Answering multiple choice is so much easier than the essay portion.
I'm a reader, a gardener, a radio listener, a motorcyclist, a father, an architect, a carpenter, and a bon-vivant.
I'm from the east coast, lived in the bay area, and really love Seattle where I've been for the last 5 years. What I love is the natural beauty that surrounds us, the forests the lakes and the mountains, some times my breath is still taken away by the sight of Rainier or the Olympics on a clear sunny day from down town Seattle.

I'm trained and licensed as an architect but I've been working as a carpenter for the last two years, I find actually building things to be deeply satisfying and I really enjoy looking at what I've done in a day and seeing a concrete, yes sometimes literally, result.
My other job is raising my two kids, making sure that they feel safe, and loved, and have as much fun as possible.

Building things, fixing things, solving problems.
Mixing martinis, making coffee, breakfast tacos.
Keeping calm.
Building fires.
Growing vegetables.

I don't know if it's the first thing, but I'd say that my even temper is a defining characteristic.

This used to read 'this winter's beard,' but it's spring now and so people who've seen me before are noticing that I don't have a beard.

Books; One of my favorite authors is Johnathan Leatham. I read 'The Kraken' by China Mieville and I'm looking forward to more of his work but haven't laid my hands on it yet. I read a bit of pulp mixed in with heavier, more classic books. I'm taking a break between the 4th and 5th books of the Game of Thrones series to read Don Quixote, and may be Kavalier and Clay, and/or Perdido Street Station. At some point I thought I would name my son Ender.

Movies; I don't know that I've been blown away by any movies recently, I've watched most of the latest kids movies and the crop of comic book films in recent years but I'd love to see something good and new.

Shows; I don't watch much TV any more but tend to watch whole series when they become available online. I loved Firefly, and Battle Star and most of what J.J. Abrams has been up to. Dr. Who, Top Gear, and Dexter. I like This Old House, Nova, and Nature on PBS.

Music; The Sleigh Bells and My Goodness are two of my newer favorites. I've been digging into the Mountain Goats and the Flaming Lips back catalogs. Old favorites include Morphine, Radiohead, Soul Coughing, Muddy Waters, The Clash. Music is best loud an if possible live, preferably in a venue no larger than The Showbox, ideally the size of the Tractor. The Bottom of the Hill in SF is still one of my favorite rooms.

Food; Yes, please. I think Vietnamese is my favorite cuisine but Mexican is my go-to food, then again I would live off of sushi were that economically viable, and you know, the mercury thing, and the over fishing thing. In the kitchen I love the slow cooker and broiling, googling a list of ingredients and improvising from there. I recently made a Lamb, apricot, and green olive 'tagine' in the slow cooker for game night potluck, it was really good.

1. Something to read (books, magazines, newspapers, manuals, packaging, bumper stickers, I sometimes can't stop).
2. Corn tortillas.
3. Public radio, NPR and KEXP. I could listen from Morning Edition through to the Dianne Rheem show but need music too.
4. My dog, Kozmo a Belgian Shepherd.
5. Coffee, black no sugar.
6. A good gin martini, anything else is not a martini.

I didn't list my kids here, I think it goes without saying, like air water, shelter, etc.

The news, I soak it up and digest it for a while.
How to get from here to there.
Which plants I should have already planted by now.
How to accomplish, single-handedly what should require two or more trained professionals.

Making and sharing fantastic food and playing board or card games with my friends, or popping corn on the stove top for movie night with the kids.

Despite renewing it 6 times from the library, I never made it through Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day.

I did finish all of the Twilight books.

I don't even like the trailers for horror movies.

None of these are particularly private, just embarrassing, I'll see what else I can come up with.

You think you might want to get to know me, grab a drink or see a show.