The film Amelie showed me the most concise way to describe a person:

I like; Traveling to a new place, noticing that I'm less than halfway done with a fantastic book, making the first set of trails down a ski slope, the second sip of a new beer, a mutually awkward moment, cresting a hill on my road bike, emphatic embraces, unintentionally catching air on my mountain bike, people who properly drive in the right lane, RTS games, followed by the occasional FPS, exploring the internet, shifting into third gear, long stirring conversations, and making the perfect campfire.

I dislike cellophane, arrogance, careless drivers, and noisy eating. It's something of a bizarre compulsion of mine.

This summer (2012) has been a summer of new hobbies for me. I've taken up go-kart racing, mountaineering (summited Mt. Shuksan, even if it killed my knees), watching velodrome races (and the olympic mountain bike finals, even if they weren't televised in the US), dry-suit scuba diving, and tomato fights! Sadly I haven't had time for more kite surfing, or any of the many other things I still want to make into hobbies, such as yoga, sailing, and rock climbing.

Loving every minute of it. Recently my entire outlook on the world changed. I became one of those weird creatures I previously couldn't stand: An Optimist. Worse still, a happy one. Currently I'm exploring this newfound optimism, and trying to find someone to share it with.

But in general I'm just trying to make some friends who aren't 3,000 miles away, as I'm still pretty new to the area. The rest of my life is still pretty open ended, but I hope to at some point visit every continent on the earth (3 down so far), and at least briefly live on a sailboat and live in a foreign country.

Following tangents, Taking things apart and putting them halfway back together again, Starting projects, Straddling the line between awake and asleep, Listening, Driving, Drawing, Making breakfast, Giving back rubs, Receiving back rubs, relishing in awkward situations.

I'm also really good at getting lost. It happens a lot, and I usually end up somewhere better than I intended. I enjoy driving more than most destinations, so I rarely mind being lost.

At this point it's a toss up between the jetpack and my laser eyes, or maybe it's the non sequitur.

I really love reading on a wide variety of subjects but my favorite authors are John Varley, William Gibson, Max Brooks, and Neal Stephenson which might give away that I have a distinct preference for science fiction.

My favorite movies are Fight Club (Chuck agrees with me that it was better than the book) Boondock Saints, The Bourne Identity (the rest were so-so), Rock n' Rolla, 28 Days Later, Transformers (1987), Stranger than Fiction. I also enjoy the occasional documentary (yes, I'm a geek).

I rarely watch TV anymore, but when I do it's House, It's Always Sunny, Scrubs, Malcom in the Middle, Community, and Archer. Primarily comedies. If I'm going to indulge in mindless entertainment, I better be laughing.

I love music, but I've never found it to be much of a deal maker or breaker for a relationship, so I'll spare you the list of favorite bands. I'm a bit of an audiophile, so I do have a small collection of a few hundred CDs and Records. I'm the kind of guy who hears a new song and immediately starts thinking about which stereo it would sound better on. To give you an idea of how serious I am about high fidelity equipment; the first car I bought and the first speakers I bought were similar in price.

I love trying new foods, with the exception of fried grub when I was in peru. Well, I did love the experience of trying it, but one was enough. Forever. On a more mundane level, I love mexican, atypical pizzas, sushi, indian and thai, though I'm kinda picky about those last two.

Tea, Books, Bicycles, Scotch, Love, Adventure and a Manual Transmission.

Yes, that is seven things. I'm trying to decide which one I can do without, but at this point it seems impossible. As for the order, Tea definitely comes first, but the rest are pretty interchangeable.

Why strangers are so afraid to make eye contact. Just smile, it makes everyone's day that much better.

Riding my motorcycle, I just bought it!

Scratch that, now I'm fixing my motorcycle...

I'm trying to work up the courage to participate in a WNBR nude bike ride. Actually, I really don't keep many secrets. Go ahead, ask.

You enjoy intellectual intercourse and not-so-subtle Alanis Morisette references.