Marcio by Marcio (updated Jan/2006)

All pages in this egocentric website are about myself, but this page has the most intrinsically personal content. After you know more about me (this page), you might also want to look at other pages:

• My online Resume
• Some  Photos and Biographical Notes (for articles, speeches)
• Brazil, the country where I was born

Where do I live?

San Jose, CA. That is 1 hour drive to San Francisco or the beach, 3 hours from the mountains and a 14 hour flight from my family and some of my favorite places. I love the weather, miss a sense of community (everyone is from somewhere else), but the Bay Area is home for me.

How do I look like?

I look Japanese, 38 years old, 5'6 tall and about 160 pounds.

Personal History

Marcio is a Brazilian name (that is where I am from) and Saito is a Japanese last name (that is why my grand-parents were originally from). I grew up in a poor neighborhood in the suburbs of São Paulo, which is a large metropolis with heavy Italian influence.

I came to the San Francisco Bay area,  California in 1992. I was exposed to the US culture, but many people around me have an Asian and Latin American background. I've had the opportunity to travel to many places and experience many different cultures. So it is not easy for me to define my background, which I consider a blessing.

Family

My family lives in Sao Paulo. My mom takes care of us all. My Dad fixes watches (which I also learned how to do). Claudio is my big little brother, he is 4 years younger, a lawyer, married to Regiane. The picture is in Yosemite , when they came to visit me a few years ago.

I married in 1996, divorced in 1998 and of course that was all her fault. Been mostly alone ever since. I would like to find the right partner and have children. I have a fish tank. I like dogs, cats like me more than I like them, but I currently do not have furry pets.

Around the world

I can write well but my Brazilian accent in spoken English is very noticeable.  Portuguese is my mother language. I can understand Spanish and some baby-Japanese. I've had the opportunity to travel and get to know many places and cultures.

I know most of Brazil 's coast line and California. I've been to many countries (more than 20 of them), traveling both on business and on vacation.

Literature, Food and Movie Tastes

I read instead of watching TV or playing video-games. I've read lots of Brazilian literature and some of the international classics. Lately, I've read mostly in English. My favorite authors in Portuguese are Machado de Assis (classic, Brazilian), Carlos Drummond de Andrade (short stories and poetry, Brazilian), Fernando Pessoa (poetry, Portuguese) and Jose Saramago (contemporary, Portuguese). My favorite author overall is Milan Kundera (novels, Czech-French).

I also enjoy good movies and I think I am very eclectic taste. Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) and Almodovar (Live Flesh) are two directors I like. I enjoy movies with Audrey Tautou and Penelope Cruz.

I spend lots of time in the kitchen and like playing with food. I can cook Brazilian and Italian. Lately I have been adding new spices from Southeast Asia and India. As for eating, I don't have any significant restriction on what I can eat and appreciate.

Politics, economy, physics, psychology, marketing, and women, not necessarily in that order are some of my other areas of interest.

Hobbies and Life Outside

I try to spend as much time outdoor as possible and there is a section in this website dedicated to that. Mountain Climbing and snowboarding are main activities nowadays. I have seriously practiced Judo and Karate for more than 10 years in my early years. Scuba, sky-diving and windsurfing are other things I have tried.

Photography is also an occasional hobby. I have a B&W darkroom in the corner of my garage but lately most of the photography has been in association with travel, mountaineering or social events rather than photography for its own sake.

Religion and Politics

Politically, I've always tended to be on the "unreligious left" side of the spectrum, but I don't consistently adhere to any label. As I age, I become more relativist and am less idealistic and passionate about the political causes I embrace. But I still make a conscious effort not to fall into complacency and to maintain my personal political and ideological congruence.

I appreciate cultural identity and hate finding Starbucks stores in Beijing's Forbidden City. But I also accept globalization as a fact. I'm not necessarily negative about the trend and prefer to appreciate the potential positives. I worry about the environment and try to be a good citizen, and I am also optimistic on our ability to face challenges when they become critical. I am not politically correct but I am aware of sensitivities of people around me.

I like people who agree with me at the end of the discussion, but I enjoy being challenged in an intelligent debate.

Work and Home