I’d been living in Beijing for about 8 months when I realized that I had yet to put up any pictures of life in this interesting city. So I decided to throw up some recent pictures of that I snapped while taking in some of the cultural and tourist sites in Beijing. I have pictures from my trip to Tiananmen Square on Chinese National Day, pictures from the Chaoyang Theater where I saw a famous Chinese acrobat show, pictures from my Halloween celebrations, and pictures from my trip to the Beijing zoo.

For the Chinese Labor Day May 1 vacation in 2007, me and my friend Chris flew from Beijing to Lhasa, Tibet, for 10 days of sightseeing. For 3 days we stayed in the capital city Lhasa. Parts of the city look like a generic modern Chinese city where people who look ethnically Han Chinese walk along wide streets lined with upscale clothing and cell phone stores. That’s not what I came to Tibet to see. In the old Tibetan quarter of Lhasa it’s a completely different world. I could walk along the kora around the Jokhang temple, or visit the Potala Palace, and see pilgrims dressing in flowing overcoats carrying prayer wheels walk past market stalls selling all kinds of handicrafts. But even that felt a little bit forced and touristy. It wasn’t until I turned off the beaten path and walked down an alley to a small temple that I saw the old Lhasa. It was a tiny courtyard packed with hundreds of sitting Tibetan pilgrims spinning prayer wheels and chanting together. In the tiny dark temple monks chanted, beat a drum and blew huge horns, and yak butter candles sizzled in front of statues of Buddhist deities. After 3 days in Lhasa we hired a Land Cruiser, driver and guide for 6 days of touring around Tibet. We drove through the countryside past small villages and farmers working the land with yaks. We stopped at holy lakes and visited monasteries. We visited the Mt Everest base camp and saw the highest mountain in the world. It was an amazing trip. A few people have asked me what it was like being at high altitude in Tibet so I figure its something that many people might be curious about. My experience is that altitude sickness slaps you in the face as soon as they depressurize the airplane cabin in Lhasa at 3600m above sea level. My friend told me that small plane pilots aren’t even allowed to fly that high without oxygen. So yes, I felt the effects. I suddenly had to use the bathroom like crazy because the air inside me had expanded under the low pressure. Walking off the plane in Lhasa was painful. My head hurt. I felt a bit dizzy. I felt out of breath. I needed to walk very slowly and deliberately. When I went up a flight of stairs I needed to stop for a minute to catch my breath. I took some painkillers for the headaches, drank lots of water, generally took it easy, and felt much better the next day. By the end of the second day by body had adjusted and I could feel comfortable exerting myself. The dizziness and shortness of breath would noticeably come back when I went more than 1000m higher than Lhasa. At Mt Everest base camp, 5200m high, I felt pretty out of breath. At that altitude the air pressure on you is less than half of what it is at sea level.

For my post project vacation in the fall of 2006, my friend, Chris, and I visited Thailand and Cambodia. The pretty ambitious two week itinerary that we threw together had us staying in Bangkok for 4 days, exploring the Grand Palace, visiting the Emerald Buddha statue in Wat Phra Kaew , seeing the massive 120ft golden reclining Buddha statue at Wat Pho, taking in the National Museum, visiting a bustling night markets in Patpong and the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, catching a night of Muay Thai kickboxing fights at the Lumpini Boxing Stadium, eating some awesome Thai food, and having fun at the various nigh spots around the city. From Bangkok we flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia where we spent a day visiting the immense Khmer ruins at Angkor. These were the most amazing ancient ruins that I’d ever seen. The sight of the tall spires of Angkor Wat and the massive ancient trees growing through the walls of Ta Prohm temple can’t be compared to anything else on earth. The next day in Cambodia was spent on a boat tour of a traditional floating village on Tonle Sap lake. Then we flew back to Bangkok for another evening of nightlife before taking off the next day for 4 days of beach life on Phuket Island, Thailand. In Patong Beach I enjoyed the warm blue water, perfect sand, and vibrant nightlife. On a full day boat tour I took in Phi Phi Island, famous for its scenery, wonderful snorkeling, and monkey beach. Some decadent pampering in the hotel spa and some shopping for ridiculous fake designer clothes rounded out my time in Phuket. After that, it was back to Bangkok for a final day of touring around the ruins of the old capital city at Ayutthaya, and finally a flight back home.

