jia chenjuly updates, 7/24/26, 4:06am est:
hey, i'm jia, and i wish to become everything i wanted to be.
if i could introduce myself to you via this very limited medium of a website, i'd tell you that i'm a girl from some horrifying universe where they put 50 year old religious redheaded men in the bodies of early 20s asian girls because i spend half of my time overthinking, a quarter of my time splattering out insane amounts of worldly tangible output in extremely concentrated episodes (see hackathons, see past work, see hobbies), and another quarter of my time camped like a monk and avoiding all stimuli in some random place alone in nature.
my friends and family seem to describe me as intense, caring, and thoughtful, with downsides of having mood swings and too much audacity sometimes. you can confirm for yourself when you meet me irl if you want. unless i morph myself into my relatively bland but still kind of warm socially acceptable mask of myself that is actually for 15 minutes capable of small talk at the partiful.
some things i had to work on: saying no, running, dialectical thinking, and processing gratitude. I have since gotten better at those things.
things i like: lemon slices.
things i don't like: redundancy (in both action and thinking).
i am still trying to figure out why i'm so open on the internet, a question asked to me once before. i think it's because i need to feel seen fully somehow. i havent been able to see myself so i try to make the millions of people make sense of it for me. which might not be ideal. thanks.
i'm jia (佳)(jiā), and i'm 22. grew up a gay girl in a midwest conservative taiwanese family.
i'm currently co-founder and ceo @ jam. any developer can run intelligent workflows by talking to ai @ spreadjam.com (backed by the co-founders of hugging face and lovable + tba vc firm, tba vc firm, tba vc firm)
i'm currently 39 days into solving rubik's cubes and at 17 seconds rn. next goal is 15.
new chin-up record of 17 in a row.
previous stuff i did
- co-built devtool platform thing. 20k users in 5 months, 48k profit
- won 23 hackathons at places like yc, upenn, princeton
- 270k streams organically on spotify and apple music as an indie musician
- got 120 mil views on social media with 130k followers
- drone research at nasa usrc
- got software engineering infra offers from disney and intuit
i aspire to be a tree
lately i've been wearing skirts every day (four days before and now onward since may 11th, when this picture was taken). i've struggled a lot with how I look, but i'm trying to feel more confident. this is a picture of me in a skirt that my friend took, at yerba buena gardens in sf
i played chess competitively as a child. i'm getting back into it after cubing
current thoughts
july 25th, 2026, 6pm pst
128 wpm, day 52 monkeytype.
july 23rd, 2026, 6pm pst
day 610 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 20 leg lifts. wow i am surprisingly not over things i'm actually cooked.
july 22nd, 2026, 9:54m pst
day 609 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 20 leg lifts.
july 19th, 2026, 9:54m pst
sunday no chin-ups or pull-ups.
july 18th, 2026, 11:00m pst
day 608 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 5.4 mile run. worked until 2am bc im chuzz lll but fixed the feature.
july 17th, 2026, 11:59pm pst
day 607 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 20 leg lifts.
july 16th, 2026, 11:03pm pst
today i woke up at 7am and just worked my hat off the whole day until 12am bc im huzzless chuzzless and have genuinely nothing better to do w my life.
july 15th, 2026, 11pm pst
today i... get this- SKIPPED all exercise and ATE a slice of delicious blueberry chiffon cake. it was great lol. out of character ig.
july 14th, 2026, 11:45pm pst
day 606 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 20 leg lifts. 3 mile run to the hackerspace. was extremely sketch so i was sprinting in some alleys.
july 13th, 2026, 10am pst
day 605 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 20 leg lifts. song: track x by black country, new road.
july 12th, 2026, 11am pst
no chin-ups on sunday. recovery.
july 11th, 2026, 1pm pst
finished first half marathon. 13.1 miles 12:15/mi. best first 20k.
