CURRENT MISSION

Eat more cheese

ABOUT ME

I'm an easygoing, somewhat scatterbrained person. Although I'm usually purposefully doing something, every once in a while I like to stop scampering around, take a deep breath, and enjoy the scenery. I like to think of myself as very open-minded.

I try to always have at least one ongoing creative project. I finish about 20% of them. Right now I'm trying to develop a multi-platform educational math game.

I'm socially liberal and fiscally wishy-washy. The closest political label you could stick on me would be Libertarian. I'm all about LGBT rights, feminism, and destroying the gender binary.

My preferred forms of exercise are running, swimming, squash, rock climbing and the rowing machine.

I was born in Russia and moved to the states when I was 7. I still speak, read, and write in Russian fluently.

I like cats.

PHILOSOPHY

I'm a wishful post-humanist. I am waiting for the singularity. I am only half-joking.

I'm a libertarian. I think the world is headed towards ultra-capitalism, and I don't think anyone can stop it. I'm not sure if that's a good thing.

I very rarely get mad. I can find humor in most situations.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I try to host people when my living arrangement permits it.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I hosted a bunch of people when I was working in Ireland and had a spare bedroom. It was a great experience, and I might start hosting again here in Boston this September.

Interests

Rock Climbing, Sailing, Programming, Graphic Design, 3D-Modeling, Board Games, Arguments, Existentialism, Hard Science Fiction, Dark Humor, Meat Pies

• cats
• performing arts
• design
• graphic design
• lgbt rights
• womens rights
• cheese
• baking
• exercise
• running
• modeling
• board games
• chess
• sailing
• rock climbing
• racquetball
• swimming
• rowing
• business
• freelancing
• mathematics
• science
• squash

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: http://www.flickchart.com/teh_russians
Music: http://www.last.fm/user/vigilant_dm
Books: http://www.goodreads.com/shplorf

I like movies that inspire and make me think, but sometimes there's nothing like some simple gratuitous violence. Some favorites are Inception, Serenity, Run Lola Run, Ghost in the Shell, Atonement, Infernal Affairs, Oldboy, Amelie, All the Guy Ritchie films, American Beauty, Good Will Hunting, Princess Bride, The Man from Earth, Burn After Reading, Mononoke-hime, The English Patient, The Matrix, Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds, and Les misérables(The 1995 one with Jean-Paul Belmondo).

I listen to a lot of Russian rock and metal, mellow indie rock with mostly female vocals, some classic, a lot of random pop and techno, and RAMMSTEIN.
Every once in a while I get nostalgic about middle school and have Eminem phases.
Whiteyes is amazing cloud-watching music.

For books I'm a big fan of speculative fiction, specifically hard sci-fi and cyberpunk. Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Neil Stephenson and Greg Egan are some of my favorites. I like to mix in some Terry Pratchett, Douglass Adams or Neil Gaiman every once in a while for comic relief. Also lately I've been reading a lot of history, specifically about the Mongol empire and the WW2 era.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seeing Rammstein live. By far the best live performance I've ever seen. No one tops them in terms of stage presence.

The first time someone bought a 3D model of mine online. It was the first time I'd made money without working for someone. That's when I decided I eventually want to own my own business/do freelance work. For now, though, I'm a corporate slave.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach programming, chess, Russian, and savory baking

Countries I’ve Visited

Germany, Italy, Russian Federation, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ireland, Russian Federation, United States