The purpose of maintaining this blog post is still unclear to me. But I’m glad you are here so let’s start with some introductions. My name is Kevin Chen. I am Kong Inc.‘s open-source Developer Advocate, and an optimistic nihilist (we’ll get to that in a moment).

One thing you won’t find listed on my resume is my phenomenal ability to pack a suitcase. I travel/move a lot. Lived in 10 cities around the world, and visited over 30 countries. So uprooting my life by moving or sleeping on 12 hour cross-Pacific flights to arrive without jet-lag? Piece of cake. I find comfort in the bustling halls of an airport. It may be one of the few constant variables in my life. Because airports never change. The snack store will always be overpriced. TAS will always be slow with only one lane open. And delays are always to be expected. Constant.

const airport = {
    overpriced: true,
    slow: true,
    delay: true
};

let kevin = true;

while (kevin) {
    travel(process.env.HOME)
};

There are a few issues with this code. First, airport is declared but its value is never read (thanks, linter). Second, process.env.HOME by default returns the home directory path on mac/linux OS, but returns undefined for windows/kevin OS. After moving 9 times, the meaning of home becomes a little ambiguous. I honest to god have no idea what to assign to that variable.

Anyways, let’s move back to optimistic nihilism. What does that mean? To simplify, nihilism is the belief that life is meaningless. Dreadful, isn’t it? But I see it as liberating. Because there is no inherent meaning/value to life, you can assign your own meaning/value. Much like environment variables. So I place a lot of value on my friends and family, and spend a lot of time traveling to visit them.

Let’s add one more fun fact because icebreakers often ask for three interesting facts. My last fun fact is that I didn’t start my career in the technology industry. I majored in political science with ambitions to become a lawyer. Well, I still want to pursue a law degree someday and step into the political arena. But for now, I’m content with where I am.

That is all I have for now. Enjoy my content and feel free to reach out with any thoughts/feedback.

Best regards, Kevin