"I had just begun to doubt some of my strongest convictions... But rather than being wrong, I think that I just don't express my rightness correctly." - HST

Also, I had some biometrics taken for a discount on my insurance through work and I am apparently not the 5'8" height I'd been led to believe, but I am, instead, about 5'6.5" ...which came as little surprise, really, after standing next to other 5'8" people and being shorter than them.

So who am I? I geek out on music and sci fi, but while I've gone to countless concerts and music festivals, I've never gone to a Con, read or written fan fiction, or dressed in a Star Trek costume. I like Star Wars, but I don't have a toy collection. I play around on the computer all the time but I don't play video games outside of Mine Sweeper, Tetris, and Angry Birds (and other simple, problem solving games of the sort). I will watch friends play video games, though. I'm fascinated by the quality of the graphics and the scope and scale of the story lines behind some of the more epic games out there.

I think people can have whatever opinions they want...as long as they're based in fact and not on fabrications. I mean, if your opinions are based on fiction, what good are they in the real world? Reality is not simply the mythology you choose to believe. Some might say, "But what about opinions on where to eat dinner? There are no real facts to support those," and to them I say, "That's really more of a preference than an opinion."

I'm logical, but I'm also passionate and I know there's a place for emotion in logic. I love the random and the absurd. If you ask me a question, in my head I will probably first try and work out the absolute worst answer that I could give at that moment before I give a response. When someone says something and I grin inwardly, that's generally what's going on.

I do not taunt Happy Fun Ball, "I was pondering the immortal words of Socrates who said, 'I drank what?'" and all your base are belong to us.

This used to be very detailed, but then it left little to talk about and all of that, so here's more of a high-level overview:

I didn't really take college seriously the first time around and eventually dropped out. I worked while I "took a year off" to figure out what I wanted to do. 13 years later I found the opportunity to go back to school amid an otherwise horrible year all around. In December of 2011 I finished my BS in Accounting and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. Now I've got a great job in uptown Charlotte and I just moved into the Elizabeth area.

I think that's a key thing: Finding the opportunity presented by the problem. If you only focus on the problem itself and how much it sucks, then you're letting the problem win. And, I mean, fuck that. Some people look at everything as if it was a battle between life and death. That's dumb. Death is going to win in the end anyway. It's a battle between you and life and you want to just beat the crap out of life while you can because life will certainly be trying to do the same back to you.

So, there's that for what I'm doing with my life.

I also like reading, cooking, going to concerts, and drinking the fancy beers. And if you can imagine your life being just fine without music, then we won't get along very well.

Cooking, finding new music, being able to explain why a situation sucks and then point out the up side (I call myself a silver-lining cynic), enjoying a quiet moment, laughing, enjoying a loud moment, improvising like a muthabitch, making somewhat obscure references, being sort of a nerd, being open minded about things, over-thinking things, sudoku, etc.

The hideous growth coming out of my back. No, not really. I hide that well. Seriously though, I have no idea. Never asked, never been told.

Music: I could go on and on about my musical tastes, but suffice to say that they're eclectic. I like some bluegrass and a few random classic country songs, but Top 40 Country is just terrible. I like hip-hop, but not generic ring-tone rap or wanna-be gangsta rap. I like The Roots, Blackalicious, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, and guys like Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif, and El-P. I really, really love good funk and soul. James Brown, Parliament Funkadelic, "Superstition" and "I Wish" style Stevie Wonder, The Poets of Rhythm, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (anything on Dap-Tone records, really), Galactic, Orgone, etc. I like a solid rhythm section. I like a song with a groove to it. A "dance party" playlist for me would include songs by artists anywhere from Outkast to Earth, Wind, and Fire to Kaiser Chiefs to The Knife to M.I.A. to Fishbone to Prince to DJ Krush and so on. There are a few bands with whom I will go out and buy the new album without having heard anything on it or about it: R.E.M., Tool, Radiohead, Thievery Corporation, NIN, The Mars Volta, Mike Doughty/Soul Coughing, Beck, The Poets of Rhythm, and Brad/Satchel/Shawn Smith. I also like the glorious, victorious epicness that is Dragonforce. And 80's music, various bands that could be dropped into the genre "indie," and Simon and Garfunkel. Among others. I haven't been able to see much live music since I've been back in school, but I have seen Man Man (with Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers who were also awesome), The Decemberists, Islands, Col. Bruce, Phish, Orgone, Antibalas, and STS9 in the past few years.

To really put it all into perspective: I flew back into Charlotte from a week of work in Phoenix last night (9/28/12). The flight got in at 9:30 pm and I left the airport, went home, dropped off my things, and headed out to meet some friends at the Visulite to see Antibalas throw down some funky afrobeat. Live music is pretty much the only thing that I would do that for of my own accord. On the other hand, if you and I were dating and it was your birthday or something, I would have rushed back out to meet up with you 'cause I'm good like that.

See, I told you I could go on and on about that. Did I actually say "suffice" and "eclectic" up there?

