"My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not
read."
-Abraham Lincoln

UPDATE: I am back in Vermont until I graduate from college in June, then I will be back in Chicago until I figure out what I'm doing for grad school (though I do have a job already for the summer which is a plus).

DATING UPDATE: I have recently decided it would be more accurate for me to say I'm "Straight" on this site since there isn't really a way to specify what my preference is. I like men but unfortunately I don't think that extends enough for me to say I'm interested in a romantic relationship with men. I'd say I'm able to have romantic feelings for them but I am almost Asexual when it comes to physical feelings. So, I am happy to meet guys as friends. But I'm pretty much now femmesexual-straight doesn't quite describe me right.

LOCATION NOTE: I live in Chicago but I go to college in Vermont. This is my final year at college.

I guess I should start by saying that I identify somewhere between bisexual/pansexual and possibly demi-sexual since I don't usually develop sexual feelings until I've really gotten to know someone. I consider myself to be self identified male/gender queer. Feel free to ask what that means to me. I am NOT interested in polyamory, sorry (you can ask me why, but you might be bored by the story). I am not opposed to it, I just don't think it works for me personally.

I'm pretty much the usual nerdy/artsy type. I love reading, books, hanging out in bookstores and making/looking at art. I'm pretty traditional about it. I draw, paint and I do animation the old fashioned way (hand draw and I use a scanner to put it onto my computer to edit).

I like going to anime conventions and I am eager to someday
attend a Star Wars convention. I do cosplay at conventions and I'm pretty much okay with most nerdoms (as I like to call them) so if you're a nerd (of any kind), feel free send a message my way. =)

I'd describe myself as a sensitive and multi-layered person who likes to be direct and honest. I like to look at life as a story that is unfolding but that if you work hard at it it'll somehow work itself out. I'm curious and spontaneously random, but loyal and loving to a fault at times.

I am definitely an animal person, I love the outdoors, sports and having meandering adventures exploring new places.

I don't like people who are sexists, anti-semitic, homophobic,
closed minded, racist, or promote hatred in any way. I find people
who base their lives on hatred to be unintelligent and ultimately
not worth talking to because they don't change their minds.

"My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right?"

-Peanuts (Charles Shulz)

I plan to become an animator and open my own animation business eventually. But the roads to that may be long- so I'm planning to find a job in the art world or related to it that I love so I can someday do what I love whenever I want. To me being happy means doing what I love and being with someone I love and being loved.

Find a guy/girl that I will spoil rotten with love, no joke. Seriously, if I had to say there's something I am absolutely sure of, it's that I can love someone 100% for who that person is.

Also, I love doing and saying things spontaneously: like jumping on bubble wrap or bursting into songs about random things.

"Not all who wander are lost."
-J.R.R. Tolkien

Drawing and writing. I find that even though I am judgmental of my own work, I admit that it is good enough to call both of those things strengths.

I'm also good at listening to anything and everything people have to say. I don't mind sitting down to comfort a friend, even if it takes hours. I am always there for my friends and even if I can't be there in person, I will be there on the phone at least.

Making people laugh. I guess it would depend on your sense of humor (as mine is rather random and sometimes relies on nerdy things) but so far I've made a wide range of people laugh, so that has to count for something.

I'm good at being nerdy. I may not be a gamer (though I do play video and computer games sometimes) but I am a huge Star Wars nerd. I've won a Star Wars trivia challenge in high school and I'm always up for battling it out with facts about the classic and extended universe. I'm always interested in hearing about new anime, manga, sci-fi and/or fantasy related things, especially if I've never heard about them before in my life. I constantly reference animated films, anime, manga and wear nerdy t-shirts on a regular basis.

Being me. No, seriously, I absolutely can't stand it when people try to be someone other than who they are. I am good at staying true to who I am as a person and not letting others influence my personality to be something I'm not. In other words, I'm stubborn when I need to be. =)

That I'm short. I joke about it constantly so it's no big deal. But I don't really like it when people say "Wow, you're short!" like I wouldn't have noticed it by now.

The next things are probably that I'm energetic or really quiet and shy. It depends. If I don't know someone that well it can take me some time to warm around to having an open conversation. But I love meeting people so don't let that scare you away.

