A close-up illustration shows a person’s face surrounded by complex mechanical and electronic components. A magnifying lens focuses on the person’s green eye. The machinery appears to be attached to the person’s head and face, with wires and metal parts visible. The overall aesthetic is reminiscent of 80’s cyberpunk anime or science fiction themes.
April 1, 2025
Last updated: August 19, 2025
6 min read

Right Now?

My now page—sharing some of the things I’m up to right now. Inspired by Derek Sivers.

Vision

In today’s AI-driven world, I believe taste is what separates good websites from great ones. By combining design, development, and motion, I aspire to build experiences that are both functional and delightful. I plan to join a team that shares these values, focusing on building digital products distinguished by thoughtful design and genuine craftsmanship.

Learning

I’m deepening my knowledge of React through Josh Comeau’s course "The Joy of React" and then exploring the world of motion through Emil Kowalski’s course "Animations on the Web". I’m excited to implement what I’m learning and breathe more life into my website in the coming months.

Reading

Currently reading:

Upcoming readings:

Finished reading:

Someday soon—perhaps part of phase 3 or 4 of my website redesign—I’ll make a /books page to display information about the books I've read, when I read them, my ratings of them, and share any thoughts/notes on them 📚.

Projects

A few months ago I got started on a Pull Request for my personal portfolio titled 2025 Package Updates—which proceeded to turn into a full blown refactor & redesign that I can sit here and say I’m genuinely proud of.

If you’re seeing this page then phase 1 is complete. 🎉

The main changes:

  • Updated design
  • Projects have their own page & URL
  • Now page
  • Contact page w/ form submissions
  • Menu drawer
  • Lot’s of fun new motions & animations
  • Sanity.io backend overhaul
  • Upgrade Sanity from v2 to v3
  • Upgrade Next.js from v12 to v15
  • Upgrade React from v18 to v19

If you’d like to see what this website looked like before these updates, take a step back in time.

...now if you’re seeing this text then phase 2 is complete. 🎊

The main changes:

  • Updated menu drawer design
  • New layout content-grid system
  • New /writing page with fully-featured blog posts
  • Blog post features:
    • MDX-powered with various custom components
    • Code snippets with Shiki syntax highlighting
    • Table of Contents with auto-generated heading anchors
    • Reading time calculation for each post
    • My first post testing the features
  • Now page converted to .mdx while still accessible at /now
  • Remove .scss Modules in favor of .css Modules
  • Added Tailwind v4 non-intrusively
  • Newsletter signup form via Kit.com
  • More new fun motions & animations
  • New meeting booking system via Cal.com
  • Upgraded all dependencies

Life

In my day-to-day life I enjoy going to High Park with my Standard Poodle Aura, listening to all sorts of music, exploring new coffee shops and restaurants, cooking, playing Fortnite, and whether it’s summer biking or winter snowboarding—I always enjoy being in nature.

In the future I would love to get some more travelling in. I’m eager to visit places like Japan, along with exploring a few more countries in Europe.

Ciao!

Here’s some pictures from my camera roll 📸:

A selfie of a Tristan with a beard wearing a blue Chicago Cubs jacket, posing closely with his fluffy gray dog Aura in the living room.
A hand holding "The Artist’s Way" book in the foreground, with a bicycle wheel visible on the right and a scenic view of blue water, distant shoreline, and sky with scattered clouds in the background.
A cozy cafe interior with floral wallpaper, marble tables, bentwood chairs with blue upholstery, a vintage pendant lamp, pink neon signs (including "XOXO"), and shelving displaying products along the walls.
Tristan in dark jeans and white sneakers standing in a doorway between an interior space with polished concrete floors and an exterior brick wall area.
A motivational quote in black text on a white background listing various "start" scenarios - from "Start in May" to "Start on Tuesday" to "Start in your 40s" to "Start at 4:52pm" to "Start late" - concluding simply with "Start."
A twilight view of a multi-lane highway with vehicle headlights and taillights creating light trails, set against a gradient sky transitioning from orange near the horizon to deep blue above, with a crescent moon visible and a tall communication tower with red lights on the left.
Tristan smiling taking a selfie on a ski slope, wearing a black helmet, red-tinted goggles, and dark winter jacket, with snow-covered terrain and other skiers visible in the background under a clear blue sky.
A car covered in sparkly, glittery decorations parked on a road at night, with bright star-like light effects and reflections creating a dazzling, festive appearance against the dark pavement.
Tristan’s Standard Poodle Aura wearing a gold bow tie sits among Christmas presents and gift boxes, with a green textured dog toy visible in the foreground and shoes scattered in the background.

Ready to Transform Your Website?

I help businesses and individuals create compelling online experiences. Whether you’re looking to stand out or streamline your digital presence, I can craft a solution that’s uniquely yours.

Let’s Build Together