I'm a good-natured and open-minded guy who is always optimistic, if pragmatic. I'm mostly well-behaved but I am always irreverent underneath. But I'm also thoughtful and caring too. :)

While I love my career and work hard at being exceptional at it I also enjoy time off and enjoying everything else that life has to offer. Love exploring and traveling, whether neighborhoods, restaurants or bars around DC or to a new country.

I prefer dive bars to more trendy bars/clubs. The Ramones (or MGMT) for that matter to U2 (shudder!). A half-smoke at Ben's Chili Bowl or a slice of excellent pizza works for me as does a delicious dinner at Unum. Best barbecue I've had was the Yakitori of unknown parts of unknown meats in one of the holes-in-the-wall the little alley next to the Shinjuku train station in Tokyo! I also like using smiley faces and web abbreviations like "wtf?!" They're just helpful in conveying intonations of voice, facial expressions and such. I enjoy, and appreciate, levity, and I love to laugh and be amused.

Checking out what my new city, DC, has to offer, figuring out wine (have a good handle on beer and scotch already), kickin' ass at work as a scientist.

Reflecting on and learning from experiences, whether good or bad, and then improving myself if I feel it is warranted. I'm also pretty good at remembering stuff.

That I'm tall and broad-shouldered, and that I smile and laugh a lot.

Recently read a book chronicling the missions of the Mossad. I enjoy paperbacks like spy novels and such but read stuff from Cormac McCarthy to Voltaire to Hemingway and everything in between. I also dislike reading on a screen, Kindle or a tablet or computer, and prefer physical books and the smell of printer's ink. Or maybe I just like collecting books. Lol

I find it difficult to read poetry, for some unknown reason. So, thank you, Leonard Cohen!

Movies (a small sampling across the genres):
Apocalypto
The Big Lebowski
Boondock Saints
Clerks
Donnie Darko
The Last of the Mohicans
Platoon
Films by Darren Aronofsky

TV Shows: Homeland, The Newsroom, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Sons of Anarchy, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly.

Music: The hipster music on DC101, but rock 'n roll in general. I've also been discovering opera and classical music featuring the cello (which sounds sublime) of late.

Food: Sushi/sashimi, Korean, Indian, Mexican, New York-style pizza, grilled fresh meat from Whole Foods.

My cell phone with wireless internet, freedom of thought, coffee, and heat in the cold months. Also, thankful for having a powerful car when on highways. :)

Why many people hold rigid, inflexible, beliefs. The difference in attitudes of airport staff in Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Newark, NJ (i.e., markedly downhill from West to East). Why I haven't (yet) found good New York-style pizza in the DMV area outside of any Whole Foods.

Closing out work for the week, updating my team on progress, and usually relaxing afterward.

For all the quantum mechanics problems I'm able to solve with calculus and advanced math I truly struggle with calculating the tip to be left after dinner. (I'm shaking my head at myself while writing this!)

You'd like to hang out, enjoy each other's company, and see where that takes us.