Master of Disguise

Geller is also resourceful when trying to change his appearance. Students who don't know him may recognize him as Moses or a pregnant woman or a Chicago Pole or a mad scientist or a sax player--all characters Geller has assumed at one time or another while at Harvard.

His fetish with changing his appearance was born in high school, when he celebrated the holiday of Purim, during which Jews traditionally dress up in costume.

"One year we dressed up as hoboes, kind of like vagrants. We got really great false beard stuff," he says. "It was sorealistic that my best friend didn't know who wewere."

Geller says he likes to view the world indisguise.

"You put on a few articles of clothing and/ormakeup and people treat you completelydifferently," he says. "You see what your bestfriends are really like."

Geller also says he met people he never wouldhave met if he hadn't started wearing makeup andfake beards--something of which he is proud.

"I learned about a whole new culture that Inever knew existed," he says. "I didn't knowanything about makeup, so you learn a little."

Pilot

The cosmetically-enhanced community is not theonly new one Geller has discovered since coming toHarvard. Last summer, while working at Microsoftin Seattle, he decided he wanted to learn how tofly.

"It's something I wanted to do since I was akid," he says. "It was a completely newexperience."

Geller spent 40 hours in the air piloting asingle-engine plane, and after the summer, earnedhis license.

"It was something new to tackle," he says."It's just a good thing to have, and you neverknow when it will come in handy."

Yo-Yo Master

Some of Geller's skills may never come inhandy, but they keep him occupied. Take hisinfatuation with the yo-yo, for example. Visitingone of his relatives while he was in Israel,Geller inherited "a crappy yo-yo."

But in order to keep his mind off the recentlydeclared Gulf War, Geller perfected tricks withthe yo-yo, and became mildly famous.