july 10th, 2026, 11pm pst
today jumped in ocean at 7am (prev. fridays june 12th, july 7th). day 604 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 20 leg lifts.
july 9th, 2026, 9:50am pst
day 603 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 1 mile run.
july 8th, 2026, 5:38pm pst
5 mile run.
july 7th, 2026, 6:41pm pst
day 602 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 20 leg lifts. 1.7 mile run.
july 6th, 2026, 6:41pm pst
day 601 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 3 mile run at 11:04/mi.
july 5th, 2026, 10pm pst
sunday no chin-ups/pull-ups. lots of walking though.
july 4th, 2026, 11pm pst
ran first ever 10k, 6.5 miles. then watched fireworks for 4th of july with multicultural friends.
july 3rd, 2026, 11:59pm pst
it was a beautiful day. purpose is glorious (emotional score) by benny valen.
july 2nd, 2026, 11:13pm pst
day 600 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). it was a nice day outside.
july 1st, 2026, 9:58pm pst
day 599 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 4 mile run.
june 29th, 2026, 9pm pst
day 598 of chin-ups and pull-ups(40). 2 mile run 11:18/mi.
june 29th, 2026, 9pm pst
landed in sf, went to statue. cried under statue. 1.3 mile run.
june 25th, 2026, 2pm est
day 597 of chin-ups and pull-ups(10) physically cooked.
june 24th, 2026, 2pm est
food poisoning and suffering last few days. ja perm, gb perm, t perm, y perm.
june 22nd, 2026, 2pm est
1.2 mile run.
june 21st, 2026, 10pm est
sunday no chin-ups and pull-ups. 3.62 mile run. i tried to eat a shrimp roll. barely could.
june 20th, 2026, 11pm est
day 596 of chin-ups and pull-ups (50). first 3 mile run at 13:45 / mi.
june 18th, 2026, 1am est
day 595 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40). solved mirror cube for first time
june 16th, 2026, 8pm est
day 594 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40)
june 15th, 2026, 2:30pm est
day 593 of chin-ups and pull-ups (8)
june 11th, 2026, 1:30pm pst
day 592 of chin-ups and pull-ups (80) +run. 126 wpm monkeytype day 13.
june 9th, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 591 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40) +run.
june 5th, 2026, 9:50am pst
day 590 of chin-ups and pull-ups (15, 60 pound single) +run.
june 4th, 2026, 9:50am pst
day 589 of chin-ups and pull-ups (10) +run.
june 3rd, 2026, 2:40pm pst
day 588 of chin-ups and pull-ups (80) +run. extreme anxiety spike. life is just not real. 110 wpm monkeytype.
june 2nd, 2026, 5:30pm pst
day 587 of chin-ups and pull-ups (50 - 25 morning, 25 afternoon) +run.
june 1st, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 586 of chin-ups and pull-ups (35 with +20 pound), 5 unweighted. +run. 108 wpm monkeytype
may 31st, 2026, 12:57pm pst
sunday no chin-ups. 105 wpm monkeytype
may 28th, 2026, 9:10pm pst
day 585 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40).
may 27th, 2026, 9:00pm pst
day 584 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40, +10 pound 1/2) so it's another night at noisebridge.
may 26th, 2026, 9:10pm pst
day 583 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40, +10 pound 1/2) i didn't wanna do pull-ups today but alas discipline. writing rust at noisebridge still tanstackstarting tho. song: i will be waiting by let's eat grandma
may 25th, 2026, 9:24pm pst
body in pain, gym closed. no pushups sub.
may 23rd, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 582 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40). tan stack start day 19. i tried to do a chin-up record but only got 16 in a row.
may 22nd, 2026, 8:50pm pst
day 581 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40). new chin-up record of 17 in a row.
may 21st, 2026, 7:30pm pst
day 580 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40, +15 pound 1/2).
may 20th, 2026, 12:07am pst
day 579 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40, +10 pound 1/2). new rubik's cube pr of 17.12 sec (12:07am pst) on day 39. previously got 18.22 sec in 38 days.
