I am interested in a wide range of things. Among them, the two things that I enjoy the most when I am free are:
Traveling: the first books my mom bought me were a set of maps when I was five (she worried that I was too young to read a serious book). That set of books contains a great amount of details not only in world map but also facts and knowledge in human geography. Since then I have developed genuine interests in culture and geography. Google Map is one of the websites that I have spent most of my time on. I am particularly interested in cities at the crossroad of different cultures. Traveling to places that I am interested in was one of my objectives as an undergrad. I am fortunate to have worked in the U.S., Singapore, Europe, and Hong Kong. Below is my travel map so far.
Sports: I basically watch all the mainstream sports. The following five are ones I am most interested in:
Football (Soccer in the U.S.): Arsenal F.C. is the team I love in my lifetime.
American Football: I became interested in American football after came to Georgia Tech, because college football is a bigger thing here, and Atlanta has a NFL team. But under the influence of a friend of mine, I am a fan of Green Bay Packers because I like the sense of community. Other than the Packers, I also support local team Atlanta Falcons, and in recent years admire Kansas City Chiefs. I very enjoy looking at statistics of quarterback and other offense positions. I also watch some college football every Saturday. Recently, I have been thinking about how to better evaluate NCAA players and find ones who can best succeed in NFL.
Swimming: my favorite Olympic event. My dad sent me to learn swimming when I was six as a survival skill. Later I also spent one semester training with the university varsity coach to learn freestyle at UIUC. Swimming became a regular exercise after came to Georgia Tech because the university is the home of the 1996 summer Olympics swimming pool. I have been following the progress of world records of several events and had written a journal paper to analyze it.
Figure Skating: I became a figure skating fan after watching the breathtaking performance by Yuna Kim in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Since then I have witnessed a decade that the landscape of the sport has changed a lot. Figure skating in a unique sport because there is no (or very few) negative fan base, and people always respect each other no matter the background. When I watch a program I can temporally get rid of other things within that 2-4 mins.
Formula One: I started to watch Formula One in around 2003. In between there were several years when I watched less, but since the 2019 season it resumed to be one of my favorites. I like many aspects of formula one: the fastest racing cars on the planet, best athletes, logistics and operations, business development, and its 'global identity'.
Other than traveling and sports, when I am at home I also enjoy watching TV series (from China, US, and Japan) & movies, and reading (mostly history and biography). I would like to also share some books I have been reading in the near future.