I recently graduated from college and moved to DC to work as a research assistant in economic policy at a think tank.

I grew up in New York City and went to college in Boston. I don't know yet how long I'll be in DC, but, for now at least, I feel like I'll be a life-long New-Yorker-at-heart.

Ideas excite me. One of my favorite experiences in life is to discover, through reading, experiencing, or talking to someone, a perspective on some segment of life that I haven't encountered before. I'm especially interested in ideas about the workings of the human world, but there is very little out there I have no interest in learning about.

Relatedly, I care a lot about knowing and understanding my friends--and not just because individual people are some of the most fascinating things on earth!

I doubt any of my friends would describe me as especially bubbly or hyper. However, if I hear music with a beat my body feels pretty much compelled to move to it.

For now, I'm a research assistant working on economic policy. It took me a while to find a subject that could combine my love of math and logic with my equal love of the fascinating, awful, and wonderful mess that is the human world and, beyond that, would give me a chance to do some good in it. I think economics fits the bill quite well. I'm still unsure how far I'll end up going with it, but I'm strongly considering applying to grad school in the next year or two.

Outside of that, I'm busy soaking up life: talking (and talking and talking) with friends, cooking, running, reading, writing, and exploring DC. I also participate in two ridiculously fun organized activities: a club that reads a short story every week and meets up to talk about it, and a team in an ultimate frisbee league. I also enjoyed playing bridge in college but have yet to find anyone under 50 who plays in DC.

analyzing, listening, asking questions, cooking dal and portobello-tomato-mozzarella sandwiches, running, whippin ma hair back and forth, and relating interesting tidbits to everyday conversation

My hair has a mind of its own. It changes wildly from day to day--sometimes it's curly and huge while other days its smooth(ish) and wavy. It tends to correlate with humidity. On the voluminous days, when I'm wearing it down, people especially tend to notice.

Lit: fairly recently, Arcadia (Stoppard), Atonement (McEwan), Dubliners (Joyce), Never Let Me Go (Ishiguro), Norwegian Wood (Murakami), A Visit from the Goon Squad (Egan)

Non-fiction: recently, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers, Why Nations Fail, Thinking Fast and Slow, Triumph of the City

Movies: 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days, Annie Hall, Casablanca, Chicago, Groundhog Day, Pan's Labyrinth, Pulp Fiction, Some Like It Hot, Tootsie, Michael Clayton, Up in the Air

Music: I tend to go through listening phases, but a few long term favorites are The Beatles, Radiohead, Dirty Projectors, Grizzly Bear, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Stan Getz, Of Montreal, Outkast, and musicals by Stephen Sondheim.
During the day, when I'm doing work that I can accomplish while listening to music, I generally alternate between WETA, DC's classical music station, and KEXP, Seattle's indie music station.

TV: Not much of a TV person but I've been working my way through Arrested Development, and it's great. Also, the Dekalog.

Miscellaneous media: The New York Times!, The Economist, This American Life, The Moth, Matt Yglesias, Ezra Klein, Marginal Revolution, EconTalk

Food: Nearly everything, as long as it's not too meaty or spicy, but especially Indian, Italian, Mexican, Mideastern, and Thai
My favorite food group is fruit--I'd say it makes up at least a quarter of my diet.

"lots of things" but a few common topics are:
- what are the next steps in my career
- how to save the world
- the intersection of the two previous questions
- how can I get my hands on some fruit (at the office, when I've already eaten the apple I brought for the day)
- why people so often mistake "things that feel good to do" for "doing good"
- optimal monetary policy
- whatever I'm currently reading

I hated non-twist-type mechanical pencils because I thought you couldn't retract their lead until I discovered how hilariously wrong I was just a couple of years ago.