Hi, I'm Jen. I'm twenty-six years old, and I love reading and writing. I'm currently working on my first novel, but I tend to procrastinate when it comes to working on it as much as I should.

I'm pathologically nerdy, and I enjoy reading about Russian history. I'm a bit of a Russophile, and doesn't that word sound slightly sexual? (Nah, it's not. LOL!)

I'm pretty easy to get along with. I'm known as a friendly, goofy person. My friend once told me that I'm an "outgoing introvert," and I think her observation was spot on. I have fun being around other people, but I also need time to myself to indulge my nerdy, introspective side.

I don't want my summary to be astronomically long, so here are a few things I like: hiking, camping, swimming, movies, LOST, forensics, criminology, science, philosophy, religion (especially Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), animals, and good, stimulating conversation. Anyhow, that's just a small sampling of my many, many interests. If you'd like to know more about me, feel free to ask.

To be honest with you, not as much as I'd like to be doing at this point in my life.

I'm not sure how to complete this sentence without tooting my own horn. ;-)

People have told me that I have a nice smile.

Books: Bockanov's The Romanovs: Love, Power and Tragedy, Burroughs' Magical Thinking, Burroughs' Possible Side Effects, Burroughs' Running with Scissors, The Diary of Anne Frank, Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Hesse's Siddhartha, Huxley's Brave New World, Krakauer's Into the Wild, McCourt's Angela's Ashes, Paulsen's Hatchet, Roach's Stiff, Rowling's Harry Potter books, Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day, Sedaris' Naked, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Tolkien's The Hobbit, Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolstoy's War and Peace, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Just a note: my all-time favorite is Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Ridiculously amazing book!

Movies: The Abyss, Almost Famous, American History X, Apollo 13, As Good as It Gets, Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Aviator, Big, The Blair Witch Project, Braveheart, Capote, Citizen Kane, Crash, Dances with Wolves, Dead Man Walking, Donnie Darko, Edward Scissorhands, Elephant, The Exorcist, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Finding Nemo, Forrest Gump, Full Metal Jacket, The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, Goodfellas, Good Will Hunting, The Goonies, Harold and Maude, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I Am Sam, Life is Beautiful, Little Miss Sunshine, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Lucas, Maria Full of Grace, Misery, The Motorcycle Diaries, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Mystic River, Napoleon Dynamite, October Sky, Pan's Labyrinth, The Passion of the Christ, Peter Pan (2003), The Pianist, Rebecca, Remember the Titans, Return to Oz, Rudy, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, The Shawshank Redemption, Shrek, Signs, The Sixth Sense, The Silence of the Lambs, Stand By Me, 28 Days Later, Terms of Endearment, Thirteen, Vera Drake, Vertigo, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Ying xiong, and You've Got Mail.

Music: Johann Sebastian Bach, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Ludwig van Beethoven, Boston, Ray Charles, Chicago, Coldplay, Aaron Copland, Daft Punk, John Denver, Maurice Durufle, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Fleetwood Mac, Interpol, Rick James, Billy Joel, Elton John, Joy Division, Alicia Keys, Madonna, Maroon 5, John Mayer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Musiq, N.E.R.D., The Notorious B.I.G., Sir Charles H.H. Parry, Phish, Sergei Prokofiev, Queen, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Radiohead, Erik Satie, Angie Stone, James Taylor, Tears for Fears, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Stevie Wonder, and John Williams.

Food: sushi (especially salmon, tuna, and unagi), lobster, shrimp, fish, pasta, French onion soup, chowder, etc.

Another note: seriously, my food list could go on forever; I like most food.

Love, solitude, good literature, nature, the Internet, and religious/spiritual faith.

I tend to think about religion and philosophy, my future, and Russia.

It depends.

I'm a worrier, and I lack confidence in myself. Oh, and I like most horror movies, even the crappy, poorly made ones.

Here's the deal:

I'm willing to befriend just about anybody, though you should know that I'm not into casual dating/casual sex. And no, you won't be able to convince me otherwise. No, really.

Don't take it personally if I don't get back to you right away (or at all, for that matter). I tend to forget.

I don't talk on the phone with and/or meet with people I've just "met" online. I'd have to get to know you first before I'd even begin to consider either.