VIC

My name is Victor René Molina Rodríguez, but you can call me Vic. I'm an ordinary man. I'm in my 30's, the spring of life. My vices are pizza, booze, the axe and burritos.

🏜️ Born and Raised in the Desert

I was born in Chihuahua, northern Mexico. The climate is tough, with no running water for half the day, sandstorms, and bad news. It’s always been a violent place, from La Revolución to the drug wars, part of why I got the hell out. People grow up with a do-or-die attitude. You solve problems, you stay sharp, and you don’t complain much.

Things we say often in Chihuahua:

• “El que se enoja pierde” — Whoever gets mad, loses
• “No te hagas bolas” — _Don’t get tangled up (Don't overcomplicate it)
• ”¡Arre!” — Like “Hell yeah”, when faced with a challenge
• “No le saques” — Don’t chicken out, face your fear
• ”¡Ayay!” — Said when someone’s being too dramatic or sappy

I still have a lot of friends and family there. I miss the burritos and the tacos. I didn't expect it, but I also miss the desert. Have you ever seen an ocean with no water? The most magnificent sunsets in my life, I've seen them in Chihuahua.

🗼 Tokyo Boy

Before coming to Tokyo, I ran around the block a bit:

• 1991–2009: Northern Mexico (Chihuahua)

• 2009–2013: American Southwest

• 2013: Northern China (4 months)

• 2016–2019: Japan (Osaka, Kanagawa, Okayama, Mie, Aichi)

• 2019–Now:

  

I like Tokyo because like any intersting human, or work, it's a big f**ing contradiction. It's weird and frantic, but also quiet and calm in strange pockets. It’s Dirty Harry and squeaky clean. It’s artistic and convenient. It’s safe, but there's grannies in bikes and fights break out every weekend in Shimbashi.

Every neighborhood has its own vibe and history. It feels like a fantastic engineering project that somehow went perfectly and completely wrong at the same time. I've made a lot of friends here and I know it almost as well as Batman knows Gotham. I think it's very real.

🛠 Work

I've worked in warehouses, taught math, coached football, worked with computers, waited and shoveled dirt. I don't see myself as having a career, I've just done things for fun, for the good of myself and others, and to earn my bread.

Some of the jobs I've done:

• Buyer for industrial supplies
• Warehouse worker
• Gardener
• Special needs educator
• Football coach
• Computer science instructor
• Energy software engineer at Toyota (Now)

My work philosophy is do things well, make them last, don't over-engineer. Be a good leader and steady when things go wrong. Emergencies and pressure are part of any job, so you stay calm and handle it. Don't be afraid of hard decisions, don't pretend things are fine when they're not. Face problems as a team, deal with them, learn from failure and move forward.

🧠 Interests

🎵 Music

I play guitar and make music for fun. I build Spotify playlists that follow a mood or idea. I like all kinds of music if it feels honest and well-made. Music is the vice of the soul. And we can communicate things through it that are inaccesible any other way.

📐 Math and Engineering

I like math. I like structures, logic, and unintuitve but true things. I think about what machines can know, what patterns can be trusted, and how systems can solve problems in real life. I like to think about how to make things work better, faster, and more efficiently. I like to think about how to make things that are useful and beautiful at the same time.

🎨 Art

I like art that is simple, accessible, and beautiful.

• Pueblo architecture
• Urban tag graffiti
• Old school video game art
• Traditional Japanese houses
• Haciendas

💪 Fitness

I lift weights, box, and walk long distances—often 15 to 25 kilometers a day.
I like walking around the city, studying at cafes, listening to music, and journaling.
I drink coffee, soy protein, craft beer, and whiskey.

🧭 Values and Philosophy

• Make it work, make it pretty, make it fast
• Strength and competence are needed for humility
• Excellent !== perfect
• Being normal ain't bad — be excellently normal
• Kindness is caring with courage. Being nice is just caring without courage
• Don't be afraid to stand out — but don't stand out for the sake of it
• A good joke never killed anyone
• Our relationships with other people are the most important thing we have

"In a mad world, only the mad are sane." — Akira Kurosawa

🌐 Languages and Skills

• Languages: English, Spanish, conversational Japanese

🎲 Other Things I Like

• Photography (not pro—just memories)
• Film (I lead a secret cinema club)
• Exploring neighborhoods