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My name is Smitha Prasadh (Smith-uh Pruh-sod). I'm a 26-year-old August Virgo, a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with a BS in media/technology studies and a minor in Japanese, and a native of the metro Atlanta area. I recently completed two years of living and working as an elementary and junior high English teacher in a small town in Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan, as part of the JET Programme. I returned to the US in August and am currently working as a graphic/interaction designer for an internet security company.

I'm a geek by trade--I'm a graphic designer with an emphasis on designing for the web, which is a direct product of the ~10 years I've wasted spent doing quality online research. I did design work for my university orchestra group and worked as a web designer in a very fast-paced production environment after graduation (~75 websites in under 5 months), and was also the webmaster and graphic designer for my prefecture's JET group. I'm interested in the areas of interaction design, graphic design, online culture, and internet communication. I also occasionally entertain the notion of studying geology (volcanology) or animation.

I've also played the violin for 15 years. I'm classically trained, but have dabbled in Irish fiddling and can do an all right version of "The Devil Went Down To Georgia." My tastes are fairly eclectic, but I'm generally not a fan of electronic/synthesized music. Music is my religion; it's an extremely important part of my life, and I know I'll be playing the violin as long as I'm physically able.

I have strong interests in volcanoes and volcanology, animation and visual arts, linguistics and etymology, the sciences, science fiction and urban fantasy, the Star Wars classic trilogy, the early-90s animated series The Pirates of Dark Water, and frisbee. I've met many of my best friends through our love for Star Wars (whether in person or online), and I run what has become the largest Pirates of Dark Water fan site on the web.

I'm a strict ovo-lacto and non-confrontational vegetarian of 14 years, and maintained the lifestyle while living in Japan to the best of my ability. Vegetarian food is actually extremely difficult to come by there, contrary to popular belief.

I love science museums, coffeehouses, afternoon tea, samosas, Engrish, karaoke, print club, Japanese stationery and washi, charming displays of geekiness, percussion, reading, writing stories, sketching, typography, the energy and faster pace in big cities, the sense of community in small towns, train travel, airports, flowers, heart-to-hearts, comfortable silence, silliness, hugs, bridges, concert halls, live classical music, spelling bees, British humor, intellect, idiosyncracies, and simplicity.

I'm currently loving the following:

TV:

Music:

Stores:

This is a list of the books I've read in 2007 so far or am reading currently: