AVA AHN

Like you, I've carefully curated an image: studious, ambitious, surprisingly wholesome—a demure exterior at odds with the intricate, strappy lingerie I’m wearing underneath. (I have an affinity for the bondage-inspired kind.) I’m the last person you’d expect to slip out of lecture for a rendezvous with an intriguing stranger.

Before I materialize from pixelated form, I should tell you a few things about myself. (By the way, summoning your online crush is remarkably straightforward if you follow a few directions.)

I took a circuitous path to end up here (in Chicago) today: a handful of childhood memories in Korea and my college years at a private school on the East Coast. I later attended a well-known research university in Paris, spending my summers learning to sail in Antibes. Add in a few detours in Switzerland and you have a pretty accurate map of a quarter of a century of my life.

I’m a former—recovering?—classically trained musician, and I performed competitively for years. A vestige of a rigorous upbringing, I still enjoy the high of accomplishment. I even relish the private thrill of breaking my 5km or 10km time. If you’ve got a competitive streak, I’d love for you to join me next time. :)

Here’s a confession: there’s a corner of the internet featuring my headshot where I claim to be a full-stack developer. (Thanks to github.io, this awkward, self-aggrandizing assignment will live on forever…) Actually, I love reading about research in CS topics, among other things. My heart skips a beat in excitement when I spy someone on arXiv in the library. Maybe you’ve spotted me too, all 5’2” of me, a soft physique with striking dark features; maybe you’ve insightfully clocked a nonconformist streak, an invitation.

This time, the usual trappings of awkwardness and social etiquette don’t stop you. You’ve stumbled into my orbit—inelegant, refreshingly candid; and I’m completely charmed by it. It’s up to you what happens next. x