I am a student and a mother. I am on this site to meet new friends, like-minded foreigners and locals, take the tests, etc. I'm really interested in all sorts of things, which I think will be better explained in the books/music/movies section. I am a nice person and would enjoy talking to anyone who shares my interests or doesn't. I'm not sure I can accurately summarize myself in a typed format.

My screen name, Tsukina Waguma, means "The Crescent Moon Bear." Its from a folktale called "The Bear" as told by Sgt. I. Sagara (WWII veteran) and written down in a book called "Women Who Run With the Wolves" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. If you can't find a copy of the story and would like to read it, let me know.

I'm finishing up my undergrad in two degrees that aren't going to make me any money. Then I'll do grad school and be done with it. I am raising an almost two-year-old. Fortunately, she's super laid back and a better conversationalist than I am. I read a lot, listen to what I consider to be good music, work part-time doing data entry for the Man, go for walks on the local bike trails. I've been trying to learn to cook.

One of my major goals in life is to homestead or even own/participate in a teaching farm. I want to live off the land and off the grid. This is something I'm very passionate about, so a lot of my decisions are geared towards this goal right now. Mostly I'm saving money right now and consuming as many related books as possible. If this is something you are already doing, I would love to pick your brain. If this is something you would like to do someday, we can scheme and plot together. Good stuff.

I have great beginner's luck which is both a blessing and a curse. I'm a kind of a jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none sort of person. I have a decent singing voice. I really love to make stuff and draw. I am a good listener. I'm good at admitting my faults, laughing at myself, laughing with others, and going on adventures.

My hair or my laugh/smile.

this will be very thorough...

BOOKS: the phantom tollbooth, the giver, the island of the blue dolphins, the cay, living the good life, the secret lives of bees, henry david thoreau, denise levertov, richard brautigan, cunt by inga muscio, the chalice and the blade, amy tan, the snow leopard, the alchemist, women who run with wolves, shock doctrine, shel silverstein, dr. seuss, c.s. lewis, harry potter series, anne rice's vampire books, lewis thomas, a short history of nearly everything, virginia woolf, a moveable feast, joan didion, raw cookbooks, tom robbins, lamb, wicked, his dark materials, the glass castle, a wrinkle in time, alice in wonderland, life of pi, a long way gone by ishmael beah, the fountainhead, the illiad and the odyssey, the prophet, chomsky, ender's game, the white goddess by robert graves, allen ginsberg, jack kerouac, some marquis de sade, candide, the prince by machiavelli, the art of war, the woman's encyclopedia of myths and secrets...

MOVIES: amelie, life is beautiful, advertising rules, nausicaa, howl's moving castle, the adventures of baron munchausen, legend, the dark crystal, labyrinth, y tu mama tambien, shaun of the dead, anchorman, empire records, super troopers, most things by jim henson, mirrormask, la jetee, brotherhood of the wolf, easy rider, the wall, apocalypto, what the bleep do we know, the corporation, why we fight, the fog of war, this is what democracy looks like, paprika, v for vendetta, american movie, all about my mother, american history x, the big lebowski, city of lost children, like water for chocolate, amores perros, monsoon wedding, okie noodling, kama sutra, tekkon kinkreet, alice in wonderland, wizard of oz, slc punk, top hat, the jerk, waking life, rushmore, pee wee's big adventure, human traffic, a scanner darkly, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, wet hot american summer, mary poppins, pride and prejudice (a&e version), the dreamers, donnie darko, waking ned devine...

TV: man vs. wild, planet earth, stargate

MUSIC: citizen cope, tim or jeff buckley, ravi or anoushka shankar, pink floyd, shpongle, cocteau twins, ben harper, joni mitchell, fleetwood mac, the vandals, vast, sarah slean, suzanne vega, liz phair, pj harvey, ane brun, poe, modest mouse, ani difranco, asylum street spankers, red elvises, atmosphere/slug, aesop rock, digable planets, bob marley, bonnie raitt, glen miller, NIN, james brown, old michael jackson, cat power, built to spill, bjork, dr. didg, frank zappa, imogen heap, joanna newsom, regina spektor, kings of leon, neutral milk hotel, nick cave, nick drake, odb, ozark mountain daredevils, patty griffin, pearl jam, phish, phoebe snow, pinback, red hot chili peppers, sublime, tally hall, the tickle, tom waits, ween, they might be giants, hoodoo gurus...

FOOD: thai, raw fruits and vegetables, anything homegrown/homemade/local, things that are enzyme-filled and colorful, water, hot teas (especially mint and chai), spicy things...

in no particular order...
1. a hammock
2. my daughter
3. a big, flashy knife
4. a sense of humor
5. fruit and vegetables (and the associated scenery)
6. a grassy hill to roll down

anything. the universe. politics. social issues. ancient religions and civilizations. other people (strangers and friends). my daughter. school. environmental issues. the future. right now. yurts/treehouses/earthships. gardening. off-the-grid dwellings.

reading. googling international news. making something (food, craft, a ruckus).

ha! i'm not falling for this one. but in person, i am very upfront and honest.

you are bored. share my interests. are local and need a walking-partner.