I'm very much a product of my parents. I'm creative and introverted like my mom but put me in a controlled/familiar environment and I'm a chatter box like my dad. But the chatter is always interesting. Like how I survived 18 days in Portland in August 2010 with no toilet. It was there. It just spent some time in the shower or disconnected on the floor. And then I would call the landlord every day asking "What do you mean you "don't know" when my toilet is going to be reconnected??"

I must rejoice in the fact that two and a half years later I now have a new toilet in my apartment! It's so nice to not have to prime the toilet before using it...like a normal person!

I'm in a period of my life where self improvement is very important. One of the areas I am working on/need to work on is the cleanliness of my surroundings. I don't want anyone to pick up after me, just encourage the maintenance aspect of cleaning. I really let my place go after I started my job in July because of the stress of change and now is the perfect time to rectify the situation.

I've lived in Portland for ten years...and dating here is basically ridiculous no matter how you meet someone. I think the rerun of "How I Met Your Mother" put it perfectly: "What's the word single people use for 'selfish'?" "Independent." It's why we're all single. I think the selfishness also lends itself to people being complete control freaks, but I don't think too many people are aware of this. It's just so easy to nickel and dime someone's potential to death and then go to Costa Rica for two weeks instead. Or buy a nice bass. I'm not knocking world travel or buying nice things, but consumption is consumption and it's much easier than getting to know another person.

From the outside looking in, men and women are both ridiculous when it comes to dating. I'm totally emotionally available and vulnerable. I've been metaphorically stabbed in the chest countless times and I get up and dust myself off every time. There is no perfect fit for anyone. I'm looking forward to being part of a team and growing. I don't have to think about any of this. Why are people so scared shitless in this town to become romantically involved? Scratch that...why are people so scared shitless to go out more than once on a real date?

When will shitless be considered a spell-check-friendly word?

I work for a burgeoning natural food empire. Actually, I work for a natural food company that has turned itself into a funky Portland startup that (ironically) doesn't cater to Portland. It turns out there a bunch of funky little companies that make kick-ass-super-clean-for-you-and-the-environment food in Portland (and soap!) that we intend to source in Portland and bring to a national audience. I just thought about this the other day. Who knew Portland had all these kool killer food companies?

I am in purchasing, inventory management, customer relations, vendor relations, data entry, and probably a few other things I don't remember right now. Oh yeah, the other thing I have to do is sell my boss, myself, and our "brand" to the world. I did have to beat up an accounting person at our big distributor and they booted the order and I missed out on a case of kombucha. Maybe I need to burn incense for the Accounting Gods or something. I'm wondering if it was bad karma, but they screwed up our entire account setup process and the first order? Come now. Years ago I wanted responsibility at work that I didn't get. I've got it now!

I pride myself on living in a considerably stable environment, but right now with the epic changes to my company's operations, I find myself in the midst of being in a human Phugoid Cycle. It's challenging. Hard, really. I don't adapt to change on the fly as well as others, but I do eventually adapt, and I can make a lack of routine, routine, with time.

I've been a musician in one form or another (semi professional in college, and somewhat the same but less-so these days) for 23 years. It's in my blood, and it's my primary creative outlet, though I also enjoy 35mm SLR film photography as well. In the spring and summer I like taking on the toughy hikes in the Columbia River Gorge as well as around Mt. Hood and the coast. And I like getting a bike dirty...it doesn't look pretty if it's clean. I don't know where I would be without copious amounts of wool.

Asking questions. The game isn't 20 questions but 20 million questions. Openly defying authority and convention. Being misunderstood with regularity. Being reliable and trustworthy. Nearly infinite patience and persistence. Playing the bass. Baffling people. Overwhelming people with intense passion. Telling stories. Seeing the big picture from the outside-in. Revealing random information with perfect timing in front of people who have no idea I possess such information. Taking risks and photographing awkwardly...

When people look at my driver's license picture they say "That doesn't look like you." (There's a good story behind my driver's license picture, too) I do not photograph well at all...

The rest of this we can find out about later. It's not that important. Portland is too small of a town for people to be pretentious about totally subjective things. I mean, seriously.

Being that I am a musician...I should say that attending live shows are not my thing unless I'm playing the gig. Shows are often too loud, sound like crap, and sometimes...the band sucks. And A-list acts? Really expensive. In 1978 you could see Aerosmith, Journey, and REO Speedwagon for $5 at the same show! If I had a time machine...I would love to see Queen in 1976...oh yeah. They cooked as a live band.

Anyway...I have really good music taste. Have you ever listened to music on a real stereo? It's like watching television. I will answer the all important debate question of "Beatles or Stones?" The absolute answer to that question is Beatles. The Beatles' shit gold. The Stones are the used-up cigarette butt John Lennon stomped on after puffing its existence out -- that just happened to ember for the rest of eternity. Darryl Jones is great, though. So are the albums "Sticky Fingers" and "Some Girls".

Food: My work is food. I'm one of those "primal" or "paleo" people. I'm not into CrossFit, though -- I think it's too hard on the body. The science behind paleo/primal blows the doors off of just about every food-based lifestyle out there. And it debunks myths about meat and the environment. It's a quickly growing (if a bit disorganized) movement but it's not trendy. I've met several authors on the subject and seen others speak in person.

Ketosis. A means of getting from Point A to Point B. Wool. My job. My family. Clean sustenance.

Lately it's been about the socio-economic dynamics of the independence of both genders in our society. My brain is like an enormous office scattered with paper. But I can find everything.

This depends. Could be out. Could be doing laundry. Probably most likely in, but not all the time.

Not a damn thing about me is at all mainsteam. And I like it that way.

First, you are physically and emotionally available and don't need to think about it. Email can be a good tool to suss out scheduling conflicts, etc. I work 8-4:30 M-F and I'm not big on being fit into a window on Tuesday night between yoga (not knocking yoga) and dinner (not knocking dinner).

You aren't in a hurry. I'm not going anywhere. It would be great if you actually liked receiving letters in the form of well-written emails in the first place. It's like proverbial foreplay with words, really. Regular foreplay is really good, too.

It's important to get away from behind the electric fence that is the computer screen but "meeting up to see if we click" doesn't work for me. I like to make plans and when I become more comfortable with people I can be more spontaneous.

I think you have the right relationship mindset if your goal is to blend your life with someone else' life. But it's very hard to gauge that from what people usually write in their profiles.

I have a wide age range specified because I think in the 21st century, age is pretty meaningless. Besides, I'm an 80 year old man in a 33 year old body anyway.