i'm originally from alaska, go to school in washington, but currently living in málaga, spain! i love traveling more than almost anything else, hanging out with my amazing friends, and finding new things to do around town. even just getting together and watching movies, listening to music, or playing games are great with the right people. as long as something is fun or interesting, i'm in.

i'm a student at washington state university, doing a double major in history and foreign languages. i took orgo and ended up loving it, so i'm considering sticking around an extra 2 years and picking up a biochem engineering degree. this may or may not have to do with being terrified of leaving school "for good."

at school i'm in a lot of different activist groups for social justice and progressive causes. i've spent a few summers teaching spanish for immersion programs, and last summer i was in Palestine volunteering as an english teacher and working on my arabic. this summer i'm working at prudhoe bay to make some cash, then moving to spain for a year of study abroad.

eventually i'd like to either work as a diplomat in some capacity, or in some position that lets me use my language experience. my dream job would be as a foreign correspondent or documentarian.

learning languages
playing music
writing music
lit crit and film crit
jazz theory
writing
napping
photography
mixing cocktails and drinking
ultimate frisbee
social activism
cooking (especially italian)
making videos and short films
rock band
listening
marxist-feminist dialectics
assorted handi-work
keeping secrets.

i have no idea, but if i had to pick a favorite feature i'd say my eyes are pretty damn cool. they're a mishmash of colors and look ridiculous up close.

Reading is one of my biggest hobbies, but to list a few favorites: foucault's pendulum, the picture of dorian gray, kitchen confidential, baudolino, harry potter, a confederacy of dunces, me talk pretty one day, lolita, a heartbreaking work of staggering genius, no logo, the shock doctrine, the plague, on the road, a people's history of the united states, the catcher in the rye, fear and loathing in las vegas, the stranger, life of pi, our demon-haunted world, all of shakespeare's plays, and anything by noam chomsky.

I love just about any kind of music, but I especially love indie, pop, shoegaze, rock, soul, jazz, and hip-hop. Some of my favorites are m83, the shins, pulp/jarvis cocker, wilco, enon, the stills, manu chao, the kinks, estelle, beirut, mgmt, death cab, the bird and the bee, air, justice, feist, the postal service, interpol, ladytron, keri hilson, midnight juggernauts, the black keys, broken social scene, goldfrapp, the decemberists, lily allen, and kanye west.

my all-time favorites are classics likethe beatles, my bloody valentine, simon and garfunkel, the velvet underground, the beach boys, david bowie, prince, the rolling stones, clapton, bb king, and all the jazz greats (especially monk, mingus, blakey, coltrane, bird, duke, basie, and miles).

at school i play in the jazz band and the symphony, and i really dig classical music. romantic and modernist are my favorite styles, and my favorite composers are tchaikovsky, mahler, debussy, beethoven, wagner, and mozart. some of my favorite works are tchaikovsky's 5th symphony (the bass trombone part is amazing, and the evgeny mravinsky recording is phenomenal), mahler's 5th symphony (the chicago symphony orch. recording conducted by barenboim is one of the greatest pieces of music ever put to tape), and ralph vaughan william's dona nobis pacem for choir and orchestra (when performed well it's a life changing piece of music).

movies: tons and tons, but i especially like crime films, pixar movies, stupid action movies, hilariously bad b-movies, french new wave, and other artsy crap. comedies like superbad and the 40 year old virgin are also great. favorites include pulp fiction, rashoman, the big lebowski, half nelson, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, the life aquatic, annie hall, the godfather (1&2), amelie, star wars (original 3), butch cassidy and the sundance kid, the good the bad and the ugly, kiss kiss bang bang, le samourai, le cercle rouge, rififi, 8 1/2, la dolce vita, jules et jim, breathless, 400 blows, adaptation, plein soleil, tésis, todo sobre mi madre, volver, cronocrimenes, abre los ojos, mar adentro, ¿qué he hecho yo para merecer esto?, mal educación, fargo, no country for old men, and way too many more to try listing them here.

tv shows: the office, frontline, colbert report, daily show, house, extras, arrested development, it's always sunny in philidelphia, gossip girl, seinfeld, curb your enthusiasm, burn notice, law and order, qi, jeeves and wooster, a bit of fry and laurie, entourage, countdown, no reservations, bizarre foods, this american life, cosmos

i have a semi-obsession with npr, this american life, and david sedaris audiobooks; ira glass is my hero and i have a massive nerd-crush on sarah vowell.

i love food of all kinds, but thai is probably my favorite, though i absolutely love italian. i'm willing to try anything at least once, and when i watch bizarre foods on travel channel iall i can think about is how awesome it would be to get to tag along and eat what he's eating. i love cooking, and i'm constantly trying to get better at it.

i absolutely love wine, though i'm far from an expert on it. i love cocktails and quality liquors on ice.

in no particular order:

art.
music.
movies.
literature.
other people.
communication.
my laptop.
passion.
knowledge.
travel.

yes that's ten, no i don't care.

how prince got to be so fucking cool.

where i want to travel to next and how to pay for it.

what i can do personally to help make the world a better place.

what song or album i want to listen to next.

what my long-term goals are and if i any yet.

how to make each week more fun than the last.

building the perfect playlist, watching a movie with friends, hanging out or partying at a friend's house, at home reading a book, drinking with friends, meeting new people, dancing, partying, or out exploring what the city has to offer.

i love nerdy/dorky girls and think glasses are super hot.

my guilty pleasure tv show is gossip girl. if you view it as a highbrow satire of rich culture, it's fantastic.

if you're looking for someone to hang out with and see where it goes from there. long discussions about anything are fun, but especially ones about music, movies, books, and political issues. disagreements are fine; i like someone who's willing to fight with me, defend their opinions, and force me to challenge my own.

i'm 420 friendly, if you're into that or want someone to smoke with.

though i'm very opinionated, i'm easy to talk to and much nicer than i may come across, i promise!

if you'd like to chat, feel free to add me:
aim - arcticjetset
msn: arctic.improv@gmail.com