I'm the kind of guy that complete strangers spill their deepest, darkest secrets to within hours of meeting me. I'm an intelligent, hard-working person who loves the ocean, travelling, TV, movies, books, radio and am an unrepentant pop culture junky.

I know it's shocking, but I have faults and have made mistakes (like two or three). But I am constantly trying to better myself and improve my situation. I really think those that aren't trying to better themselves are probably suffering or depressed. Since nothing in life is static, you must ultimately learn to change and grow to deal with it. I agree with Charles Schultz, "I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it." I think you can have the best laid plans for your life, but until you learn that it's not going to go the way you want and enjoy the life you are leading, it's not going to mean much.

I think my friends and colleagues would say I'm fiercely intelligent, passionate about the things I care about, an incredibly hard worker, funny and diplomatic. I'm very good at calming upset people and great in the clutch - when there's a crisis, I'm usually pretty calm.

I'm fascinated by pop culture and whatever is the current zeitgeist not only in the United States, but around the world. I get obsessed with different cultures. I don't necessarily follow trends, but I love knowing what's trending. I genuinely care about the state of affairs in the world and can't help but worry a little occasionally if I think too much about it. I'm not sure that any truly sentient person can be 100% happy all the time, however, I maintain an optimistic approach to life and try to say "yes" as much as possible. If you're happy too much, you're probably either supremely enlightened or just an idiot.

Right now, I manage a division of a small, budding company in St. Louis. A lot of people rely on me and I'm very good at my job which makes me feel fulfilled in some way. I also have an idea for a company of my own that I'd like to start one day.

What am I looking for? Someone funny, caring with normal, realistic expectations of people and life. Oh, it would be great if they liked me for who I am and not the person they want me to be. I've found that many women on here are single because the person they are looking for just doesn't exist. "I'm not willing to settle" usually translates into a lonely existence, possibly with a lot of cats. I think that's the reason everyone has pets on here - they're the only ones that can possibly offer the kind of toe-licking people are expecting from the imaginary mates they are seeking out.

I'm working as a division manager for a successful, local company. A lot of people rely on me, I feel somewhat fulfilled by how needed I am there and at times, it can be very challenging. I still would like to work myself into a more creative position and/or make a little more time for creative pursuits like writing on the side. I'm just moved to a new house and I'm loving fixing it up as well as living by myself for the first time in a LONG time.

I'm also single again for the first time in a long time. I'm going through a period of some great changes but I'm rolling with it and enjoying the adventure of it all in the process.

...writing, trivia, diplomacy, water polo, swimming, taking tests, problem solving, listening, giving advice, vacuuming (I kind of like it), spatial reasoning...

That I'm actually a lot taller than I first appear. Then I'm sure the glasses are a close second.

When I tell them my age, people usually freak out. I've always looked young for my age. I used to hate it when I was getting carded for cigarettes still, even into my early thirties because of my "baby face"... now I guess I'm happy about it, at least when it comes to dating. However, I still have to work harder than most, especially in management of any sort, because even people my own age treat me like I am much younger and much less experienced, especially other men.

Some authors I read or am reading: Joseph Campbell, John Irving, Chuck Klosterman, Lester Bangs, Mark Twain, Jeffrey Archer, Patricia Cornwell, Malcolm Gladwell, Billy Collins, Phillip Irvine, Hunter S. Thompson, Allen Ginsberg.

Some great books: Ready Player One, The Tipping Point, Paradise Lost, Freakonomics, Everything You Know Is Wrong, Catch 22, The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, On the Road, Howl, The Sun Also Rises.

Some of my many favorite movies: James Bond movies (what I truly wanted to be when I was a kid was a secret agent), The Royal Tennenbaums, The Big Lebowski, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Godfather, The Usual Suspects, Dazed and Confused, Star Wars, Step Brothers, Grandma's Boy, so many more. I love movies and want to make a movie!

Music: Arcade Fire, The National, John Vanderslice, David Bowie, The XX, The Whitest Boy Alive, The Beastie Boys, The Gaslight Anthem, Fiona Apple, Ben Folds, Morphine, Bright Eyes, A Tribe Called Quest, NWA, CCR, Cake, The Police, Toots & the Maytals, Mos Def, Jurassic 5, Fatlip, Wiz Khalifa, Weezer, and about 3,000 other bands.

TV/Intraweb: Reddit (!!! - what's up fellow ents?), Between Two Ferns, Funny or Die, Modern Family, Breaking Bad, It's Always Sunny, Flight of the Conchords, Arrested Development, Workaholics, Hannibal, Sons of Anarchy, almost everything on NatGeo, the Discovery Channel, the Science Channel, the Eric Andre Show, Tim and Eric's Awesome Show Great Job!, Kitchen Nightmares, Survivor, Impractical Jokers, Wilfred, Portlandia.

In reality I can do without almost everything if I need to - I have a pretty strong will, but just to play along... Chuck Taylors, pizza, a good pair of jeans, hoodies, coffee, and yeah, hate to admit it - a good smartphone.

...my place in the world, my purpose in life, how I'm going to make a "ripple".

I don't have a typical Friday night, just depends on the weekend. Rarely nothing and if I'm at home, by myself, I usually have a project of some sort. Lately it's been fixing up my house.

I'm usually honest to a fault when you get to know me about my own life, not yours. But I do love to find out other people's foibles. I find that what makes people the most interesting and unique are often their faults, their quirks, their bad habits. Perfect people are usually fairly boring to me and I've found they often need a good dose of humility.

To be honest, I'm totally sick of online dating. If I've rated you highly and haven't messaged you, it's just because I'm sick of writing messages to flighty people that either don't respond, respond weeks or months later or just looking for pen pals. I email a ton of people at work all week, sending emails to random strangers is really losing it's appeal. Sorry if that sounds negative or lazy. I'm neither. Please message me if you think we'll get along, I will respond if there's a mutual interest. I find it refreshing when women message people they are attracted to instead of just sifting through their inbox for dates.

You should message me only if you're willing to eventually meet face-to-face. I email all day at work, already have family and friends with who I'm constantly feeling like I need to write more. So, I definitely want to get to know you to before meeting in the flesh, but I guess I really don't need just another pen pal. I'm looking for real, live women on here, not virtual ones. I'm open to meeting women from other cities, but we eventually have to make plans to meet or what's the point, right?

Also, don't respond to my message if you are looking for just
"new friends", free drinks or a meal ticket. Often these are all one in the same. Here's some new info for you: most of the men on here are not looking for just friends, and if they say they are, they are probably lying, desperate or both. It's called OkCupid, not OKFriends. There are plenty of desperate men on here that I'm sure will pay out like a slot machine just to be around attractive women. Not me.

I would like to be with a woman that actually likes me for who I am now and may want (and has time!) to start start a little life or something, not one that's just bored and thinks I'm good enough to kill an hour or two with. I don't want to go out on dates with people who clearly are not sure they even want a partner, or just don't have time for one.