I'm Christy — I think a lot
and write a little.

Data engineer at Airbnb.org, working on disaster response and emergency housing. Based in San Francisco. From Detroit.

running tennis museums baking modern art snowboarding travel guitar
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work
Airbnb.org

Data engineer for Airbnb.org, a disaster response and emergency housing non-profit. If you're curious about our work or want to get involved, feel free to reach out — I'm always happy to chat about it.

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learning
Cooking (beyond eggs and toast)

Making my way through Salt, Acid, Fat, Heat to understand the building blocks of good cooking. That said, I've always liked baking more — which tracks with a Karen Chee tweet: eldest siblings like cooking (survival skill) while younger siblings like baking (frivolous).

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moving
Being a beginner again

I grew up playing tennis, field hockey, and lacrosse. Lately I've been mixing it up with new ones: soccer, lifting, pickleball, snowboarding, and dance. It's fun to be a beginner again.

A bit about me

Christy Wong

People often assume I'm from California — something about my monotonous voice and demeanor. But I grew up in Detroit, the poster child of post-industrial decline. I like being from such an underrated place. The food scene is amazing, and the history and auto museums are unmatched.

I was a bookish kid and went to an arts high school, where I discovered a liking for modern and contemporary art. I gave tours of Saarinen House, and I would love to return at some point. Later I went to college at Yale, studying Applied Math and Computer Science. I took courses ranging from algorithms to art theory, organic chemistry to food writing.

Did all this lead to an illustrious career as a mathematician or food blogger? Not quite.

Occasional writing

Desert sunrise hike
Travel Excerpt
A Sunrise Hike

"It was my idea to do this sunrise hike. It was 5am and so dark I couldn't see my hands inches from my face. Half asleep, the chill air and cool sand gave gently with each step..."

Read more
On being a bookish kid in Detroit
Libraries, Borders (RIP), and reading anything that caught my eye.
soon
What giving museum tours taught me
Saarinen House, and why I'd love to go back.
soon

Books I've kept

Books have been a big part of my life. As a kid, I spent many weekends at the library and Borders (RIP) just reading anything that caught my eye. I tend to gravitate towards voices that validate my experience. Some favorites:

Pachinko cover
Pachinko
Min Jin Lee
Everything I Never Told You cover
Everything I Never Told You
Celeste Ng
Chemistry cover
Chemistry
Weike Wang
The Opposite of Loneliness cover
The Opposite of Loneliness
Marina Keegan
Salt Fat Acid Heat cover
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
Samin Nosrat

What lights me up —

Running Tennis Snowboarding Dance Guitar Baking Museums Travel Modern Art Reading

Let's talk

Find this relatable? Or this website layout offensive to your aesthetic senses? I'd love to hear from you.