CURRENT MISSION

I want to live life before I work it away. ja!

ABOUT ME

Things have gone by way too fast the past few years... when did I turn 25, errrr, 26, errrr 27, errrr 29(fourth edit...)? I graduated, packed up and hitched by myself thru Afrika, came home, lived on my friends' couch in Seattle for 2 months (couldn't find a job but played plenty of music and skied/hiked a ton)moved back to Chicago, worked as a mechanical engineer a while, traveled for another 3.5 months (northern latitude mountains!), started a PhD program at Columbia University in New York City, followed my adviser to continue studies at Virginia Tech and help setup a new research group, came back to NYC, finished my PhD, and secured a job with Cornell and the Department of Energy in New York City for the next year!

i play music, volleyball, basketball, tennis, and i love the freedom of school. i like risk takers, and people who can sit around and have fun doing stupid things like origami; people that are capable, but don't feel like they have to be 'ON' all the time. while i travel light on my back, my camera bag is super heavy. worth it? definitely. i spent my last summer in New Zealand for 3 months for research and now i am traveling for a couple more months!

PHILOSOPHY

I try not to be constrained by people and systems around me, in order to gain a broad and healthy outlook on life. I think everyone should be able to live as they please as long as they are respectful of the people around them. i like random people and the things that happen while around them. I dislike people who feel they have no way out of whatever mess they may find themselves in.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

by spreading the goodness across the globe!!!!!!!!!!!!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

surfaced in random places, and have hosted random people. great feeling. CS is fantastic and I've met some great friends through it.

Interests

Anything that wrenches open the mind just a little bit more :)

• technology
• traveling
• origami
• music
• camping
• scuba diving
• snowboarding
• basketball
• tennis
• volleyball
• engineering
• science
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

shawshank redemption, a river runs through it, strange Russian isolation-style dramas

le zeppelin, le rolling stones, la radiohead, pink floyd, White Stripes, Donovan, anything to dance to

anything by robert ludlum, vonnegut, ayn rand, and various others. i rarely come across a book i don't enjoy.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

camping at the foot of Ushguli glacier (Georgia Republic), getting caught in a rock slide in McCarthy (Alaska) jericoacoara sunset, iguazu falls, deepest pow at chamonix, diving at sipidan, sunrise on mt. kinabalu, nyragongo volcano in the DRC, dodging bombholes on my snowboard in Kashmir--oh snap!

Teach, Learn, Share

music, anything science related, travel advice (asia, europe, south america, africa), origami?!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, Norway, Philippines, Rwanda, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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