In October 2006 I met my parents for a week long trip around Isla Espiritu Santo, in the Sea of Cortez near La Paz, Baja California, Mexico. The island is a nature preserve with an amazing desert landscape, rugged cliffs surrounded by crystal clear blue ocean. The trip was a fully catered excursion organized by Baja Outdoor Activities (http://www.kayakinbaja.com/). Our guide, Francisco was excellent. He kept us on track, made the activities fun, and taught me a good deal about kayaking. Our skiff driver and cook, Jesus, produced some truly amazing meals of fresh sea food, salad and home cooked Mexican food. Our assistant guide, Mario, whipped up some great Margaritas and Pina Coladas for happy hour. The highlights of the trip included: snorkeling through schools of tropical fish over beautiful coral reefs, hiking through desert canyons and up mountains to take in the view, catching a fish and a squid for our meals, and snorkeling with wild sealion pups that enjoyed playing with us in the water. But the best aspect of the trip was that it probvided a complete getaway from the world. Sleeping in tents just feet away from the ocean waves, seeing the stars overhead at night, being away from electricity, internet, news of the outside world, and spending the days hiking and paddling through the beautiful landscape, was the best way possible to clear my head of the stress of living in L.A. and making games. When the sun went down at 8pm it was completely dark, and campfires were prohibited, so we all went to sleep by 8:30. At 7am when the sunlight hit the mesh of our tents we all woke up. Its amazing to be that in tune with nature and to realize how little you really need to be happy.

For our post project vacation in 2005 my buddy Chris and I decided to travel around mainland China. We spent 19 days visiting Shanghai, Beijing and Xi’an. It was an awesome trip. Shanghai is an amazing modern city with an impressive skyline of futuristic looking buildings, like the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The Shanghai Museum has an impressive collection of ancient bronzes, and the Old Chinese City has a great market to bargain for random souvenirs. In Beijing we spent time in Tian’anmen Square, talked to the “art students”, saw Chairman Mao in his mausoleum, and toured the Forbidden City Imperial Palace. We also visited the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, and then saw the amazing 18m (60ft) statue of Buddha carved from a single tree in the Lama Temple. When visiting the Great Wall we took the extra effort to visit Simatai, which is farther away from Beijing than other parts of the wall, but is far less crowded, and allows you to hike the original unrestored wall as it climbs along a beautiful mountain ridge. Xi’an was the capital of China for 13 dynasties starting with the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi in 221BC. We saw the army of Terracotta Warriors that were buried to protect the first emperor, along with the Hunqing Hot Springs and the ancient Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which all lie east of the city. Later we toured the lively downtown area surrounded by impressive city walls and saw the Drum Tower, Bell Tower and explored the Great Mosque, which were all built during the Ming dynasty. Along with exploring the sights in these cities, we went out almost every night and took in the vibrant nightlife. Clubs were packed with people till almost 4am on any given night of the week and we had a great time meeting and hanging out with the locals.

For the Christmas Holidays of 2004, I spent a week with my family, skiing at the Killington Resort in Vermont. On my second day on the hill, December 20 2004, I was going way too fast on my snowblades when I went over a hill, caught some air, landed, caught the end of my left blade, and fell forward onto my left shoulder. I hit the ground really hard. When I got up I knew something was wrong. I saw a doctor at the clinic and found out that, after many years of skiing and playing all sorts of sports, I had finally broken my first bone: my left collar bone. I guess I found out the hard way that snowblades are great for carving and doing tricks, but they're not nearly as stable as skis at high speeds. For those of you out there who are wishing me all the best and wondering how my recovery is going, here are my x-rays. If you're freaked out by nasty looking broken bones, you may want to stay away.

For my "end-of-project" vacation time in November of 2004 I took 10 days and went backpacking through Andalucia, the southern region of Spain. After some flight delays that stranded me with some friends in Chicago, I landed in Spain and was able to visit 5 wonderful cities: Ronda, Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada and Malaga. This part of Spain is packed with culture and history, from the Romans, through the Muslem occupion of the middle ages, to the European culture of the Renaissance. And a lot of that culture is there to be seen in the old quarters of a city, the ancient palaces, or the impressive cathedrals. I walked around non-stop for 10 days, snapping pictures and seeing the sights. By the end I was tired and ready to go home.

In August 2004 me and kimi, my girlfriend at the time, took a week off to visit my family in Toronto. My grandfather was in town visiting my parents, and so I was able to see him for the first time in years. We visited the Toronto Zoo, and then went with my parents on a boat cruise of the 30,000 island in Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. We also visited the historic Jesuit mission called Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons. The next day our whole family visited Niagara Falls and took a ride on the Maid of the Mist boat into the falls. Finally, me, kimi and my brother anthony went to African Lions Safari, a wild animal park outside Toronto, where you drive your own car right through the animal enclosures.

Around Valentine's Day in 2004 me and kimi, my girlfriend at the time, took a week long trip to New York City. We did all of the touristy things, visited Times Square, climbed the Empire State Building, saw some shows (Rent and Stomp), explored the Metropolitan Museum of Art, did some ice skating in Central Park, and just enjoyed the city.

My mom, dad and brother, Anthony, came to visit me in Los Angeles for the first time for the Christmas holidays in 2003. We had a week to tour around LA, visit the Getty, the La Brea Tar Pits, see Cirque de Soliel, and hike on the beach in Malibu.

To take a break and enjoy the beach life a little, I spent a week in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Its a small town on the Pacific coast, about 100 miles north of Acapulco, known for its beautiful beaches. As soon as I read the name I was excited about the trip. This was the same tropical paradise that the main character escapes to at the end of one of my favorite movies, The Shawshank Redemption. The place definitely lived to my expectations. The beaches were beautiful. The weather was great. And despite the nearby international airport and the resort town of Ixtapa only a few minutes away, the town itself was not very touristy. There were plenty of nice restaurants and shops where we could soak up the local culture.