may 19th, 2026, 12:40pm pst
day 578 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40, +10 pound 1/2). tan stack start day 18. new rubik's cube pr of 18.22 sec (7:46pm pst) on day 38, solved with cfop (2 look oll, pll skip, bottom cross + 1 cube orientation f2l). previously got 20.89 sec in 37 days.
may 18th, 2026, 9:34am pst
day 577 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40, +10 pound 1/2). tan stack start day 17. new rubik's cube pr of 20.89 sec (4:44pm pst) on day 37, after 23 sec (9:23am pst). previously got 24 sec in 35 days.
may 16th, 2026, 11:05am pst
day 576 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40, +10 pound 1/2). tan stack start day 15. new method integrations for cubing, just got a new best of 24 seconds at 6:03pm pst
may 15th, 2026, 9:30am pst
day 575 of chin-ups and pull-ups (40, +10 pound 1/2). day 14 of tan stack start. new rubik's cube pr of 25 sec (12:47am pst) on day 33. previously got 28 sec in 29 days.
may 13th, 2026, 12:30pm pst
day 574 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total) +10 pound weight on half. day 12 of tan stack start. rubik's cube ao12: 39
may 12th, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 573 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total) +10 pound weight on half. day 11 of tan stack start
may 11th, 2026, 9:30am pst
run + day 572 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total). day 10 of tan stack start
may 10th, 2026, 11:17am pst
no pull-ups on sundays. new rubik's cube best: 28 seconds. previously got to 36 seconds in 18 days. day 9 of tan stack start
may 9th, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 571 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total). day 8 of tan stack start. rubik's cube ao12: 45
may 8th, 2026, 10:00am pst
day 570 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total) +10 pound weight for half. day 7 of tan stack start
may 7th, 2026, 12:30pm pst
day 569 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total) +10 pound weight for half. day 6 of tan stack start
may 6th, 2026, 9:30am pst
day 568 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total) +10 pound weight for half. day 5 of tan stack start
may 5th, 2026, 9:00am pst
day 567 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total) +10 pound weight for half. day 4 of tan stack start
may 4th, 2026, 11:00am pst
day 566 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total) +10 pound weight for 20 of the 40. still learning oll and pll for rubik's cube (day 22)
may 1st, 2026, 10:00am pst
day 565 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total) +10 pound weight for 20 of the 40
april 30th, 2026, 1:00pm pst
day 564 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total) +10 pound weight for all today
april 29th, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 563 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total). rubik's cube best: 36.87
april 28th, 2026, 1:00pm pst
day 562 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40 total). rubik's cube best: 43.8
april 27th, 2026, 1:10pm pst
day 561 of chin-ups and pull-ups
april 27th, 2026, 1:00pm pst
day 560 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, 40 total)
april 26th, 2026, 9:35pm pst
day 559 of chin-ups and pull-ups. rubik's cube best: 1:10
april 22nd, 2026
day 558 of chin-ups and pull-ups. rubik's cube best: 1:35
april 20th, 2026
day 557 of chin-ups and pull-ups (substituted for 40 pushups because too late gym wasn't open). started oll and pll
april 19th, 2026
day 556 of chin-ups and pull-ups. rubik's cube best: 1:19. started f2l
april 18th, 2026
day 555 of chin-ups and pull-ups. rubik's cube best: 1:20
april 7th, 2026, 7:15pm pst
day 554 of chin-ups and pull-ups
april 6th, 2026, 8:30pm pst
day 553 of chin-ups and pull-ups
april 4th, 2026, 11:42am pst
day 552 of chin-ups and pull-ups
april 3rd, 2026, 8:55pm pst
day 551 of chin-ups and pull-ups
april 2nd, 2026, 1:27pm pst
day 550 of chin-ups and pull-ups
april 1st, 2026, 10:08pm pst
day 549 of chin-ups and pull-ups
march 31st, 2026, 7:33pm pst
day 548 of chin-ups and pull-ups
march 30th, 2026, 12:19pm pst
day 547 of chin-ups and pull-ups
march 28th, 2026, 9:44pm pst
day 546 of chin-ups and pull-ups
march 27th, 2026, 2:51pm pst
day 545 of chin-ups and pull-ups
march 26th, 2026, 8:06pm pst
day 544 of chin-ups and pull-ups
march 25th, 2026, 2:15pm pst
day 543 of chin-ups and pull-ups
march 14th, 2026, 1:08pm pst
day 542 of chin-ups and pull-ups
march 12th, 2026, 10:06pm pst
day 541 of chin-ups and pull-ups
march 11th, 2026, 9:57pm pst
day 540 - I FINISHED ALL 40 OF MY CHIN-UPS PULL-UPS
march 9th, 2026, 8:01pm pst
LOL I TRIED TO DO MY CHIN-UPS TODAY AND PHYSICALLY COULDN'T DO TWO LMFAOO 😭😭😭
march 8th, 2026, 9:47pm pst
today i was reminded that life is incredible. especially the little things.
