Well, I used to write about music for a living and I left that job to travel the world as a photographer, so I suppose I'm kind of prone to jumping first and analyzing risks later. I just don't want to be lying on my deathbed thinking "What if?" And I've yet to look back on that day in regret, so I guess it was the right call.

I love traveling, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, trying new things and getting the most out of life, every day. I've been to 48 of the United States (and have a motorcycle trip planned where I visit Alaska and N. Dak.), five Canadian provinces, 14 European countries, Mexico and mainland China. And yet, I feel as though I've barely scratched the surface of what's out there... "The more you know, the more you realize how little you know" perhaps?

I enjoy the cultural conveniences of city living, and also appreciate getting out of town every once in a while to go hiking, for a bike ride or to take my motorcycle out for a spin. I guess I'm something of an outdoorsy city boy.

Trying to figure out what we're all doing on this watery rock and how we got here.

... making people laugh; it's simply one of the best feelings in the world. As such, my sense of humor can be self-deprecating.
Also, math and physics; one's easy, the other is interesting. That's definitely the nerd-side coming through.

My extra dry sense of humor.

Also, I point things out (on a menu or monitor, for example) with my middle finger, which drives some of my friends crazy. Not sure where/how this habit originated, but it's the longest finger and therefore the most logical one to use, so I'm going with that.

The literary holy troika consists of Oscar Wilde, Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson. All were master storytellers: Hunter with his escapades to the edge of sanity, Wolfe with impeccable descriptions that could transform the mundane into unrealized treasures, and Wilde for his poignant, often scathing, subtle wit.
Honorable mention goes to "A Confederacy of Dunces" (it's a shame it's the only book Toole wrote) and all of Tom Robbins' wickedly subversive novels.

I used to write about music for a living, so there's really not too much I don't like. From acid house to zydeco, there's a time and a place for everything.

Food? Although I enjoy cooking, anything I don't have to prepare somehow always tastes better!

1. A sense of humor
2. A creative outlet
3. Personal/professional challenges
4. The arts (books, music, etc.)
5. Friends
6. Mind-clearing motorcycle rides on empty, winding roads

"Does this Santa suit make me look fat?"

Also, which culinary creation I should attempt to cook next, and "Will my bonsai survive the winter?" (Related: Why couldn't I be interested in a non-life-threatening hobby like stamp collecting?)

... hanging out with my friends. Either at/before/after a gallery opening or art show, dinner party or just catching up over drinks. Maybe seeing a play or live band... depends on what's happening around town.

Before living in California, I had never eaten an avocado; now I can't get enough of them. Shows you how dangerous a little learning can be...

...if you can appreciate the following quote (which pretty accurately sums up my outlook on life):

"Let us visualize the secure man... [H]e is a man who has pushed ambition and initiative aside and settled down... in a boring, but safe and comfortable rut for the rest of his life. His future is but an extension of his present and he accepts it as such with a complacent shrug of his shoulders. But is he a man? ... How could he be when he has risked nothing and gained nothing? What does he think when he sees his youthful dreams of adventure, accomplishment, travel and romance buried under the cloak of conformity? How does he feel when he realizes that he has barely tasted the meal of life; when he sees the prison he has made for himself in pursuit of the almighty dollar?

"A man is to be pitied who lacked the courage to accept the challenge of freedom and depart from the cushion of security and see life as it is instead of living it second-hand..."

Hunter S. Thompson
c. 1955
from 'The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Country Gentleman'

If you're the type of person who likes being out on the town, but isn't afraid to spend a night inside every now and then. A person who is passionate and serious about life, yet can goof off at the drop of a hat. Someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and can dork off every now and then. Someone who simultaneously appreciates and is appalled by life's little absurdities. Someone whose sense of adventure is matched by her sense of humor. Someone who's not afraid of bucking the status quo and can hold her own...

Someone whose guilty pleasure might be listening to Top 40/Dance music and wouldn't be opposed to going clubbing every now and then.

Damn! Can I get a side of fries with that?