User Profile

I was born in Grozny, in the Soviet Union, but I don't remember much of it. My first clear memories are probably from the time when we lived in Israel, in Tel Aviv, which is probably still my favorite place to live in the whole wide world. From there we moved to Canada and from there we came to the US where I've now been for 6 years--by the time I graduate from college, California will be the place where I have stayed longest for any period of time. I'm pretty good with languages--I speak two fluently, one decently, could regain the fluency of another, and have some vestiges of studying three others still in my brain. I believe that the more languages I know, the better I understand whichever one I am speaking at a time--much of my English grammar I learned while studying Latin. Like the usage of the word "whom," for example. I love reading more than almost any other "intellectual" pursuit. I'm very good with linguistics and political science and anything that requires writing, but I chose to do computer science instead--for a challenge. As a result, I suck at what I do and I often worry about where I'm going with it, but I try to stick to it nevertheless. I'm really interested in computer graphics and hope to someday create computer games, even though it's somewhat difficult to stay hopeful when there are so many people to whom this comes so naturally. I love traveling--not so much meeting new people in particular, but seeing new places, seeing how people live and what they do, learning new languages and customs that can only be learned in immersion. I like meeting new people, but I'm exceptionally bad at it--I don't have the gift of gab, and so I don't really know how to make small talk. As a side effect of that, when I meet a person I do hit it off with, I tend to become fast friends with them. Due to recent events, I think that I might freak out some people by wanting to become friends with them too quickly when I like who they are. I might be often late, but I can be relied on in a pinch and I can be relied on to keep my word. I hate dishonesty and backstabbing. I can't forgive infidelity, and I find it hard to forgive backstabbing and lies, though usually a sincere apology is all it takes. I won't say anything behind someone's back that I wouldn't say to their face. I love my family, I love my friends, and I believe that love is the meaning of life (and I don't mean romantic love, though that's nice too). Someday I want to build a beautiful house in the woods close to a warm sea (I love the sea though I'm a terrible swimmer) with hardwood floors and a huge library and secret passages in the walls and have a keg of milk with anti-souring rays to keep it from going sour :) And fireplaces. And Turkish rugs hanging on the walls.

I hope I'm not as full of myself as this profile would suggest :-/

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