Books: Being in school, most of my reading has been for gaining knowledge, but for entertainment I like to read things by authors like Robert Heinlein, Neal Stephenson, Douglas Adams, Frank Herbert, and Clive Barker. I like humor and certain elements of sci-fi cyber-thriller type books. Speculative fiction, really. Lately, though, I've been reading Karen Armstrong's "A History of God" which is a very interesting tracing of the history of the concept of god, mainly focusing on Islam and Judeo-Christian beliefs. It's not a religious text, really, so much as a history of the evolution of polytheism into monotheism and it points out some very interesting ideas and facts. I'm an atheist, but religious mythology still interests me. I've also read the Harry Potter books, I just finished the Hunger Games books, and I have absolutely no use for Twilight. Vampires burst into flames in sunlight, they don't sparkle. Even mythology isn't just the mythology you choose to believe, people.

TV: When I moved into my current place in August I decided not to get cable. Instead, I've got a good internet connection and a Roku. Pre-Roku favs were The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, Robot Chicken, Bones, House, CSI (just the original, really), How I Met Your Mother, Better Off Ted, Criminal Minds, and Pushing Daisies. Since August 2012, I've watched the past seasons of The League, Portlandia, Breaking Bad, Fringe, and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Right now I'm watching Arrested Development again and I'm planning to start on Lost.

Movies: I tend to like all kinds...from the mindless eye candy summer blockbuster to something deep and meaningful to bizarre flights of fancy to silly comedies. I like seeing movies in the theater, but often just don't. Recent watches have been Dark Knight Rises, God Bless America, Dredd, Iron Sky, The Watch, and John Dies At The End (it hits theaters on 1/25/13, but Amazon has a "watch it before it's in theaters" deal running. I highly recommend it. I like John Cusack movies. I've got friends who've said I remind them of a mix of certain characteristics of Rob Gordon, Lloyd Dobbler, and Martin Blank. I'm hoping that last one is in regards to his overall want to be good and maybe his sense of humor... I think Grosse Pointe Blank was my favorite of those three movies, too. My favorite Christmas movie is a tie between Christmas Vacation and Scrooged. Bill Murray rules. I also like Sci-fi stuff and comedies.

Food: And I love food. I was recently diagnosed as having IBS, though, which has prevented me from eating a lot of things that I really like...red meat, dark meat poultry, dairy, coffee, alcohol, solid chocolate, and the like. I'm getting used to it, though.

- Some way to listen to and/or create music.
- Something interesting to read/study/learn about.
- Some place and way to decompress from time to time.
- A really comfortable bed.
- My morning coffee.
- A nice, long, hot shower.

Everything. There are many times that I really just wish I could shut my brain off for a while. Also: very odd, random things. I like to find interesting misinterpretations of things that have been said. Not that I don't understand people, just that I like playing with the language a bit. I feel like being aware of the ways in which communication can be misunderstood can allow you to be better at avoiding those misunderstandings. Sadly, what really happens is that I get sucked into a train of thought and lose track of a conversation.

Also: Relative normalcy. While most people view "normal" in terms of society at large, I think of things in terms relative to myself. Everyone is 100% normal relative to themselves. I think what people are looking for out of a romantic relationship, apart from that spark or chemistry that's either there or it's not, is a certain level of relative normalcy with the other person. As I said earlier, I like sci-fi, but I've never been to a Con. So someone who, say, regularly and seriously engages in cosplay or who travels hundreds of miles to dress up in a costume and attend Dragon*Con may not be normal relative to me. On the other hand, someone who would travel hundreds of miles to camp out for three days at a music festival would be normal relative to me. Or someone who would drop $100 on high-end craft beers, some to drink, most to age. That would be normal to me. Going to a NASCAR race wouldn't be. Neither would trying to limit the rights and freedoms of other people based upon their race, gender, or sexual orientation. So if you would have or did vote "Yes" on NC Amendment 1, we're not going to be friends.

This is where the religion thing comes in as well. While I think the most basic ideals of most religions (i.e.: those pertaining to the Golden Rule) are good ideals, I recognize that these ideals were actually created by humans, attributed to the gods to lend a certain credence to them, and then bastardized out of all recognition by organized religion. On the one hand, I think everyone should be free to hold whatever religious beliefs they want, on the other hand I see religion as being outdated superstition that humankind should, by this point in our development, have outgrown the need for.

At a concert, hanging out with my friends at a cookout, playing poker, or something of that sort. While I was in school (and now that I'm on the job hunt) I was on a very limited budget so I didn't get to do much of anything that cost money. I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of a more varied and active social life.

Given the choice, I'd really rather just be totally straight-forward, direct, and honest with people. I don't like games, and it seems to me that when you get to the point where you like a person and are trying to decide what the right next move is, you're turning it all into a game. So, it just makes sense to be direct about things.

Also: Everytime I see "clt" as part of a screen name on here, Charlotte is NOT the word I hear in my head. My inner 12 year old giggles a lot...

...you're interested in giving away large sums of money. I mean, seriously: If you're looking for someone to just give a heap of money to, by all means you should message me. That would be sweet!
...you're not emotionally unavailable or bat-shit insane.
...you found my keys.
...you read this thing and think I seem like an interesting fellow.
...you're looking to meet a guy who'll do nice things just because he likes you and isn't afraid to tell you that.
...you love live music.
...I cannot stress that money thing enough. I mean, I'm not materialistic, but I've got student loan debt to pay off.
...you misread that as "massage" and are looking to massage someone.
...you think I'll like you.
...you think you'll like me.