My name is Michael! But I usually go by Mike, though no one ever calls me Mick. I always thought that'd be a cool nick name.

I'm a really blunt opinionated person, who loves open conversation and despite being opinionated, is willing to listen to anyone else's point of view.

I'm an optimist, and brilliantly happy as such. I try to live with the creed in mind that I should try to do, at least once per day, something that scares me.

I despise smoking, and if you are a smoker, chances are I won't give you the time of day. If I do, you better be freaking amazing.

I'm big on manners. I likes me my pleases and thank yous. I don't mind people being off beat, but I get annoyed when being demanded upon. Trust me, things work better with a kind word (and even better with a kind word and a gun). Yes, that was a deliberate misquote.

I started my work on my Master's Degree in Philosophy at SIUC in August, and that will take me only god knows how long. After that, if the world hasn't ended and the hasn't forced me into being a survivor of the apocalypse, I will most likely continue working on my PhD. Eventually, I would like to teach them no good punk college kids. Or use my newfound knowledge of stuff to write books that people think sound smart, but are really just regurgitations of common sense.

very little. Really, honestly. I'm a jack of all trades, though. I worked as a computer tech, bartender, tutor, and camera man for a while. I am a trained pilot, and I like to practice martial arts when I have time (I am ranked in Skinkendo and Aikido). I've recently taken up working out and running, though I can honestly say that I can't bring myself to enjoy them yet, though.
I've also dabbled in carpentry and low-volt electrician work, and I love to get hands on with a building project.

I can tell you one thing I am good at. I'm good at doing the right thing. Now, what the right thing is, is most likely different from what you think the right thing is. I have a very strong personal moral compass, and I follow it very closely. If I think something is wrong, I am going to tell you, and let you know. Generally, this is also consequences-be damned.

My offbeat sense of humor and the odd way I talk, apparently. No shit, I had a co-worker tell me that I talk differently. Not badly, or weird, just different. Apparently it is a lot like how I write (she commented on this after reading something I had wrote).

My sense of humor is real sarcastic, dry, and I generally have no problem making comments that are controversial or provoking. I don't do it for the shock, but I like seeing how people react. It makes for fun conversation afterwards!
I'm also a story teller. I don't often tell jokes, but generally long stories about things that happened to me, or to people I know. That's just my style!

Books! I love reading, but I don't get to do much of casual reading these days.

I don't mind poetry, but I admire people who can write it. My particular favorite is Rabindranath Tagore.
Insofar as authors go, I'll go on my geek kick here and say Robert Jordan, Issac Asimov, Robert Asprin, and Piers Anthony. Some other things I enjoyed reading were Hoshi no Koe, 20th Century Boys, and as much as I hate to admit it, I really enjoyed Cry Out for Love at the Heart of the World.
I've recently started buying some books I mean to collect, and have picked up the Wheel of Time series all in hardcover, as well as the Incarnations of Immortality series (in paperback). As much as it pains me, I also have never read the Foundation series, and I think I'ma stop me by a library and take them out for a read.

Music? I listen to everything. You look through my collection and you will find music in German, English, Chinese, Japanese, and probably some other languages. I love orchestrated music, but my day to day listening tends to be alt-rock or numetal. Really, its what is on the radio, or scrolling through my Pandora. For more specific inquiry, Jimmy Eat World, Audiovent, Breaking Benjamin, Alkaline Trio, SOAD, etc make up the harder side of my spectrum, among others. The lighter side comes in line with Frou Frou, Ute Lempur (my first ever concert!), Dredg, Josh Groben, Journey. There are many others on all sides, but this is just a sampling. I felt it needed alliteration.

And food... oh I love food. I like going out too, I like cooking, and I like trying new things. If I had more time, I would love to cook more. Still on my list of things to do is find a school nearby which offers cooking classes and take them. That would be amazing!

In no real order...

1. My 'puter.
2. Friendship. My friends are some of the most important people in my life.
3. Nature. I love to get out doors and go for walks, surrounded by nature.
4. Good argument. I love to argue playfully, its just in my nature. Witty banter comes in a close second to that!
5. The punctuation of ! Call it a fault, but when I write letters or email, I tend to use a ! to end my sentences. It helps convey my natural energy!
6. Books, in general. My philosophy books, casual reading books, cook books, or drink books. I like learning, and books be pretty good at teachin'.

How I can get by, usually. I always have something that needs to be done, and I'm really freakin' good at procrastinating.
I like to joke that I work better under pressure, but I think I just like living in the rush of it all.
Funny, cuz I like making plans, but there is something so enticing about the whirlwind of unpredictability that comes with putting everything off till the last minute.
That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

Also, how to survive the zombie apocalypse. No joke.

I usually host friends or go out and see others. I'm a social person, and I try to keep my social life moving along. I don't have any particular aims or goals, but I like seeing people change over time.

I often time come off more of an ass than I intend to, or really am. I tend to tell people things as I see it, and sometimes that just doesn't go over really well. I'm honest to a fault.
I don't think its a bad thing, but it often puts me in odd spots. Its not that I lack tact, it is just that I prefer to be honest.

Also, I love trying to sing like Frank Sinatra. I've got no where near the voice, but I love to sing along and try to sound like him

If I seem interesting you. Or, if something here didn't make sense to you. Even better, you should message me if something did make sense to you. We might get along, who knows?