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CURRICULUM VITAE
Name as it appears on your birth certificate?
Michael Dragon Rostov
Current name? See above
Nicknames? Dragon, Mike
Parents' names? Lesta Nikolaevich Rostov, Wendy
Prescott Rostov
Siblings?Younger sister Zhanna Fayina Rostov
Number of candles that appeared on your last birthday
cake? 26
Date that you regularly blow them out? June 12
Pets? Iguana named Quincy, tortoise named Mrs. Robinson,
10 goldfish named School, third-generation domesticated wolf
named Angua. I named the wolf and iguana, Zhanna named the
other two.
Height? 1.778m
Eye color? Brown
Hair color? Brown. I've had it dyed just about every
color but I got it all cut off when I got assigned to Enterprise,
and it grew back without the dyes.
Piercings? Ten. Three in my left ear, four in my
right, one in my bellybutton, one in my left nostril, and
one in my right nipple. I got them done at American Graffiti.
It's this tattoo/piercing parlor in San Francisco. I worked
there to get some extra cash in college. It's where I met
Phlox.
Tattoos? Two. One is my last name in Russian going
down my left calf and the other is a dragon on my right shoulder
blade. Also done at American Graffiti.
How much do you love your job? More than the Subcommander!
No, seriously, I love it out (and up) here so much I sometimes
wonder if I'm dreaming.
Birthplace? NYC
Hometown? Utica, NY. It was about a forty-minute
commute to town, though. We were living that far away because
mom was working on a long-term study on climate in the Northeast.
I was home-schooled until high school, but never minded learning
from dad; we were too far from the town to make regular school
worthwhile until then.
Current residence? Deck C, Enterprise
College attended, degree? University of San Francisco,
engineering and physics, post-graduate degree at Berkeley
in anthropology
What kind of car do you drive? I bike. Why drive?
It scares the birds away. (Anything which gets frightened
by a shuttle is in space. Anything which is living
in the vacuum of space is going to scare me away.)
PREFERENCES
Croutons or bacon bits? Croutons. I'm a vegetarian.
Coke or Pepsi? Vanilla either
Sprite or 7UP? Fanta
Coffee or ice cream? Neither. Too bitter or too
sweet.
Coffee, tea, or decaf? Tea with raspberry preserves
Milk chocolate or dark? Dark
Buttered, plain, or salted popcorn? Salted
Red or white wine? white
Gold or silver? Silver
Two or four doors? Whatever. I'm not driving the
car.
Bridges or tunnels? Bridges
Beach, city, or country? Country. It's where I grew
up. I sometimes wander into the hydroponics bay just to be
near something green.
Summer or winter? Late autumn, when the trees begin
to get colored.
Storms: Cool or scary? It depends on if it's snow
or rain, and then on how heavy it is. I'd say snow's scarier
because you could be trapped for days.
Roller coaster: Scary or exciting? Boring after
running from Zhanna and Angua during one of our many Calvinball
tournaments. (I'm still ahead of her.)
James Dean or Clark Gable? Well...Dean was outstanding
in what he did, but Gable leaves behind a larger body of work,
the overwhelming majority of which is worth watching, so I'd
have to say the latter.
Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn? Hepburn. Though
I prefer Katherine.
Beatles or Stones? Stones
Blanket or stuffed animal? Blanket. They can be used
for anything: tent, carpet, towel, cape...you name it.
One pillow or two? Two
Adidas, Nike, or Reebok? Birkenstocks
Mac, PC, or Unix? Unix. Dad's had his system since
about 2130 and it's never crashed.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE...
Salad dressing? None
Salad? Niçoise without the fish
Pizza topping? Anything that's not meat. We were
a strict vegetarian household. I still am.
Foods? Vegetable Okroshka and Lobby (Lobino). Dad
did the cooking; mom did the fieldwork.
Sandwich filling? Pesto. I don't care if it's meant
for pasta.
Dessert? Watermelon or other seasonal plants. Dad
was a stickler for correct terms. "The olive is a fruit,"
he'd say.
Type of ice cream? Green Tea
Restaurant? McDuff's. A local vegetarian restaurant.
Fast food place? Wok 'n' Roll
Drink, non-alcoholic? Water. I grew up in the mountains,
and you can never have too much water.
Drink, alcoholic? Gin and tonic, with a lemon twist.
Not vodka...that'd be Zhanna.
Color of socks? Whatever so long as it doesn't itch
Shampoo or conditioner? I love the kinds with plant
scents
Toothpaste? Lemon Sparkle
Place to be kissed? Depends on who's doing the kissing
Holiday? Tie between June 12 and July 4. June 12
is my birthday and Russian Independence Day -- Dad made sure
Zhanna and I remembered our heritage and hey, it's my birthday!
The other is American Independence Day -- we'd all go to town
to watch this huge fireworks display and I always remembered
the ideals of America on that day.
Color? Green
Car? Doesn't matter; I'm not driving. Though I like
fuel-cell versions more.
Day of the week? Thursday
Band/Artist? Metallica, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Rolling
Stones, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Barenaked Ladies,
Pearl Jam, David Hudson, collections of religious chants...Music
with an edge or that's very cultural, generally.
Book? Anything by Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett
Magazine? Rolling Stone, though I usually
just go to the Terran Magazine Library Database and look up
articles that I want to read.
Movie? Oh, any good horror or thriller or mystery.
I don't care for "star power" all that much.
TV show? We didn't have a TV until I was 16 or so.
I like watching the complete sets of the "brilliant but cancelled"
stuff,
the
shows which
were usually
less than
a season long but complex and fascinating, like "Profit"
and "firefly."
TV character? I'd say "Bender" from "Futurama."
Disney character? Jack Sparrow. Disney owns him
even if he's not animated. If you're going to be a traditionalist,
I'll say it's Scar.
