I was born in the Russian Far East, on the controversial island of Sakhalin. The island belongs to the island chain on Russia's east coast that is disputed by Japan as its own. Around 1950, the USSR was colonizing the second half of Sakhalin Island, as a result many young people were sent or came here to develop the island's economy. My parents were among those settlers. With a musical and railway engineering background, they end up serving in the police force and the military intelligence division - KGB. Their career defined my early childhood. The Soviet Army took our family across the continental USSR and stationed us in many parts of the country, such as the Ural Mountains and finally in central Russia, in the city of Ivanovo. All this taught me to travel and adapt to new surroundings from the first days of my life. Historically, Russian intelligence and military officers are often the most educated people in Russia. For hundreds of years they have been part of the Russian elite - the Intelligentsia. My family was no exception. My parents taught me to love and respect books, science, technology and nature. Growing up, I spent sleepless nights reading books. My face was well known in local libraries. Eventually, the local libraries weren't enough and I became the youngest reader to frequent the City Science library at age 9. I read everything I could get my hands on in the library reading room. To this day, I keep a large library of books at home that I read daily with my daughter. Books helped me develop an interest in electronics and radio technology. While attending school, I developed practical knowledge for making a variety of electronic devices, from amplifiers to magnetic reel-to-reel tape recorders. Or… middle of the paper… after a week, I was flying a plane to different places while enjoying the bird's eye view and the freedom to go anywhere. I'm still amazed at how developed civil aviation is in the United States and how addictive flying was for me. My job brought me to California. Unfortunately, the career path I have taken has prevented me from flying for the last 2 years. Yet interest in aerospace technology is expressed in event volunteering at air shows and aviation museums. In all these years, I have never lost contact with nature. Hiking and backpacking help me relax and overcome work-related stress. Here in California, I've walked with my daughter to just about every single park nearby. So, what's the next step? I think it would be scuba diving, flying microlights, and volunteering with local/state parks to help with park maintenance after the deep state parks budget cuts.