I am Elan.

def.:
1. A feeling of strong eagerness in favor of a person or cause
2. Distinctive and stylish elegance
3. Enthusiastic and assured vigor and liveliness
4. A typo, a preme, and born in one of the more eventful years of the modern era. A believer of ghosts, but not in spirits. A skeptic, but believer of unlikely possibilities. One who places value on the opinions of others, but defines himself based on personal decisions. A believer in the power of individual strength, but not in the power of religion. One which believes in the good of humanity, but with little faith in it. One who will respect your opinions, even if he respectfully disagrees.

אילן also means tree.

A craziness lay in his eyes. No. Not craziness; a wild exuberance. A wide eyed gaze soaking in every last strand of the world around him. Every last glint of sun against glass, every single ruffle of the leaves in the wind. The pitted floor beneath his feet and the motes of dust as they cast their shadows, eclipsing the light from the windows as they slowly waft in the liquid flow of the air around them.

Not crazy, though perhaps not grounded in the conventional perception of the world around him. Filled with appreciation and excitation for the little things; the natural beauty in his unnatural world of paved thoroughfares and concrete edifices. The pinpricks of green in the gray and glass bringing a grin to his face.

His mind on the edge of sensory overload, both from within and without. Alternating between playful hyperactivity and lethargic, calculating seriousness. Not a split personality, and not without its utility. Everything has its place and time; different tools for different tasks.

Currently I'm working as an apprentice Optometric Technician. You know, messing up patient appointments, misfiling insurance forms, and poking people's eyes out with the tech equipment! I'm also doing a full course load in an opticianry program to become a licensed Optometric Assistant to work along side doctors. Once I have that under my belt, it's back to converting my Associate of Arts in Biology into a Bachelor of Arts and barge my way into a school of Optometry to become an actual Doctor of Optometry!

I'm a great singer, and I've even been compared to a male version of Kate Bush! Though I did clear out the place last time I did karaoke..... *cough*

I dive when I can, including spearfishing, though I only kill what I'd eat. I love to sketch, doodle, paint, scratch build, or otherwise work with my hands to blow off stress.

I'm also really good at hearing battery chargers, mute televisions, and sonic rodent removers from 100 feet away, so if you need a human Spy Bug detector, I'm your man!

They think I'm insane.

Maybe. Those who deal with me enough realize I'm not - I just tend to say and think things a bit unexpected often, which throws them off. Oh no, don't think I'm saying I'm witty. I may not be, and, hell, I kill every joke I try to say or come up with. I get my laughs from accidental humor.

Just like 99% of the rest of you out there, I'm gonna go with "my eyes." Go ahead and look at the pictures to confirm! I'll still be here. Waiting. In the dark. Alone.... :P

My favorite books are science fiction, medical, psychological thrillers or mysteries, and anything Michael Stackpole ever wrote. The same genres goes for movies. I love listening to rock and alternative, and even listen to a bit of classical stuff too. As for food, I really am not picky. If I haven't tried something, I want to.

Just a few things from each category, though;

Music: Bear McCreary, The Fray, A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, Apocalyptica.

Books: Catch-22, Silence of the Lambs, Coma, Where's My Jetpack?, Andromeda Strain, Earth Abides.

Movies: Moon, Everything is Illuminated.

Food: Everything without anchovies or collard greens! However, I especially love- wait, no. If I give all the answers, what will there be to find out?

Music, the all mighty internet, computers, microwaves and other kitchen appliances that don't try to kill me, art, and lazy sleep days.

I put a lot of importance in the ability to self-actualize. Far too many people fail to, or refuse to, ask themselves the hard questions. Core questions. Either that, or refuse to follow them to their conclusions because it's "hard," or "boring," or "gives me a headache." Waaa.

While I appreciate that one can never truly know themselves absolutely and infallibly, to have a really good idea developed after a period of deep questioning and the search for one's own personal truths makes a person a better human being in my eyes. Is that elitist? Perhaps, but I refuse to deal with people who I need to dub down my conversations with. I don't often get philosophical but I do enjoy, and even crave, any conversation that forces me to think deep and discover even more of just what makes me who I am.

.

.

I wonder if I put in enough stuff that can be brought up as a question for conversation starters. I mean, empty hellos and statement attention getters don't really work for me. Do they work for anyone? Why would you try to start a conversation with someone without even thinking to ask a question? I mean, then what are they supposed to do, look at you funny and go "mmmyeaahh...?" I mean, if they have something worth grabbing your attention, you obviously have something worth talking about, right? Or, at least, show some interest in in learning more about, right? I mean, otherwise ... why are you even bothering them?

Unless all you want from them is sex. Then you just keep commenting over and over and over again about their looks. Is that a turn on? Why? Do people like to be looked at like slabs of meat; exhibits at an art gallery? Stupid question: there are models. I feel bad for them. No matter how smart they might be, nobody will ever take them seriously because they rely on their looks to get them through life. And looks fade with time. And once that happens, they'll have nothing. Except stories of great and terrible sex.

Not that there is anything wrong with sex, its both really enjoyable AND a great abdominal workout, but I don't think that should be the basis for any intelligent human being's activities. Then again, it can be argued that human bodies are nothing more than a vessel to transfer our genetic information onto the next generation. I don't want kids. Not yet. Maybe when I'm thirty. Or thirty-five, but not now. Not for a while. And maybe just one kid. You know, studies do show smaller families produce brighter offspring on average.

I wonder how many of my light bulbs are fluorescent....

I'd love to say I'm at the beach, or at a pool hall, or at a bar, or at the movies, or at any number of other entertaining things. But I work on Sundays, Mondays, and Fridays, go to class on every other day but Saturday, and come that day I'm so exhausted I'm lucky to get out of bed. o_0

I love "girly" drinks. Beer tastes like yak piss, and Margaritas, White Russians, and Long Island Iced Teas (blue or otherwise) are just so freakin' good! No, I'm no alcoholic, but when I do drink, its mixed or nothing!

Sometimes I smell colors. Like purple. Some things just smell purple! I'm also a photophobic photophile!

You should know, I have a particular distaste for South Florida; especially Miami. Its artificial people, its horrendous layout, its system of overpriced overglamoured underthinking self service. You should know this, because if you like Miami and like South Florida, then we're gonna have a problem. Not in the sense that we'd argue, but in the sense that you can live your entire life here, but me? I'm getting out of here as soon as possible - with or without you.

The girl for me? She is not one who needs protecting. She is not one to follow me blindly. She is not one that needs or wants to be led, nor needs or wants to lead me. The girl for me is one who stands by my side rather than behind or before me, by her choice, without any pressure or demands. An equal. She needs to tolerate me and my unique personality and dish out her share of her own. No questions asked.

Feel free to message me if you would like to talk, looking to make a new friend, or perhaps something more.