a good way to start the day. I’m somewhat of an awkwardly shy person but outspoken once I/we get familiar. I’m approachable and really enjoy working with and helping people, be it at work or personal life.
Do you have a life motto? What is it?
Something that really resonates with me and I try to live by would be
“Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat” – Christopher Earle
How are you surviving in this corona- time?
I have a meme for that!
Jokes aside, it has been an inconvenience. I’m usually more of an indoor type of person so it really didn’t affect me that much in the going-out department, although it has been difficult not being able to meet up with friends and traveling to meet family, but thanks to technology, we’re still able to connect daily at the very least.
However it is not all doom-and-gloom amidst this pandemic for me. I am now able to spend more time with my wife and kids (cat children) and just generally have more time to ourselves to do stuff.
Do you have interesting hobbies?
I am a collector of Pokemon cards and enjoy gaming, watching anime and reading manga etc, overall somewhat of a nerd/otaku. I do, however, enjoy the occasional outdoorsy activities like walking, picnics and hiking. It has been really fun exploring The Netherlands: new country, new adventures!
Any bloopers in the past you would like to share?
Eish! (South African expression, explanation here) Where do I start?
During the first week of my university career after the long induction sessions, I really needed the bathroom. I came out of class and ran right to the nearest bathroom and that’s when it all went south. It had no urinals but I didn’t give it much thought as, you know, some public bathrooms don’t have urinals, right? Nope! On my way out, a lady walked in with disbelief and shock in her eyes when she saw me: I had gone into a female bathroom! I apologised profusely and ran out. Nowadays I double-triple check signs. Embarrassing!
Another blooper happened when a friend and I attempted making chocolate mousse, our timing was not right and the molten chocolate hardened when we added the egg whites. So being the insert sarcasm geniuses that we are, we decided to put the mixture into a microwave to melt the chocolate. Yeah, it was molten chocolate with chunky cooked egg whites. Nasty! We ended up buying ice cream to make ourselves feel better about the whole situation.
With what IT problem should the person who read this, contact you immediately, as you cannot wait to solve it?
I really enjoy solving API related issues, discussing good coding practices and resolving frontend issues involving React/Angular. I am always keen to jump right in and assist where possible.
Tell us any (weird) fun fact about you?
Hmm, I guess something weird about myself is that my hair went 60% gray by the time I was 24 or 25 and often had people asking me if I dyed my hair or had highlights. When I said it’s natural then we’d have a long discussion about my age and genes
Why do you (want to) work for Techspire?
At first I didn’t know what to expect. Coming from an immigrating perspective it’s a new company in a new country with cultures I’m unfamiliar with. It was rather daunting.
When I arrived in The Netherlands and started with Techspire, I was pleasantly surprised how down-to-earth and welcoming everyone is. They look after each individual and ensure everyone is taken care of. On top of that, the vision and tech stacks that the company has presents many growth and learning opportunities which is always something I look for.
