YOU MAY ALREADY BE A WINNER!...

Just kidding. No one doubts that you're a winner already. Writing something about how introductions are difficult is fast becoming the new way of dealing with initial greetings, so I thought I'd say something different.

And on that note, hello!

I'm a 25-year-old full-time student and worker that indulges in nerdy pastimes and events. I'm here because I'm looking to find someone that I can really connect with. I have little interest for short-term dating; having something to do on a random evening is nice, but I'd rather look into the future where relationships are concerned. I'm a down-to-earth guy with his head usually up in the clouds, so I guess I...have a long neck? Maybe I should just write more in these other boxes below...

I currently spend most of my days and nights juggling work, school, homework and the latest feeble attempt at being social. By day, I'm a full-time student at Cal State Fullerton, working on my Bachelor's in English. By night, I'm a "module processor" at a bank. Basically, I input checks into a computer system all night long. In my brief moments of free time, I make an effort to participate in Sigma Tau Delta, an English honorary society at CSUF, and to hang out with friends.

--Listening to others. I can sympathize/empathize with both sides of an issue fairly well. I'd probably be a decent adjudicator (people take advantage of this during games of Apples to Apples).
--Spelling/Grammar/English-based activities. I write very well (mostly prose and poetry), and I've definitely earned my Grammar Nazi card. My family usually has customary games of Fast Scrabble whenever we get together on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Oh, and I'm your man for Cranium (Word Worm for the win!)
--Chess. I only put this here because I'm an avid fan of the sport, and my friends seem to think I'm amazing at it. Compared to club-level players, I'm fairly terrible (doesn't stop me from learning about it though!).
--Running with a joke. Humor is a diverse, intricate subject that can unite or divide people; I try to keep the perspective that nearly anything can be funny, depending on the need or lack of context. I try to figure out what others find funny and run with it. I'm occasionally successful. :-)
--Reading aloud. Or so I've been told.
--Working in parenthetical comments. (Could you tell?)

Around people that don't know me very well, I seem very quiet. I'm normally a bit shy, and I've been trying to overcome that. I've had comments about my eyes (blue) and my hair (long and blond, usually in a ponytail).

These are in no particular order, and mostly just from checking my shelves.

Books: (Steinbeck) The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice & Men, (Austen) Pride & Prejudice, (Huxley) Brave New World, (Atwood) Oryx & Crake, (Rushdie) Midnight's Children, (Card) Ender's Game, (Gaiman) Stardust, Good Omens, (Salvatore) The Cleric Quintet, The Dark Elf Trilogy, (Watterson) The Complete Calvin & Hobbes.

Stories: (Poe) The Cask of Amontillado, (Hawthorne) The Minister's Black Veil.

Plays: (Shakespeare) Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, (Rostand) Cyrano de Bergerac.

Poets: Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and (most of all) e.e. cummings.

Movies: The Usual Suspects, The Life of David Gale, American Beauty (I'm a bit of a Kevin Spacey fan), Night of the Living Dead, Rollerball, The Princess Bride, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Army of Darkness, Dogma, Mallrats, Downfall, The Star Wars Trilogy.

Music: Audioslave, Disturbed, Freezepop, Godsmack, James Brown, Korn, Lacuna Coil, Mudvayne, Nightwish, A Perfect Circle, Poets of the Fall, Rage Against the Machine, Rammstein, Seether, Tool, VNV Nation, Spineshank, Oojami, Portishead, Metallica, Michael Jackson, etc. Truth be told, the only genres of music I don't particularly enjoy are mindless hip-hop and rap (the repetitive, arrogant ones that are devoid of meaning) and country (I think it's the constant drawling).

Food*: I'll try mostly anything at least once. I'm a fan of most Italian & Mexican dishes, and I love sushi. I might be a little attached to the simplicity of peanut butter; still tastes just as delicious as it did in childhood.

*I do not keep my food on my bookshelves. This is tacky and a little strange.

1. Love (That's really all you need, right?...If not, I'll have a bone to pick with the remaining Beatles.)
2. The complete works of e.e. cummings (I get goosebumps whenever I read from it.)
3. A chess set (Preferably my first wooden one. I hope to pass it on one day.)
4. Family (Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today.)
5. Friends (Words could not do justice to how awesome they are.)
6. My computer (It'd be hard to reach this site without it.)

And for the curious, the six things in a RELATIONSHIP I could never do without would be: Love, Trust, Commitment, Honor, Humor, and Affection.

--Language in general. How did the word "like" infect the English language to the point where it's used over 20 times in a period of ninety seconds without realizing it? What words are being used to persuade me into buying something I don't need in a 15-second commercial? Why do I feel the elation that I do when reading Poe, Cummings or Browning? (Sometimes I wonder whether I should have majored in Linguistics...)
--What I'm going to do after college. The classic example of being on a path, yet not knowing where you'll end up. Will I write for a living? Edit? Go into teaching?
--When I'm going to start feeling like a real adult. Secretly, my hope is that I never do. :-)
--The direction of American society and the influences on it. I may not have the answers, but it's somewhat therapeutic to talk about it.
--What I'd do with eleventy billion dollars. Like you haven't thought about it.

Hanging out with friends, probably playing Dungeons & Dragons, as Friday is the weekly game night. If not, I'll be at home doing homework or trying to figure out something to do.

I have an extremely difficult time saying no (or in the case of my shyness, anything) to a women who is wearing glasses*. Can't explain it, but it's completely true. Also equally true is how ridiculous people look with their oversized sunglasses.

*Women who do not regularly wear glasses usually possess other amiable qualities, and should not despair. Beauty comes in many forms, all of them influential in some way. :-)

...you want to message me. Follow through with your desires and all that. Take charge! :-) Seriously, if you'd like to chat about anything in particular and/or if you feel like we might click, just say hi.

What do you have to lose?