So, I live on Kaua‘i and I just have to say that this place is AMAZING. My background is in computers and modern dance (and sometimes, depending on the season ballet) but these days I spend my time slaving away doing video and Mac based things at work and theatre related things in my "free time."

I'm happy to have amazing friends and family and am just looking to add to that circle now that I'm living in a new place. I moved here from Southern California where I attended grad school at the University of California, Irvine but am originally from Houston.

I am compassionate, calm, and crazy

These days, I spend my time appreciating the natural beauty of Kaua‘i, working with community theatre groups, and trying to make self-employment work in a rough economy. Part time job in the tourism industry helps a bit with that.

procrastinating, being open minded, over/under analyzing people, sounding like I know what I'm talking about

And...making really deeeee-licious red velvet cupcakes =D (according to my friend thebestnameever who I don't believe has actually tried any of them... but I do love baking/cooking)

Update... thebestnameever has alerted me that my memory is faulty and that she has had cupcakes that I've made before so, I'd say that makes her edit even more valid :)

That I'm a giant dork? My hot ass? Maybe I should get around to asking somebody.

Drunk introspection makes me think that it's probably the fact that I always appear to know what I'm doing, whether or not that's actually the case. Apparently without meaning to, I give off the vibe of having things under control and also being very calm about it. It reassures some people and pisses others off.

Standard disclaimer: These are just random fragments of what I consider my favorites. I would have a very hard time picking one favorite from each category.

Books/Authors: The Giver, Orson Scott Card, L.E. Modesitt Jr., Diana Jones, Terry Pratchet, Douglas Adams, Philip Pullman, David Eddings, Terry Goodkind, Susan Cooper, Kafka, Hawthorne, Jean Auel, Gary Larson, Scott Adams, Anarchic Dance, Envisioning Dance. I feel like I really should be into Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series but I have to have tried starting it at least 5 times and have yet to make it to chapter 2.

Movies: Anything by Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli (Naussica, Grave of the Fireflies, Spirited Away, etc.), Strictly Ballroom, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Mr. Holland's Opus, Across The Universe, "Our Kids" - home movies my parents made of us 5 kids while growing up, Pete's Dragon, The Incredibles, Matilda (seriously... if you need a good laugh you should watch it; it's ridiculous). NO horror movies... I've never seen one and never want to either. Blood, gore, and gratuitous violence don't really do it for me either.

Music: a million billion/Ryan Smith, Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Leslie and the Ly's, Sara Hickman, The Beatles, Ben Folds (Five), Richard Newton, Arthur Benjamin, Grieg, Joe Hisashi, Kraftwerk, Tracey Chapman, Karl Jenkins (every now and then), Claude Bolling, Weird Al, some Gershwin, a few musicals... I can appreciate a lot of things. Oh, and No Strings Attached may be one of my favorite bands ever. I don't mean the N'sync CD or the Govi CD... I mean the folk band. Who I've met at acoustic music festivals and been in workshops with. Yes, I'm a nerd.

Food: pretty much anything my dad makes (he's Italian) as long as it doesn't have gross stuff that I don't like in it (I'm a picky eater), garlic bread, oyster crackers, ice cream, pizza, green beans, steak, more stuff too... but I am pretty picky. I try to bake bread at least twice a week and also attend bi-monthly bacon parties, which are incredible bacon-themed potluck gatherings. Bacon X will be on 10/10/10.

Choreographers (you know... other people add video games and whatever so I feel entitled to put this section): José Limón, Jiri Kylian, Lauren Thompson, Carla Maxwell, Caryn Heilman, Priscilla Nathan Murphey, Jane Weiner, Liz Aggiss, Lloyd Newson.

Moving to Hawai‘i really forced me to think about the fact that there are many things in life that I enjoy and as much as I considered myself to be a very materialistic person, the things that I couldn't do without really weren't physical.

1. A Purpose: it doesn't have to be grand and impressive, but I need to feel like I know what I'm doing at some level.

2. Distractions: things to enjoy while pursuing my purpose... books, beaches, a job, whatever.

3. Family: close friends also count in that. I consider myself to be a fairly introverted person, but meaningful connections with other people are important.

That's all I have for now for that list, but just to get up to six, I'll add three physical(ish) things that I would have a hard time not having.

4. Kitchen: well stocked and clean. I enjoy making food and consuming food with people from #3.

5. Learning resources: I love reading and being able to hop on the internet and pull up (sometimes horribly inaccurate) information about whatever topic pops into my head. Remember when your English teacher used to suggest that you have a dictionary to look up words that you didn't know while reading? I was the kid who did so without prompting.

6. Nature: I'm not as good at respecting it as other people I know, but I do appreciate it immensely and come on... I live on Kaua‘i now.

The best/simplest way to make my current lifestyle continue to be viable.

How amazing Kaua‘i is.

What I should experiment with next in the kitchen.

What new social groups are available to me.

Hm... I feel like I don't have typical Friday nights anymore, at least not for the past couple of months. It seems like I'm either trying to figure out what cleaning project around the house would make me happiest when done or just relaxing with friends and family. Other locations I might very possibly be are the theatre, preparing for whatever show I'm working on or in bed.

I don't really hide things... I might not offer information to the world, but does everybody really need to know all the intimate details of my life? I think not. However, if you're interested, just ask :)

You realize that nothing I could possibly write on here could really characterize who I am as a person yet something I did write (or one of my super hot pictures) makes you want to know more. Or if you want to teach me to kitesurf. That would be awesome. I was also just given a bunch of 1980s windsurfing gear, so, I need to do that too.