march 5th, 2026, 1:52pm pst
day 539 of chin-ups and pull-ups. it is sunny in francisco today
march 4th, 2026, 2:41am pst
day 538 of chin-ups and pull-ups, and rethinking life
march 3rd, 2026, 9:20pm pst
day 537 of chin-ups and pull-ups
march 2nd, 2026, 3:04pm pst
crying in the shower is cathartic. also day 536 of chin-ups and pull-ups
march 1st, 2026, 12:11pm pst
i love my clawdbots
february 28th, 2026, 1:07am pst
we are staying up working auhgghgh
february 27th, 2026, 12:04am pst
day 535 of chin-ups and pull-ups
february 26th, 2026, 11:19am pst
day 534 of chin-ups and pull-ups
february 25th, 2026, 2:19pm pst
day 533 of chin-ups and pull-ups
february 24th, 2026, 12:30pm pst
day 532 of chin-ups and pull-ups
february 23rd, 2026, 11:29am pst
day 531 of chin-ups and pull-ups
february 22nd, 2026, 5:31pm pst
statues
february 21st, 2026, 6:17pm pst
listening to intwo by notfriends :( and also berceuse rework
february 20th, 2026, 11:56am pst
day 530 of chin-ups and pull-ups
february 19th, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 529 of chin-ups and pull-ups
february 18th, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 528 of chin-ups and pull-ups
february 17th, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 527 of chin-ups and pull-ups
february 16th, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 526 of chin-ups and pull-ups
february 15th, 2026, 3:40am pst
sunday no chin-ups. feeling confident about things
february 14th, 2026, 9:30pm pst
no chin-ups, today was launch day
february 13th, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 525 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40)
february 12th, 2026, 9:30pm pst
day 524 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40)
february 11th, 2026, 11:18am pst
day 523 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40)
february 9th, 2026, 8:00pm pst
day 522 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40)
february 7th, 2026, 8:54pm pst
day 521 of chin-ups and pull-ups (20 each, so 40)
february 6th, 2026, 7:50pm pst
day 520 of chin-ups
february 5th, 2026, 9:42pm pst
day couldn't do chin-ups but i did 40 pushups instead
february 4th, 2026, 5:09pm pst
day 519 of chin-ups
february 3rd, 2026, 8:00pm pst
day 518 of chin-ups
february 2nd, 2026, 12:37pm pst
day 517 of chin-ups
february 1st, 2026, 4:26pm pst: beta day
january 31st, 2026, 1:09pm pst
day 516 of chin-ups
january 30th, 2026, 8:00pm pst
day 515 of chin-ups
january 29th, 2026, 1:28am pst: music and food
january 27th, 2026, 3:52am pst
day 514 of chin-ups 40 a day in a few hours