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Hobbies:
I enjoy traveling (particularly to Europe - Lisbon is one of
my favorites), bicycling, playing bridge, and all good things from
Europe (Swiss chocolate, Romanian food, German beer, French museums - and the list can go on and on and on ...)
When I'm not concentrated on my work, I'm listening almost any kind of music
- from Bach to Britney Spears (actually, including Bach, but not including
Britney Spears :-)
Without having the pretention to be exhaustive, the list from the right-hand side of this page
contains my main interests, in no particular order.
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Martial Arts |
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When I was 17, I started studying martial arts (at that time, most of them,
including karate-do were illegal in Romania) After a long time when I didn't
practice, at the end of 1999 I joined the Japan Shotokan Karate-do
Federation.
Since then, I've been practicing at the JSKF local dojo in the Seattle area, having the
honor to be a direct student of Sensei
Toshiaki Namiki (8 DAN Black Belt)
As of july 2003 I'm a first degree black belt (shodan), and the best is yet to come :-)
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Piano |
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As a child we always had a piano in the house, a beautifully
crafted Austrian piece dating back to the last century (as in 1800ish).
Since this instrument was too good to just sit idle, my parents decided
I would have to play it. Thus, from the time I was 6 or 7 through the time
I went to the high school I continued with lessons on a fairly regular basis.
Fall of 2005, almost 20 years since I've stopped playing, I've decided to
give it another try and start over. I must admit the experience has been
kind of frustrating at the beginning, and the learning process seems
to be harder than 20 years ago. But the first weeks of enthusiasm and sustained
work look to be rewarding, so stay tune to hear good sounding news from me :-)
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Winter Sports |
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I started skiing late. My first attempt, in my 8th grade, happened to be on a medium-difficulty
run, which literally scarred me. Winter of 1995, after 10 years, I made a second attempt, and this
time I really enjoyed it.
Moving to Seattle, I discovered this city is surrounded by several wonderful ski resorts.
Thus, if it's winter and it's weekend, I can be found on a ski slope in one of the nice places here
in the Washington state.
I believe one should try everything at least once, so 2001 winter I put my feet
on a snowboard for the first time.
Now, I'm hesitating between the stylish
look of skiing and the cool sensation of boarding...
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Photography |
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Finally, last but not least, photography has been my hobby for several years. Going from a
casual snapshooter, to advanced hobbiest, now I am a part-time professional, being published in several publications, including
Go4It, The "N" magazine, Adevarul, Idei in Dialog.
Specializing mostly in glamour and portraiture, I do, on ocasions, shoot a landscape or street scene that captures my eye. I put together some of my recent shots, and uploaded them to my
online portfolio. - enjoy!
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