User Profile

      My name is John and I am a twenty-something Canadian living uptown of the throbbing megalopolis that is Toronto. I attend York University and am studying theoretical linguistics. I work at the Institute for Social Research as a bilingual telephone interviewer, carrying out interviews for a nation-wide studies on exercise and fitness.
      I am a questioning Christian, raised in a Roman Catholic family. Early Christianity is a passing interest of mine: the Ebionites, Marcionites, Gnostics and all other alternative forms of Christianity are of particular interest to me as are non-orthodox Christian writings from those first few centuries. As a former philosophy major, I once fancied myself an amateur Christian apologist and tried as much as possible to defend the faith. Now, I'm not so sure. I do, however, have a passing interest in neo-Pagan beliefs and practices as well as those of ceremonial magicians.
      Much of my interest in linguistics thus far have been focused in the fields of syntax, semantics and morphology and their respective interfaces. Being not only a scientist of language, I am also its lover; in addition to communicating in English fluently and having an almost-native understanding of Tagalog and Ilokano, I communicate in French at an advanced level and have proficient enough knowledge of the grammar of Italian and Spanish to the extent that I can communicate limitedly with hispanohablantes and italophones. In the fall of 2008, I began studies in Classical Latin.
      I am not politically informed; I adhere to no political parties and apart from basic political philosophy, I am ignorant of government functions, public policy, international news etc. In addition, it appears that I have no musical depth and listen primarily to main stream pop and hip hop music. I do not watch T.V. apart from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sailor Moon and Grey's Anatomy. I have not really developed an appreciation for this medium of story-telling. What's worse, I rather pridefully disdain any other kind of television program other than those which serve as a visual form of literature. Because of the above two, I am seen as very culturally inept and un-engaged. Oh, well.
      In my spare time, I enjoy watching youtube clips, going to museums and galleries and eating sushi. I am learning to cook as I am living on my own for the first time. I am playing with the idea of Side B but it's awkward at the moment because I'm kind of in love.