About me

The basics:

I’m a project manager, currently working at Aeria Games, and have two cats and a bunch of odd hobbies. I’ve been passionately involved with the fiber arts since I was six, and am currently focused on weaving, which I think is the most fascinating of all the fiber arts.

I’m also an avid cyclist, chocolatier, and world traveler.

Bio:

Born in New Jersey, moved to Maryland at age 11. Graduated Wilde Lake High School in 1987 (graduated in three years), and promptly shot off to Stanford for college. After a year, I transferred to Caltech (Dabney House), and got my B.S. in mathematics in 1991. (I was on the Caltech Putnam team in 1991, and helped the team to a top-10 (honorable mention) finish in the most prestigious American math competition–still very proud of that.)

After burning out on mathematics and taking a year off (running a Ben & Jerry’s in Hollywood), I went back into professional life as a technical writer/engineering docs manager, then got into project management, which is what I’ve been doing since 1996. Somewhere in there I got married, but only briefly. To quote a character in the Nero Wolfe mysteries, “I was married once, and what a year THAT was.”

In 2002, after getting laid off during the Silicon Valley crash, I decided to go off and see the world, so I packed up all my stuff and spent six months traipsing about Southeast Asia, exploring the world through many different cultures. I backpacked solo through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and India (plus a quick side trip to Myanmar/Burma). While touring, I studied indigenous weaving, and looked a bit into AIDS epidemiology in Southeast Asia. I tried a little bit of everything–I ate rat, scorpion, dog, and beetles, as well as a lot of very tasty Asian food. And I learned to dive; jumped off cliffs; rode elephants; lived with Tibetan cave yogis; and saw the Dalai Lama. And lots of other stuff, but you’ll have to check out the travel section to read more.  (Do read the travel blog too; it contains much more information than just the photos!)

Oh yeah–somewhere in there I went to Hawaii; which doesn’t sound all that interesting, until you see the fantastic lava photos. My shoes were melting!!

I’ve also been to Belize, Guatemala, Ghana, and China.  In Ghana I studied kente weaving with Kwame, a member of the Ewe tribe;  in China, I did a blitzkrieg tour  of the ancient Silk Road.  No textiles, alas! but I did get to see the fantastic clay soldiers in Xi’an.

I’m also a pretty good chocolatier. Every year for the last 20-odd years, I’ve made a big batch of chocolates for friends, family, and/or my AIDS Lifecycle sponsors. Usually it’s about 60 lbs, but in 2008 I teamed up with another chocolatier and made 133 pounds of chocolates!! (And not just any chocolates…I use only Valrhona chocolate, one of the best chocolates in the world, so the base material is excellent…plus I spent one winter studying chocolatemaking with Richard Donnelly of Donnelly Chocolates, who has been named one of the top ten artisan chocolatiers in the U.S. My chocolates have been compared favorably with many other brands – certainly they are better than any national brand, and are in the same league as some of the top artisan chocolatiers. If I do say so myself. )

In addition to cycling and fiber arts (weaving/spinning/etc.), I have a bunch of other hobbies, but they change around a lot. It could be anything from tomato farming to electronics to designing and knitting lace, corporate politics to number theory. I am curious about almost everything…I also have a really evil sense of humor, which you can check out here. (That’s my 1999 manager’s cubicle, by the way. In addition to about 800 balloons, it also includes confetti and party favors stuffed into the balloons, plus a 5′ wooden stegosaurus skeleton and about 100 golf balls. Never let it be said I didn’t enjoy a good joke.) Another fine example of my evil nature is here–it involves naked rugby players and lots of chocolate, so check it out!

If you want to email me, you can do so at tien @ tienchiu.com (remove the spaces in the address before sending). Enjoy!!