How I Balance Work & Life as a Software Engineer | Week in the Life in SoCal

Hey everyone, sorry it's been a while since my last upload. I finally took some time off work and spent a few weeks traveling in Japan with some of my friends. I filmed a ton so a travel vlog is definitely coming soon but for now just a heads up, these clips are from a few months back during December of last year when I was still working remotely in SoCal before Amazon's 5-day RTO policy kicked in. I don't know about you guys but I just can't focus when I work from home. Between the distractions and the temptation to nap the second I get too comfortable, I've learned I need to get out to actually be productive. This spot Fika Fika has been my saving grace since college and sure sometimes it gets crowded and loud but there's something about the energy here that just clicks for me. The camera's off man. Hey what you making my hair man? Slurp juice. If you know, you know. I don't know. How that is. Nah that's it. Nah go ahead. Nah go ahead refund that. That tastes like kiwi. You know the Cantonese? Why me so bilingual? Looking back I was so naive and had no idea just how good I had it. If I could talk to myself 5 months ago, I'd tell myself to slow down. Here's the hard truth I've learned. Work never actually ends. You finish some massive project expecting relief and boom your manager's already sliding the next thing into your DMs. So yeah the treadmill may never stop but these days I'm reminding myself that I'm the one who sets the pace. Hey why you working right now man? I'm gonna do some work. I already watched this. Y'all gotta catch up to me. My old desk setup at home has been in dire need of a complete makeover. I've had it since I was 12 and let's just say it has definitely seen some better days. Can't believe it's been more than a decade later and it's still somewhat functional. But I'm pretty sure it's being held together by hope and childhood memories at this point. I'm gonna go right now. The team over at Autonomous hooked me up with their SmartDesk 5 in Meteor Grey to help me get that clean minimalist setup look that I was going for. And right now we're just trying to put it together. Wait hold up. My hand's so stable. It looks like you're placing it on something. It looks like you're actually working. Wait what you mean? It looks. Hold up. Does the camera work? The b-roll. Go ahead put it down there and start working. I'm on my break time. I'm on my paid lunch. The entire desk was extremely easy to assemble and took about an hour. Super straightforward. Off the bat you'd notice the smooth matte finish and rounded edges giving it that premium feel. Now here's something that you don't see on every desk. The underside actually has a built in cable management system that keeps all your wires neatly organized making your setup look more clean and clutter free. At 53 inches wide there's plenty of room for my dual monitor setup with space to spare. It's a perfect balance of size and functionality. Big enough to work comfortably but not overwhelming in my space. I've only had the desk for a couple of weeks now but I can already feel the difference in my daily routine. Being able to instantly switch between sitting and standing keeps me energized and focused throughout the entire day. As someone who's developed that programmer hunch I can already feel the posture benefits from standing more often. What surprised me most about the desk was just how quiet the motor is. It's under 30 decibels which is barely noticeable at all especially compared to other desks that I've tried which sometimes sound like a construction site. The touch controls are also super simple and intuitive. If you guys are interested in checking out the Smart Desk 5 for yourselves make sure to use the link and promo code in the description below to get 5% off your order. Three fat laptops on this small ass table. Who has a whole setup bruh? What is this? A little space mouse. Well that's just straight from work. What's wrong? What's wrong? There's no space bro. What is this bro? Oh ----. I'm just gonna work my feet off. Let's bite. Cheers. It's so good. What's this one called again? It's a calabresi. One of the main reasons I'll always prefer SoCal over Seattle besides the weather is the food. Not just because it's good but because with the same price or sometimes even less you get more. Better quality, more variety. Unique places like the Japanese Italian style fusion restaurant we're at don't even exist in Seattle. Every time I'm back I have a list of places I'm craving and need to hit before I go back. I may be a rookie when it comes to Seattle's food scene but if you need recs on where to eat in SoCal let me know and I'll put you on. This restaurant is called Indie Ristorante in Fountain Valley and it was my first time trying but I'll definitely be back. One thing I don't take for granted is the friendships I've managed to keep my whole life. From elementary school to middle school to high school to after school to college and now as a working adult. Even after moving schools, cities and now states I've been lucky to hold on to the same friend groups in each stage of my life. You've probably noticed by now but what you're seeing in this video and some of my other videos is not just what I do in my life as a software engineer but also how I balance my job while maintaining these relationships. It's not about grand gestures or perfect scheduling. It's the small consistent efforts such as working together at cafes or grabbing dinner when we can that matter the most. Strawberries and cream. It's hella sweet. You gotta put your whole ******* tongue on that. These might seem like small insignificant moments but they definitely add up. Especially in a demanding field like tech where it's easy to let work consume you, these connections keep me grounded. The fact that I've kept these friendships alive through so many life changes just proves how worth it the effort is. What are we doing today? Alright, good morning guys. So today we're gonna be walking around San Diego beach and we're gonna be going on a hike at Torrey Pines Lake. Why is there a Christmas tree here? I don't know. Is that a shaft? What the hell is this guy doing? What are you doing? He's going hiking. This ain't a hike, this is a waterfall park. I'll give you $30 if you jump across. Alright, go. Do it. Driving straight into a cloud. We're at Torrey Pines Lake. This is insane. Ain't no way bro. Oh my ******* god. How do you even put it on? Nah, that ----'s nothing bro. Nah, that ----'s nothing. How you feeling? Not that bad. There's a little droplet coming down his ears. Duck ----. Oh my god.