NOTE: After a few years of trying, I'm left with the conclusion that it just doesn't work out very well with men, where my relationships with women have been happier and tend to have more staying power. As a result, labeling myself bi is a reflection of my past, but going forward, I'm definitely more interested in dating women only.

So, that said, let's address the first big item on the agenda: I'm a pre-operative transsexual. That may not be your bag, but if you're one of the happy few and you're in the Chicagoland area, then perhaps you should chat me up. I've enjoyed happy long-term relationships with men and women both--not at the same time, I'm the monogamous type--because for me it really is about the person, and whether they're self-assured good company. Having gotten that out of the way, it's just one of many reasons I'm the original odd duck.

What do I like to do for fun... hmmmm. Music in intimate settings (the Green Mill), movies at the Music Box, smaller bars and clubs instead of true meat markets, taking in a ballgame on a warm day or summer night, giving eclectic restaurants or favorite standbys a spin (my city-wide favorite is probably still Erwin after all these years), browsing in used bookstores, working on perfecting my home (understanding that there will never be a 'Mission Accomplished' moment), and goofing off with the dog, and that's roughly in opposite order. Reading, more than a little, especially scifi (Richard K. Morgan, Dan Simmons, Nancy Kress, and Charles Stross are recent faves) and spy dramas (especially Philip Kerr, John Le Carre, Len Deighton), but also a lot of history, particularly European history (18th and 19th centuries, Roman and ancient). And traveling to parts of the world where there's a good mix of quality hiking, great museums, and local wines (the Mittelrhein, Vienna, Napa/NorCal, Italy).

Who would I like to meet? A woman with a creative streak and the sense of self to make space for it. Athletic, but not necessarily a fitness nazi. A non-smoker who isn't afraid of having a drink. Someone who's well-read and worldly at the same time, with an active wit, and who isn't afraid of his or her inner geek. Someone with other appetites as well, but some things are better left unsaid.

As for my background, I went to the University of Chicago as an undergraduate, Loyola University for grad school, and I'm always pondering going back to get a PhD in history. I'm a published author with a good run of success (print journalism, magazines, books, online), but always pondering changing gears and tinkering in different subjects and fields, to push myself and learn, to strain to fill my head and life even as I realize that it will never fill, and relish the challenge nonetheless.

I'm happy and successful in my career as an editor and writer, happier still to have moved back to Chicago and settled down in my new home in Rogers Park, and delighted to have been introduced to my dog, Argentina, a Malinois. I'm giving a lot of thought of returning to grad school to get the PhD; it still feels like a thing left undone, and growing up to be a history professor was probably my most deeply-held ambition from the age of 10 or so.

In terms of politics, I have friends on both sides of the fence, but I'm unapologetically liberal. I used to do some volunteer work for Equality Virginia, speaking to League of Women Voters chapters about same-sex marriage initiatives; I also went to the Hill to speak against the Real ID and ENDA bills. I've recently gotten active with the Center on Halsted as a volunteer, helping organize elements of their programming aimed at LGBT audiences and providing support to other members of the transgendered community.

The one thing I'd like to add to the mix is someone who's into used bookstores, new restaurants, and hangouts of every flavor, posh to punk and all points in between. Although I used to hit the club scene, these days I'm a bit more given to time with friends, the dog, cooking, writing, or taking in a ballgame.

Living, which sounds like a pat answer, but I give it some thought. It's best to do what you do as best you can, and pouring yourself into those things can make them that much more rewarding, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

OK, setting aside the high-theory Deepak Chopra answer, on a more basic level my skills range from pointless to pointed. My writing has its moments, either humorous or snarky, and we are in the Age of Snark, after all. I'm very good in terms of my horsemanship, having grown up on a horse farm, but that doesn't stand me in any stead whatsoever in the Windy City (saddling up the El only puts you in the hoosegow). I love to cook, and in a family full of Italians I get a good amount of respect for being a polished pro who learned at Mom's apron strings. Whether we're talking marinara or relationships, I particularly prefer do-it-yourself solutions, building things up from scratch and enjoying a full range of flavors instead of dealing with pre-packaged products.

Either a big smile that's short of Carteresque toothiness or a big pair of bright green eyes; they eventually move on to a certain legginess or an equally certain joie de vivre.

Sticking with favorites and not just everything I enjoy...

Books: Heinrich von Kleist's "Penthesilea," Ursula Le Guin's "Left Hand of Darkness," Karel Capek's "War with the Newts," Frank Herbert's "Dune," Carl Schorske's "Thinking with History," and E.O. Wilson's "Consilience." Just about everything by Dan Simmons and Philip Kerr works for me, and I'm a big Nancy Kress fan to boot.

Movies, I'd put "Bladerunner," "Wings of Desire," "Muriel's Wedding," "Repo Man," "A League of Their Own," and "Secretary" at the top of a pile that otherwise has a lot of Coen Brothers (I'm especially fond of "The Hudsucker Proxy" and "The Man Who Wasn't There") and fantasy or scifi films the next step down.

Television: I'm not a big TV watcher, but reliable faves are/were Battlestar Galactica and Mad Men.

Favorite music: A bit tough, since I'll enjoy anything from classical to heavy metal to electronica to blues; if I had to pick one, it might be Curve, although Brazilian Girls, Bjork, Rammstein, Paris Combo, and anything Annie Lennox are up there. New loves include Lilly Allen, theSTART, and the Flaming Lips.

Favorite artist: Klimt, but the entire Austrian Secession works for me, and I find artists like Rodchenko, Grosz, and Dix very appealing as well. Perhaps predictably, my favorite museum in the country is the Neue Galerie in NYC, but I'm pretty much a museums junkie, having worked in one (the Oriental Institute down in Hyde Park), and having spent a few years studying museum management.

Food: Pretty much all of the flavors of Mediterranean cuisine, Spanish, Portuguese (some great seafood, including my favorite recipe for braised halibut), Moroccan, Italian (hey, them's my roots), Greek, Lebanese or Turkish, I'm game, either eating out or cooking it myself. Scallops, because a properly-prepared scallop is succulent heaven on a fork. And sushi, because there are some things that I cannot even begin to do myself in the kitchen, and relish all the more because of it.

1. My dog.
2. My sense of humor.
3. Physicality.
4. Those I love.
5. My liver.
6. Scallops. No, horses, wait... books. Hrm, voting a few of these off the island is going to be a bit of a tough task.

Writing, and how to inject a certain blend of humor and substantive observations without toppling too far into one bucket or the other. And a Habsburg restoration, but let's face it, the world could probably do without a new plague of archdukes and waltzes.

Pondering whether I'll check out some odd shop this weekend, cook something radically new and different one of the nights, or whether I want to head to a nightspot of one flavor or another. And when/where I'll make time to get the dog to the beach/park to goof off, because basically that and the cooking is what I usually wind up doing most weekends.

I think I pretty much beat this question to the punch from the get-go, no?

You're a single woman who's secure in your sense of self, and a little bit intrigued or experienced with someone a bit out of the ordinary.