I'm new to Portland and somewhat newly single. I like art, music, books, movies, plays, dogs, gardens, trees, wild and windy shores, unfancy travel, farmers markets, and Scrabble. I like my new yellow bike, although I'm a tiny bit terrified of PDX traffic. I like men who make me laugh (although I do a good deal of that on my own), think about big things, notice the small things, and value kindness.

I was born in the Sacramento Valley, right at the edge up against the foothills of the Sierras. I love the mountains. Used to ride a horse everywhere -- you could pretty much sum up my youth as horseback riding and reading. I went to Ohio for college and wound up staying in Cleveland for the next 30 years. I moved here in Sept. 2012, a year after my marriage ended to live near my daughter and her babies.

The men I'm attracted to combine intellect, humor and tenderness. You have to love the written word -- I'm a writer and make my living at it! I write about science for magazines, trying to make the complicated guts of the world fascinating. I'm working on a book right now about the connection between healthy soil and climate. Just so you know, there are a zillion microbes busily at work making the planet lush under your feet.

Other than smiling a lot, I haven't yet figured out how to give back to this lovely community. I used to teach creative writing to women in prison. Maybe something like that again.

My life is good. I'm healthy, happy, and busy -- but not too busy to spend time getting to know a man who appeals to me. I do like men! I've probably dated more in the last six months than in my whole life. I used to be very shy and just dealt with the confusion by getting married. I have made some poor choices. Now I'm looking for that sweet spot in the Venn diagram where chemistry and compatibility overlap.

What do I want from all this? I would ultimately like a partner again, a sweetheart and lover and boon companion. Someone who enjoys a community of friends and family, who likes putting together great meals and eating/talking/laughing with others. Someone who doesn't need me around all the time to feel alive, but who feels life is richer with my presence. Someone who thinks the world is full of opportunity and grace and rejects fearfulness.

Have you read the writer Anne Lamott's take on internet dating? I certainly don't agree with all of it (you'll have to guess which parts), but it's a great read:
http://www.salon.com/writer/anne_lamott/

Reassembling it. Getting rid of the parts that no longer suit me and trying new things. Making new friends.

Listening. Noticing. Kissing. Writing.

Who knows? I was sitting with a male friend at a bar last year and another guy walked by and said, "You the man! She's gorgeous!" But honestly, I think he was pretty drunk. Or maybe I paid him to say that and then forgot.

I like these authors: Richard Russo, Margaret Drabble, Per Petterson, Ann Patchett, Michael Chabon, Dickens, George Eliot, Jonathan Lethem, Tracy Kidder, Michael Pollan.

These TV shows: Jon Stewart and Colbert, Louis CK, Doc Martin, The Tudors, Downton Abbey, and a string of old shows set in high schools (haven't quite figured this out, except all had great writing): Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Freaks and Geeks, Veronica Mars.

These movies: A Separation. Winter's Bone. Forty Year Old Virgin. Any many more -- I love movies.

These musicians/singers: Nellie McKay, Florence and the Machine, Springsteen, Chronos Quartet, Lyle Lovett.

My two dogs -- they shepherded me (pun intended) through a bleak stretch and I love them. That leaves four more things: my daughter, my friends, my library card, my iphone. Oh, and I love my little house in inner SE.

Portland's homeless population. The homeless in Cleveland were hidden because the city government hounded them out of sight. No congregating, no panhandling. Here, you can't avoid them. I drive past and feel I should do something, but what?

I also probably think a little too much about this profile, but I find it an interesting tool for self definition.

There's nothing typical about them. Huge variation.

I groan inwardly when I hear the word "barista."

You can probably figure that one out.