Grab - After 2 years

It has been more than 4 years since my last update here.

It has been a ride! ;)

4 years short-version: Infinite Code got acqui-hired and joined Grab. Some moved to Grab Beijing. And I moved to Grab Singapore with KL folks. Been in Grab for past 2 years, building products for B2B customers.

Every year for the past 4 years has been interesting and 2019 is looking to be even more special.

I did quite a bit of traveling in 2016 and 2017, as I had the freedom of running Infinite Code in my own terms. And I really enjoyed the setup then except that I was away from my girlfriend, as we were doing long distance.

For me, Q4 2017 (when we joined Grab) and whole of 2018 was really about getting into the groove of startup life, which for Grab’s size, is still quite cosy, fun, and family-like, in most cases. And for us KL folks, we were in a familiar but new country, Singapore. Finally time to figure out #sglife.

And Q4 2018, I move to Dali, Yunnan to be with my then girlfriend, and work remotely. And pace of life started to change a bit. Since then I am pretty much living a nomad life till now!

For the past few years of my professional life, I have been pretty comfortable managing teams of 10 or less. And I love the good mix of hands on tech work I could do while working closely and (hopefully) mentoring other engineers.

Earlier this year, I was given the chance to step up and manage a larger team, 20-ish. Also it was very nice to get acknowledgement of my work and contributions as I got promoted (took longer than I expected). This puts me in a new position which is a bit foreign to me, but I am happy to take on the challenge.

And on a personal note, I am also leveling up in other ways. I got married to my girlfriend! Yay 🙌! And also we are expecting a baby end of the year. :D

Back to my nomadic life so far, since we got married, I have been on the road. Here is a glimpse of what has been happening after the wedding:

• Singapore 1 week
• Beijing, few days
• Mammoth Lakes, LA, 1 week, R&R
• Singapore, 2 weeks
• KL, 2 weeks
• Singapore, 3 weeks
• Beijing, few days
• Jinan, 3 weeks
• Cheng Du, 2 weeks
• And we are heading to Kun Ming now for 1 week, before I go back to Singapore for 1 week, and then back to Dali, finally.

Phew!

From both the professional and personal point of view, I can’t hide that I am moving into my more ahem grown-up years. But I still feel I am a kid at heart, curious to learn, and with lots more trails ahead to blaze.

Wish future self good luck and godspeed!