I guess some of the other things people usually say about me is that I sometimes act older than I am or my views on life are pretty mature. I sort of had a rough time in the past with social situations so I can be a bit of a cynic at times (or so I've been told). I'm mostly upbeat and positive but I'm mostly realistic. I don't like to sugarcoat things and I do my best to be upfront and honest about what I'm thinking (for better or for worse). Especially when it comes to art, I tend to be critical (but again I balance out my critiques with the positives and the negatives).

I've been told that I am more about personality than anything else. Others have told me I'm a great person to go to for advice or to just listen to whatever you feel like talking about. But everyone sees things differently. You decide.

I'm a little odd, so expect the unexpected.

I have way too many favorite books and movies. But I do love Japanese food, chocolate, Greek food, and anything that isn't spicy (though I do enjoy a kick of flavor in a dish). I really love noodle dishes. Udon, ramen, soba, all those are great. I don't like the packaged stuff though, just the homemade kind.

I love meat. Just putting it out there. I find it hard to pass up.

I like any films by Mel Brooks and I like most animated films.

Here are some of my favorite movies to start (but I honestly can't decide on a small amount): Tekkon Kinkreet, A League of Their Own, Wall-E, The Lion King, The Sound of Music, Little Nemo, How to Train Your Dragon, Beauty and the Beast, The Fox and the Hound, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Porco Rosso, Spirited Away, You've Got Mail, Ikiru, Ran (by Akira Kurosawa), Whisper of the Heart, Star Wars, Ferris Buehler's Day Off, Shakespeare in Love, Omoide Poro Poro, (Only Yesterday), Millennium Actress, Back to the Future, Forest Gump, Dragon Heart, Princess Bride, Grave of the Fireflies, Life is Beautiful, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Young Victoria, Chariots of Fire, The Dark Crystal, Oliver and Company, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, The 400 Blows, A Bug's Life, and Castle in the Sky.

For the record: Joss Whedon is my hero.

I like any films with Tom Hanks as an actor and if you want to know more about my film choices, feel free to message me.

Books (To name some of my favorites, I have way more): Redwall Series (the original series up to a certain point), The Sight, Firebringer, The Dune Chronicles, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Martian Chronicles, Eragon, The Eldest, Brinsingr, Young Wizards Series, Young Jedi Knights, Junior Jedi Knights, The Thrawn Trilogy, The Jedi Academy Trilogy, The Alchemist, 1984, Animal Farm, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit (I haven't read it in a really long time though, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Elsewhere, Chasing Vermeer, Densha Otoko, Huck Finn, The Outsiders, Demian, The Razor's Edge, To the Last Man, Guess How Much I Love You?, To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Difficult Loves, and If On a Winter's Night a Traveler.

Favorite Writers: Mark Twain, Li Young Lee, George Orwell, Italo Calvino and Charles M. Shulz .

Comics: Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, Zits, The Sand Chronicles, Fullmetal Alchemist, Kekkaishi, Monkey High, W Juliet, Chrono Crusade, Death Note, Apollo's Song, Love*Com, Densha Otoko, Deadman Wonderland, Elemental Gelade, Full Moon O' Sagashite, Bokura Ga Ita (We Were There), Cardcaptor Sakura, Saikano, Watashi-tachi no Tamura-kun, Naoki Urasawa's "Monster," Maus, Chobits, 20th Century Boys, and Gundam Wing:Episode Zero. I have more but that's just to get started.

I'm a foodie, so anything that tastes good is fine by me.

Favorite drinks: Tea, Reed's Ginger Beer (I started drinking this at college, it's so good!), Soy Milk, Hot Chocolate, Hot Apple Cider, Grape juice, and Ramune (Japanese pop top drinks).

I'll list a few of my favorite artists (but my biggest favorite is anything in the rock music genre): Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkle, Elton John, Billy Joel, Queen, David Bowie, Tom Petty, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Coldplay, Joe Hisaishi, The Beatles, Green Day, The Killers, The Kooks, Savage Garden, James Taylor, Doobie Brothers, Pink Floyd, Symphony X, Weezer, Night Wish, Matt Ryd, Gackt, Journey, R.E.M., Dragon Force, Yiruma, Belle and Sebastian, Sufjan Stevens, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Chicago, The Arcade Fire,Elliot Smith, Ellie Goulding, L'arc en Ciel, Neil Young, Phil Collins, Muse, Flogging Molly, John Powell, Old School Freight Train, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Cat Stevens, They Might Be Giants, The National, Minus the Bear, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Asian Kung Fu Generation.

