CURRENT MISSION

settle in SF

ABOUT ME

To spare you the typically lengthy about-box read, which can usually be summarised as follows anyway: I'm awesome (really!)

Still reading? I guess you deserve some more info, then.

I'm pretty curious, and I like to figure out how stuff works (that's why I studied engineering), I still take stuff apart sometimes, but usually put it back together as well (unlike when I was younger).

To me, travelling is the ultimate combination of my hobbies: photography, good (local) food, motorbiking. I especially love trying local food all over the world -- so far, chicken tendons are the only thing I've refused to try.

On a more personal note, I'm genetically predisposed to be pretty serious and shy­, but over the years I've worked hard (and still am) to have nurture prevail over nature. I've gotten pretty good at it, I think, but there's always room for improvement, which is where couchsurfing (and being ironic in the first paragraph of about boxes) comes in to some extent.

Science says my MBTI profile is INTJ.
I consider myself a social ad-libber. (i.e., last-minute couch requests are always ok with me)

Here are my other digital selves (let me google me for you).

For work, I hack the Scala compiler, write papers, teach classes and stare out my window at the lake&mountains. Here's professional me.

PHILOSOPHY

"All things in moderation, including moderation itself."
"Worry less, care more."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm happy to host people if I'm not busy, just ask nicely :-)

Also, I like going to concerts/shows/movies/museums, and, having moved to Lausanne relatively recently, I still find myself going on my own from time to time, even though I'd rather not. Feel free to contact me if you're in the same boat.

Haven't surfed a couch yet (I'm shy, remember), but I've been very happy to meet new people through CS meetings/groups after moving to Lausanne, as well as by hosting several CSers.

Interests

In general I like to learn new things: languages, recipes, photography, exploring cities/countries (preferably without a concrete plan so I don't forget to enjoy the actual journey), snowboarding, motorbiking.

• photography
• concerts
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• boating
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• snowboarding
• boxing
• engineering
• languages
• science
• mountains
• last minute travel

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Juno, Goodbye Lenin, Persepolis, Office Space, The Constant Gardener, The Hurt Locker, The King's Speech,...
Series: Californication, Boardwalk Empire, Treme, Mad Men, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, Coupling, The West Wing, The Wire, House MD, Modern Family, Absolutely Fabulous,...
Music: from Drum 'n Bass and Elektro, over Feist, Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, to classical music. See my last.fm profile for more details. My current favourite genre: Dreamwave ^ ^ (Anoraak, College, FM Attack, Electric Youth)

Books: current favourite author: Jonathan Franzen. (Freedom, The Corrections)
Authors: David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas), Jack Kerouac, Jonathan Safran Foer, Terry Pratchett, Amélie Nothomb, Haruki Murakami
Webcomics: xkcd

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

2010: Saigon to Hanoi[*] on a 20 year old Minsk (125cc two-stroke dirt bike) was quite the adventure (almost 2000 km at an average of 35km/h).

2011: similar principle, but on a slightly better bike (only broke down once in 4244 km) and around New Zealand's South Island -- judge for yourself how amazing it looked: http://on.fb.me/lMP8Kc

[*] actually, I stopped in Ninh Binh, 90km short of the End Goal

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd like to improve my Italian and German. I'm a fairly good photographer, but there's much more I'd like to learn about it. Similarly with cooking (esp. Asian food).

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Indonesia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Switzerland, United Kingdom

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