Ibrahim Sharul

I am training for my first full marathon (42km) across the Penang Bridge. The slightly absurd part: I don't actually enjoy running, and I'm coming back from an ankle injury from a half marathon I ran the year before. My training plan is deliberately running-light — lots of strength work, cycling, and swimming first — before I let myself near a track. A run/walk strategy on race day is the plan, and finishing is the goal, not a personal best.

I researched and wrote an independent study on numerology's relevance to personal identity construction in Singapore (you can read the paper below), then went a step further and built a working numerology calculator that generates downloadable PDF reports. Equal parts curiosity about belief systems and an excuse to write some fun code.

I've visited 47 countries so far (map below), with Poland and a deeper trip across Latin America on the list next. The Latin America trip is tentatively timed around graduate studies abroad — if I'm going to be away from home for a Masters, I might as well make the most of the time zone.

Grew up speaking all four, which has been unexpectedly useful for everything from OSINT work to ordering food correctly on every one of those 47 trips.

Successfully emceed a Chinese New Year celebration attended by senior leadership at the Cyber Security Agency, using Mandarin greetings I'd picked up along the way. Not a language I speak fluently, but apparently fluently enough for one afternoon.

I have never bought my own bubble tea. Every single cup I've ever had has been paid for by someone else. I am not entirely sure how this happened or how long I can keep it going, but here we are.