Warner Bros. character? Rick from "Casablanca."Again,
for traditionalism, I'll say Bugs Bunny -- the only animated
one with a modicum of intelligence.
Sesame Street character? Never watched it. Everyone
else says I was deprived.
James Bond? McGregor or Connery.
Quote? "The body is a canvas upon which to paint"
or "Being nice is as easy as being creepy, and a lot
more fun."
Word or phrase? "Welcome" and see above.
Flower? Roses. Okay, I'm a throwback.
Sport to watch? Australian Rugby. It's so brutal
you'd think it was Roman gladiators fighting.
Zoo exhibit? Aquariums
Board game? Settlers Of Catan
Town to chill in? Ber(zer)keley
Perfume/Cologne? Lavender
Website? Terran Magazine Library Database, Internet
Movie Database, e-mail to stay in touch with people
Least favorite thing? People forcing meat at me,
making fun of my old job, making fun of my body art
Least favorite subject? I'd say anatomy. I do NOT
want to know what my spleen looks like.
RANDOM PERSONAL QUESTIONS
Been in love before? yes
Loved somebody so much it made you cry? Not yet
but I look forward to it.
Dumper or dumpee? It was mutual. Fiona didn't want
a long-distance relationship. And a starship is about as far
away as you can get.
What inspires you? My parents. They love what they
do and how they do it.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? If I'm not
a Chief Engineer? Owner of a tattoo parlor.
What do you look for in a partner? A love of any
and all art, being athletic enough to enjoy mountains, kind
face, intelligent, tolerance for separations, open-mindedness
What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted
to be able to see new things. I do love home, but it was a
bit stifling to be so far away from everything interesting.
What characteristics do you despise? Homophobia.
Conservative values. Fundamentalism.
If you had a big win in the lottery, how long would you
wait to contact people? I'd say after taxes.
Where would you retire to? Sleepy Hollow, NYC, San
Francisco
Have you ever been convicted of a crime? No.
Do you get along with your parents? Yes, very well.
Have you ever gone skinny-dipping? Once. I went
to an "all-male" beach on Risa that was "clothing
optional." Needless to say, I won't be doing that
again. Mister Peepers was not amused.
Do you make fun of people? Not unless they make
fun of me first.
Last person you went to dinner with? The other Book
Club members.
What did you do for your last birthday? Got a lot
of pictures from home
Do you carry a donor card? yes
RANDOM QUESTIONS
Had the drink Calypso Breeze? I'm not sure. I'll
ask Chef if that's what he made at that New Year's party.
Been to Europe? Yes. Paris, London, Rome, Berlin...All
shining examples of the extremes of humanity, both in past
and present.
Been to Africa? Yeah, but I didn't like it as much.
Too hot.
Been toilet-papering? Egging is better. More accuracy.
Been toilet-papered? No. They never found me.
Been in a car crash? No. Couldn't get that far on
the test.
Lucky Number? Pi, just to confuse people.
Any superstitions? Always lock your door at night
and always make sure you've got plenty of water.
When was your last hospital visit? When I needed
to go. I think it was four months ago...I'll check at dinner
with Phlox.
First thing you think of when you wake up? Usually
I think "Fred makes too much noise in the morning."
Sometimes, though, the alarm gets me up, in which case I scream
something like "Warp core breach!" or "Everybody
down!"
What color is your bedroom's carpet? Grey no matter
where I go. It's a curse.
What color is your bathroom? My bathroom at home
had green tiles or brown dirt. Here it's chrome and white.
Almost painfully industrial.
What's on your mouse pad? A picture of Angua's first
litter.
What's under your bed? Another bed. I got top bunk!
How many times did you fail your permit and/or driver's
license test? Five. I stormed out of the DMV after that
and never went back in. Flying a shuttle is a damn breeze
in comparison.
If you could eat lunch with one famous person, who would
it be? Jimmy Page. "She's buying a stairway to heaven..."
What was the last film you saw at the movies? "The
Frighteners." I can't believe I missed this week's film
-- I adore Kurosawa. Serves me right for ignoring memos.
What was the last film you saw at home? "Doctor
Zhivago"
What was the last book you read? Stardust,
the huge edition with all of the illustrations intact. Gaiman
was a genius.
What was the last CD you listened to? "The
Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars."
I've got some David Hudson didgeridoo music I'm lending out
and I'll listen to that when I get it back. The book club
expanded to music.
What do you have for breakfast? Toast, jam and tea.
This morning I ate with Lt. Reed. It was a chance to talk
about systems integration.
Can you touch your nose with your tongue? no
Can you roll your tongue? yes
How many keys on your key ring? Three -- one for
the house, one for the tool shed, and one for my apartment
Where would you like to visit most? Home, St. Petersburg,
Jamaica
Hobbies? Designing tattoos, reading, listening to
music, playing Settlers of Catan
Which single store would you choose to max your credit
card? Amazon, probably. I've got enough art on me already.
What do you do most often when you are bored? Read,
listen to music
What words or phrases do you overuse? "Back
in the Adirondacks..."
What words or phrases do your friends overuse? "I'll
get back to ya." (Commander, I'm an engineer too, I know
when you're bluffing, just admit it!)
Friend who lives farthest away? all my high school
buddies, Dan who owns American Graffiti
Greatest pet peeve? People who try to read my name
on my calf and ask "What alphabet is that?" You'd
think everyone could recognize Cyrillic by now, even
if they can't read it.
Best thing in the world? Keeping the ship running,
finishing a great book
When do you get up? 0550 (Keep quiet, Fred!)
Bedtime? 2130
Last new thing you bought for yourself? A hardback
collection of Gaiman's 1602 and a copy of The Amazing
Maurice and His Educated Rodents.
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