I named my car Columbia because I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up.

That statement should sum me up: I'm a nerd and I love outer space. If you feel you need to know more about me, just ask.

I am working for the government collecting delinquent real estate taxes. At this point, I would expect to hear a scornful "Oh." from you. Which is fine; it is better than the quizzical "Oh?" and long explanation I would have to give when I worked at a produce stand. Of course that was still better than the condescending "Oh..." people would say, followed by my lengthy defense of what I did when I told them I was a peace activist. Suffice to say, my current job requires little explanation; either because people hate taxes and are too polite to mention it or just find them too boring to discuss.

I don't plan to be a career bureaucrat, however, I am looking at going to law or business school. Perhaps both; ideally, I would like to be an attorney who specializes in non-profit law and works with those entities when they need legal counsel.

I can't really pin down what I'm "really good" at; I don't have a specialized trade or anything I can point to as excelling in. I'm more of a jack-of-all-trades kind of person. However, I am very good at retaining trivia. It makes me appear intelligent when I can rattle off information about things people don't care about. Knowing things like who is on the Supreme Court or what the capital of Estonia is seems to make people think I have something to contribute to society.

I love to keep up to date on politics and I try to constantly have a good idea of what is going on in the world. As much as I love politics, I would make a terrible candidate because I'm bad in large crowds and would much rather speak with a handful of people in a sincere, meaningful fashion than shake hands and work a room, as it is.

My size and stature would seem to be the most obvious but I often get complimented on how blue my eyes are.

My favorite book would have to be "The Great Gatsby" but "Brave New World" and "The Catcher In The Rye" come in a close second and third, respectively. It is hard to compare them, however, as they all resonate with completely different aspects of my personality. Growing up, I would read non-fiction books almost exclusively; now I try to rotate genres. I will read a fiction book, then an economics book, then historical fiction, then sci-fi. However, I always read a Vonnegut book over Thanksgiving because I have plenty of free time and I love his writing so much I can't stop until I've finished the whole thing.

I'm hard pressed to find a movie I can't enjoy; even the terrible ones I love to watch with friends and treat it in an MST3K style. That being said, anything in the sci-fi genre, I adore. I'm a sucker for huge space battles and CGI, no matter how terrible the accompanying acting is. Still, if I had to pick a favorite it would be "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" because of the stirring speech given by Jimmy Stewart at the end and the moral of the story that the little guy can triumph if he stands up for what is right.

My music tastes are very erratic; I enjoy at least a little bit of every kind of music but I think the genre of "wuss rock" would be my favorite. Power ballads and arena rock get me singing and shaking my head. I can't hear Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" without at least softly singing "Woah, we're halfway there!"

As for food, I love, love, love Mexican food. Being a gringo, I can't handle it being as hot as some people can handle it but I still like a little kick to the food. I also enjoy Indian and Thai food; curry is excellent and the spices they use in their dishes are sublime. Of course, Chinese take-out is always my Friday night standby.

1. My family & friends
2. Consciousness
3. A sense of purpose
4. A shower in the morning
5. Internet; I have to have some idea of what is going on
6. My XBOX 360

Eating Chinese take-out.