What's been going on...

May was the ultimate split between my two worlds: Southeast Asia and the East Coast USA. June I got to settle back into Bali.

After returning from Lembongan, I moved back into the new villa and set it up for my first house guests. My longtime Aussie friend Victoria came to stay with her brand-new plus-one, little Charlie. It was wonderful having people in the house again—fresh energy, perfect weather, and daily adventures around my adopted hometown. They fell into a nice routine of morning pool swims, and I got to play Uncle Phil.

Once my guests left, I took a long weekend over Juneteenth and headed to Komodo National Park—one of those must-do Indonesia trips I’d put off for too long. The timing was perfect: great weather and better waves down south. I did a quick three-day liveaboard cruise with excellent food, world-class snorkeling, and hikes to scenic peaks. Then I spent two relaxed days in Labuan Bajo itself. Highly recommend—I’ll definitely be back.

Right after returning, Bali kicked off Galungan, one of the holiest and most beautiful times of year. Every home puts out towering penjor offerings, and it feels like similar vibes to Día de Muertos. The island is magical during this time, so I drove up to the volcano town of Kintamani, winding through traditional villages draped in decorations.

The very day I got back from Labuan Bajo, my weekly meeting took an unexpected turn when someone from HR joined. The call lasted under 60 seconds: my boss said it had nothing to do with my performance, then HR (someone I’d never met) ran through severance and next steps. I was in mild shock, even though I’d sensed it coming—the workload had been light, and I was knocking out most tasks with Claude in under 30 minutes with a longer lag between new work.

That first night I felt angry and a little bruised. By the next morning, though, the reality hit: this was exactly the situation I’d been quietly hoping for. I’ve saved a substantial amount over four years, carry zero debt, have roughly three months of pay between severance and final payout, and I just paid one year upfront for my villa. Flights home for Christmas are already booked. Minimal bills, a bit more runway, and now all my time back.

I never quit because the job was too easy for the money. But it wrecked my sleep, left no room for personal projects, and restricted travel to approved windows with reliable WiFi. For over three years the company had no idea I was working from Bali (or Japan, Maldives, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos…). I kept East Coast hours, often working 9 p.m. to 2–3 a.m., and still met or exceeded every performance review. No one ever suspected.

This feels strangely manifested. I’d told family, close friends, and even casual travel acquaintances that I was just waiting for them to let me go. Now it’s happened, and I have the base I needed: savings, stability, and systems ready for my own work.

The AI era has shrunk the moat dramatically. I could teach most people in a week what it took me 10 years of experience to learn. Engineering fundamentals still matter, but building and launching is no longer the hard part—marketing, distribution, and reaching users are. I believe the real excitement is shifting toward energy, robotics, and integrating software into physical products.

I’ve got about a dozen ideas queued up—some small personal tools (surfing/productivity), some community-focused apps that need scale, and a few that bridge into the physical world.

As Andreessen said: it’s time to build.

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