My good friends Michael and Sandra got married in August of 2003. I've known Mike since grade 4. Me and my girlfriend at the time, kimi, took a weekend trip to Toronto for the wedding. The redeye flight was brutal, but the wedding was great. Although we didn't have much time in the city I still managed to show my girlfriend most of the sights of downtown TO.

In August 2003 my family organized a trip to return to the city of my birth, St. Petersburg, Russia, which we left in 1979 when we emigrated to Canada. This trip was important for all of us as most of us had not been back to Russia in almost 24 years. This was our chance to explore the sights of the city, visit the palaces and museums, and meet with an extended family that we hadn't seen in many years.

In July 2003, me and kimi, my girlfriend at the time, took a weekend off and visited Sequoia National Park. The park is in the mountains a few hours north of LA, and is famous for its massive redwood trees. We took a hike up to a lookout point on the top of a mountain to catch the sunset. The trees were amazing. We walked and played around the forest, which made us feel very small.

In June 2003, I went on a weekend camping trip with kimi, my girlfriend at the time, and some of her family to Joshua Tree National Park. We did a few hikes over the rocks and hills of the high desert. We also took a trail to a historic abandoned mine.

The purpose of this trip was to present my paper at the Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR) 2002 in Nice, France. Before the conference I took a trip up to Avignon and spent a couple of days exploring the Palace of the Popes and the other sites in the beautiful medieval walled city. On the train ride back to Nice I stopped in Nimes for a few hours and visited some of the Roman ruins for which the city is famous. I also stopped in Marseilles for about an hour to have dinner. After the conference I took a day to explore Nice, visiting the Chateau, the Old Town, the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum, and the Archeology Museum in Cimiez.

In the summer of 2002 I traveled to Germany to attend present my work at the conference, Solid Modeling 2002. The conference lasted 3 days and was in the city of Saarbrueken, in southwestern Germany. Before and after the conference I took a several days to travel around the surrounding area, visiting Munich, Neuschwanstein castle, Luxembourg, Trier, and Hiedelberg. On the flight back I had a couple of days to stopover in London, where I visited Westminster Abbey, and Camden Gardens, and saw A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

After our summer internship in California finished, in August 2002, me and Vince again packed the car and drove across the USA to get back to Chapel Hill, NC. On the way back we took a more southerly route across the states, visiting some amazing parks in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.

In the summer of 2002, me and my friend Vince Scheib drove across the United States, from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to San Diego, California, to get to our summer internship. On the way we visited many of the national parks and tourist sites in the southwestern USA. Our laptop was stolen in Vegas and we lost our pictures from the beginning of the trip. But I still have the pictures from the last part of the trip and some great memories.

Pictures of my spring break trip to the mountains in western North Carolina with Vince Scheib and Andrew Nashel. This trip was a great break from school work and a nice chance to hike around some great scenery (when it wasn't too foggy). We visited The Blue Ridge Parkway, The Biltmore Estate, Smokey Mountains National Park, and Chimney Rock Park.

On May 18th, 2000 I flew to London. Two days later began a 49 day tour of Europe that has convinced me that a life without travel is just sitting around. In just under two months I experienced history, art, culture, drinking games, a duty free meca, a movie at the Cannes Film Festival, 4 days of sailing, a Turkish WW1 tunnel, a belly dance show, a Grande Bazaar, a moch wedding, a torture museum, a Dracula party, paragliding, white water rafting, canyon jumping, a glacier, a sex show, and the chance to meet some really great people from all over the world.

This trip was again with the Canadian Dance Tapestry. We spent two weeks in Sicily at an international folk festival. It was a great chance to see performances and meet people from groups from around the world, and also get to know quite a few of the local kids. The town of Agragento is quite beatiful and has some amazing Ancient Greek temple ruins.

On this trip, the grade 11 ancient civilizations class traveled to Greece and Italy for two weeks to see the historic sites. We visited ancient ruins all over Greece, including Athens and Delphi. In Italy we saw many ancient Roman ruins in Rome and Sorrento, as well as the Renaissance art in Florence and Rome.

These are photos from a trip that I took as a member of the Canadian Dance Tapestry. We traveled to France for a month to represent Canada at two international folk festivals. The festivals each took a week and provided a great chance to meet groups from all over the world. Between the festivals we toured the country for two weeks, performing in small towns, billeting with french families, and visiting tourist sites. It was an amazing time.

My immediate family consists of my father, my mother, my younger brother, and our cat. Even though I live far from home, I try to keep in touch with them all as much as possible, with regular phone calls, and a trip home every year for the holidays.

Baby pictures taken of me when I was still back in Russia. I was 2 years old and so you'll have to ask my parents what in the world I was wearing.

Recently, my grandfather scanned and sent me some amazing old pictures of our family members. Some of these images are almost a century old. Its very exciting for me to see this tangible connection to my past.