The list goes on.

Favorite Soundtracks:

Tekkon Kinkreet
Any soundtrack from a Miyazaki film
Kikujiro
Star Wars
How to Train Your Dragon
Across the Universe
Avenue Q
Wall-E
Oliver and Company
Toy Story 1-3
The Lion King (from both the musical and the original film)
Finding Nemo
Most Pixar film soundtracks are amazing.
A Very Potter Musical

There are more but those are the ones I can come up with off the top of my head.

Favorite TV Shows: NCIS, Boston Legal, Robot Chicken, Kino's Journey, Bones, Monster, Cardcaptor Sakura, Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Lovely Complex (or Love*Com), Fullmetal Alchemist, Danny Phantom, Teen Titans, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Static Shock, Rugrats, Law and Order, Rocket Power, Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, Rocko's Modern Life, The Angry Beavers, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Code Lyoko, Futurama, Invader Zim, Fairly OddParents, Doug, Hey Arnold, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (though I haven't watched that one in forever), The Tenth Kingdom, Rupert, Batman the Animated Series, Ahhhh, Real Monsters, Wild Thornberries, Firefly, Adventure Time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and a bunch of other anime shows that will take too long to list.

Favorite Video Games: Star Craft, Star Fox (N-64), Mario Kart, Star Wars Battlefront 2, Mario 64, Super Smash Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Super Smash Bros Melee, DDR (even though I suck at it), and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.

Favorite Board Games: Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Checkers, Chinese Checkers, Monopoly, Lord of the Rings Risk, and Cranium.

So it goes without saying that I like Japanese music and music from around the world. I'm no expert on music, but I do enjoy variation.

My friends, love, support, my family, trust/honesty, and a good sense of humor.

Other things I could never live without:

My writing or creativity.
An open mind.
My determination.
My dreams and goals.
My imagination.
My nerdiness.
Books.
Animation/comics.
Good food.
The smiles of all the people I love.

As the Beatles said "All you need is love," and we all know it's true. ;)

I spend too much time just thinking.

But I think a lot about how I can better myself as a person. Or how I can be active in changing how the world treats some of its members. I think about how much hatred there is still in the world and I often wonder why people hate. So far I don't understand it.

I also think about my artwork a lot. I take my work seriously and I love to come up with new ideas for stories, poems, and drawings. Brainstorming is something I do quite a bit. I always carry around a notebook for that reason.

Lastly I think about love in general because it's been a huge part of my life. I love my family, my friends, and the person that I will eventually meet and be in love with. I wonder what he's/she's like and when I'll meet him/her. Call me a crazy romantic, but that's something that's constantly on my mind.

I had a thought and I've decided to add to my profile what is my definition/what I think love is:

Love is first and foremost to me, something you show the extent of through your actions. I'm not talking about buying expensive things or saying cheesy things. I mean it in the "actions speak louder than words" sense. That can mean, without ever having to be prompted, you show up and back the other person. That in a sense you consistently treasure and keep safe the other person's feelings, trust and respect them in every way possible. That the other person compromises, you do too. That you honor your word because you know that breaking it breaks trust.

Secondly, no matter what happens, you'll put the other person's feelings first and do everything to protect them and their feelings.

Lastly when you say the words "I love you" it means something more than words can express because you truly feel that it is something that cannot be replicated in anyone else. And every day you want that person to feel that way.

That, to me, is the simplest meaning of love that transcends the surface or superficial things we look at when trying to find someone to love. And it is that meaning that matters most to me.

"Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thought that is forever flowing through one's head."
-Mark Twain

On my computer or hanging out with friends. Most of the time I relax to some music and write (whatever I feel like writing about). Or I read. It depends on what I feel like doing.

Since coming to college I usually like to sit down and watch a movie, talk with friends or do both at the same time (to be honest, if it's a movie I really like I won't want to talk much during the movie).

