OK, I'll admit it, I'm mainly just here for the tests. They're way too entertaining. But I suppose this whole matching algorithm stuff could be pretty cool, so I'm finally getting around to creating a profile with some actual details in it.

Anyways, I'm a mid-twenties-something UW-Madison grad (Political Science + European Studies) sticking around Madison for awhile... actually already longer than I ever expected to be. Alot of my friends have moved off to more exciting distant places (ok, only a few to truly exciting places), so I'm always looking to meet interesting new people.

"Undecided" would best sum up my current status. I'd like to go to grad school sometime in the near future, most likely to study urban planning or a related field... law, particularly international and comparative legal studies intrigues me as well, so maybe law school is an option. Though the prospect of more student loans makes me shudder.

I'd like to at least move someplace interesting for a while, maybe overseas... but first I'd like to have a plan for what to do, before I buy a one-way ticket to somewhere. :-p I'm particularly obsessed with Dutch language and culture (why that is, I'm not quite sure... but it's a cool language) so I'd probably want to end up somewhere in The Netherlands or Belgium. In preparation for the possibility of the latter of those two options, I've also started learning French... though I haven't gotten very far (I can sorta conjugate some verbs!) :-)

Anyways, in the meantime until I figure out what I want to do, I work in the world of software QA (i.e. I break things, and then tell people they should fix it). If you're from Madison, you can probably guess at which company that is. And I'm (semi-involuntarily) a workaholic lately, so if you're looking for someone for someone who you can spend endless free time with, well, regrettably I'm not that someone.

1) Breaking things in a professional capacity (seriously, I've had quite a lot of jobs involving creative forms of destruction... must come from my anarchist tendencies).

2) Being an unwitting trendsetter. I always seem to be a bit ahead of the curve on what's suddenly going to become super hip... but I don't actually try to do that. Like I got thick 60s-ish black plastic frames a few years ago, when that was actually kind of hard to find, and now everyone seems to be wearing them.

3) Retaining huge amounts of mostly useless tidbits of knowledge that eventually unexpectedly come in handy. I absorb facts whether I want to or not... I'm a ringer for trivia competitions (as long as it's not the frivolous topics of celebrity schlock and sports knowledge), with a special penchant for geographical knowledge... Which does predispose me to being an awesome impromptu tour guide just about anywhere.

4) Being a politics geek. But not about American politics, because I can't stand my own country's totally vapid political obsessions. Along with the "retaining huge amounts of mostly useful tidbits of knowledge thing," I can probably give you a reasonably well informed answer to questions about politics in some other country or international relations. I guess it makes sense that I was a Poli Sci major.

Endearingly disheveled hair... I've given up on trying to coax it into a well-tamed style after years of futile attempts. It just does what it wants in sort of a goofy eccentric intellectual sort of discombobulation.

Dark, dry comedy. Apparently I'm good at making depressing realities sound hilarious, even though I'm not trying.

Books... lots of favorites, but a few highlights would include: "Disgrace" by Coetzee; "The Mayor of Castro Street" (bio of Harvey Milk) by Randy Shilts; "1984" and "Homage to Catalonia" by Orwell; "De Aanslag" ("The Assault") by Harry Mulisch; generally a fan of Sartre, Brecht, and Dürrenmatt though I haven't read a whole lot by those playwrights... but enough to know I like them. I also enjoy good books on graphic design, architecture and urban planning.

Movies... Existo (an obscure indie comedy you really need to see), Karakter, Goodbye Lenin!, Mulholland Drive, De Vierde Man, Being John Malkovich, Stranger Than Fiction, Lost in Translation, The Big Lebowski, The Baxter, Ja Zuster Nee Zuster, But I'm A Cheerleader, The Usual Suspects, Broken Flowers, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Dr. Strangelove, The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), Hot Shots (and Part Deux of course), High Fidelity, anything by John Waters, Luc Besson, Pedro Almodovar, Jean-Luc Godard (I'm slowly working through his stuff, but so far I love it), Quentin Tarantino, Charlie Kaufman, Theo van Gogh, David Lynch

Music... wow, too much too list, and this section is already getting way too long. Here's a small sampling: Pinback, Interpol, Wilco, Mew, David Bowie, Joy Divison/New Order, Depeche Mode, Spinvis, The Notwist/Console, Serge Gainsbourg, Wir Sind Helden, Kraftwerk, Hallo Venray, Nada Surf, At The Drive In, The Weakerthans, Propagandhi, Sleater-Kinney, John Vanderslice, Björk, miscellaneous Nederpop and Chanson... oh the list could go on forever; hopefully you at least got some idea of my tastes.

Food... umm, not a huge foodie but a few faves include a good slice of pizza, a perfectly prepared New York Strip (I consider Johnny Delmonico's here in Madison and Truluck's in Dallas to form the gold standard against which I measure all steakhouses), the Rainbow Roll at Muramoto, and the old Dutch/Flemish standard of stamppot in its many variations. I also have get the occasional craving for falafel, specifically from Madison's Mediterranean Cafe. Oh yeah, and I dig moules et frites but served unpretentiously, like at Chez Leon. In fact, set me loose in Brussels and I'd probably never run out of restaurants to love. Ok, I guess I'm more of a food nut than I realized.

1. Beer. I'm kind of nuts about the stuff (and admittedly a bit of a snob about it).

2. A bookstore or newsstand with a decent selection of international periodicals. Seriously, I cannot move to a place that lacks this. The baseline requirement is to carry "Monocle" and only travels upwards from there.

3. Good coffee. Though I should really cut back... not good for the blood pressure.

4. Decent mass transit. (Because I'm not a big fan of the automobile... in fact I don't have one... and haven't driven one more than a few feet in almost a decade.) Though with the right facilities, I could substitute a bike for the bus. Sadly most American cities don't make that totally, or even remotely, feasible.

5. Europe. Focus of most of my cultural and political obsessions.

6. Good friends and a loving family, of course.

1> Escaping the USA.

2> Delusional visions of better mass transit systems, universal health care, and affordable education. (probably explains #1)

3> How would I try to say that in Dutch?
(and more recently, how would I say that in French as well?)

4> Identifying the random music stuck in my head and figuring out how it got there.

5> Playing SimCity... seriously, that game kind of gets stuck in my head. If you see me zone out, my default mode is mentally plotting my next city.

...umm... it depends. If I'm burnt out from a hard week, I just crash at home with a movie, book, or game, if I'm not comatose within a half-hour of getting home... which sadly seems to be the majority of Fridays lately. But when I'm more ambitious, I like to go see movies or plays, or hang out with friends and get a few drinks or a bite to eat, or often I'll just head downtown and chill with some books and magazines at a cafe.

I'm kind of kinky. There I said it. I'll let you inquire about details if required. :-p OK, actually I wouldn't necessarily say "kinky"... maybe "reasonably open minded,"... I'm fascinated by other people's turn-ons.

I also find it hard to admit, but I can be really shy when it comes to dating... and I'm rather oblivious to flirting... so yeah, I guess what I'm saying is, if you're interested in going out with me, just say so. :)

Well, based on my profile: You're a Europe-obsessed politics nerd and unwitting trendsetter who is into indie cinema and and can suggest a good bus route to a decent steakhouse. :-)

Really, I'm looking to meet just about anyone who has some similar interests and tastes as me, whether for friendship and camaraderie or dating and more serious relationships.