I also love reading and of course making art.

I just like to find something fun to do. If it's with people I like then I'm game for pretty much anything.

I'm still somewhat afraid of the dark and I'm scared silly of ghost stories. I went on the ghost walk at my college and I wouldn't walk back to my dorm alone. Ha, ha. So yeah, I'm a big chicken.

I always cry at the beginning of Land Before Time (when Little Foot's mom dies), at the beginning of Finding Nemo and in Bambi.

Oh, and I can't do cartwheels. I've tried and I have yet to succeed. Ha, ha.

I have a pet dragon. There you go. That's pretty private. Just don't tell the military about it. =) Just kidding. I wish I did, but I can only hope and wish that I'll find dragons one day.

If you want to know more things about me you should talk to me.

"I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of mankind! The answer is twelve? I think I'm in the wrong building."
-Peanuts (Charles Shulz)

You like the following:

Fantasy.
Sci-Fi.
Anime.
Anything Japanese.
Food and cooking.
Comedy and laughing.
Being happy.
Love life as a whole.
Chocolate.
Being sarcastic.
Having fun at the expense of yourself (hey, if you can't laugh at yourself sometimes, what's the point?).
Reading/writing (I should put this at the top since it's something I do quite a bit of).
If you're an artist of any kind.
You are a nerd.
If you are between the ages of 19-26.
You like Van Gogh. ;)
You like talking about art in general.
You like dragons.
You cried at the beginning of Finding Nemo or/and Land Before Time when the mothers died.
You agree with this statement: Han shot first.
You're interested in a serious relationship and not a fling.
You're able to appreciate the simple things in life.
You're a switch (or "balanced" as some OKC questions put it).
You consider your potential partner someone who is your best friend first and someone you wouldn't give up for any reason.

You want to talk?

Or if you just want to message me because that's what you want to do, that's great too. =)

IN TERMS OF DATING PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

DEALBREAKERS:

-I will not meet anyone who smokes or does drugs.
-I will not meet anyone who is narrow minded or sexist, anti-semitic, arrogant (confidence is fine), or hateful in any way shape or form. I said this above, but it's a deal-breaker for me.
-I plan to travel a lot in the future (in order to do my writing research, I want to visit the places I write about)-this may involve moving to certain places for months, weeks or a year.
-I do not plan to change my name or convert to any religion.
-I do believe in complete equality under all circumstances (gender or otherwise) and I believe that the constitution IS the Law of the Land not something else. The law is the law.
-I do not appreciate anyone who tries to convert me to a religion. Believe me, I'm not "misguided."
-I will not meet anyone who is has bullied anyone in the past or plans to in the future. Sorry, but I don't think such actions are acceptable.
-Someone who thinks with his/her heart rather than his/her eyes is the best kind of person. You'll know if you are if you decide to read this and think about it, rather than just message me after looking at my pictures.
-I will not meet anyone interested in flings. I take friendships and dating seriously.

I don't mean for this to be taken the wrong way but because of my allergies/ lifestyle, I will not date anyone who smokes. I'm sorry if this offends anyone but I have so many problems with smoking that I just don't think it'd work out. Drugs are also something I have moral standards against as well as a problem with because they are harmful (I don't think I can date someone who would want to hurt themselves in any way).

The next and also extremely important thing I would like to note is this: I am not interested in a relationship that is purely sex related. Period. I don't know why this is so hard for guys to understand but this is my stance and it's NOT debatable. In fact, if your sole reason for contacting me is sex or anything related, you can go elsewhere because that is NOT why I'm here.

Also, if you're a closed minded person and hateful in any way, I will not respond to your messages- hatred is one of the things that I am not willing to tolerate. I don't care what your reasons are.

I am also not interested in a fling. Define that as you will, but I define it as: a relationship where you are only interested in me for a short amount of time until someone else comes along and/or you simply lose interest.

I am happy to chat with anyone but in terms of dating those are things I won't be able to accept in a partner. No ifs, ands, or buts.

DO NOT MESSAGE ME IF YOU ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN SEX- OTHERWISE I WILL BE FORCED TO BLOCK YOU. END OF STORY.

Thank you for your understanding. =)