May 2013: For those who have written to me recently, with overtures lovely or friendly, I apologize if I haven't responded timely...I'm going through a really rough patch at the moment, one I hope is clear sooner rather than later, but as with life, one can never tell what's next, right? Either way, my apologies for not replying if I haven't yet, and I will catch up as soon as I'm able, I promise, even if that's several weeks or more... :(

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I am a geologist and a historian, and I just moved from the Greater Chicagoland area to start my PhD program studying Military Geoscience at Indiana University. I am proud to call myself a feminist and also a LGBTQ-Ally. I am sometimes ashamed to live in a country whose ideals were based on freedom, but is often last in the world to stop discriminating against people who are "different" in the eyes of the "mainstream."

My life has taken many twists and turns, and I've been a little bit of everything - hockey player, photographer, musician, journalist, businessman... and somehow I ended up as an "internationally acclaimed" researcher (there's a newspaper in Israel that still calls me "Dr."). I try to take everything I do seriously, and despite echoes of my past trying to steer me astray, I'm getting my life together and making solid forward progress in my quest to become a Professor in the Earth Sciences.

Once I get more fully settled here in Bloomington, I'm going to look to find the best way for me to get back into "hockey shape" again - I've got a bad knee that's kept me from being active for a few years, but this is something I really want to do for myself.

I am a Geologist, a "Gamer" (RPGs and more), and an Overly Punny Geek!

I'm what you could call a "born again" student - I was at college for a few years right out of high school, but I didn't have the maturity to cut it, so I left and went into general office/business for a few years. Now, after giving college another try, I graduated with two bachelor degrees, a master's, and am now starting work on my PhD.

"If it rocks"... er...well, if it *has* rocks, then I'm good :)

In all seriousness, other than geology jokes, I'm a photographer and a drummer - big band, jazz, and rock mainly, but I also have a few ethnic drums (a doumbek, for example) for drum circles and dancers and the like. Once upon a time I played college ice hockey (and am hoping to be playing again within a year or so). I'm a very creative person, and I also tutor friends and other students and student-athletes in a variety of topics.

I also have an odd knack for faking foreign accents...although Scottish is my bane it seems, och.

I am also really good at being captivated by the moon on a regular basis - I could spend an entire night just looking up at it in the sky...

I'm really bad at figuring out how to send an introductory "out of the blue" message here on OKC and am prone to viewing a profile a few times as part of the process of trying to find the right words.

On the more geeky/nerdy side of things, I'm told I am rather good at coming up with creative ideas or out of the box directions for things, particularly when it comes to the one "game" that I keep coming back to every few years - Dungeons and Dragons. Technically, it's Pathfinder - if you know what the distinction is - definitely feel free to contact me (especially if you know what PFS or VL stand for and find that an interesting topic of conversation)!

Probably my sense of humor. In my experience, there is almost no occasion where making somebody smile and laugh is a bad thing, and my goal is to do so every day of my life, regardless of if its while teaching, working, playing, or just hanging out. I enjoy creativity and wit, and trying to "think sideways" is often a fun challenge!

However, most people's first reaction is "wow you're tall" (seeing as even if I don't "need" to, I do often duck coming through doors...just in case),

I absolutely love music, and am rarely ever without something playing whenever possible. I enjoy a wide variety of music - with only a few exceptions, I listen to a little bit of everything, from hard rock to opera to heavy metal to classic rock to motown to soundtracks to jazz. I generally prefer harder stuff most of the time, but I can stray across all genres... My current favorites: Linkin Park, the Black Hawk Down soundtrack, The Red Army Choir, "Avalon" by Sully Erna, the Tron: Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk, some old school ELO, Otherwise, Ashes Remain, Evanescence, Apocalyptica, Disturbed, Sting, Lindsey Stirling, Chicago, and even Deadmau5 sometimes (told you I was all over the place)!

Insofar as books go, a friend got me into the "Discworld" series by Terry Pratchett recently, and I've been tearing through the series for the last few months (when I have time to get a breather from textbooks!) - it's a blend of adventure, fantasy, science, and extremely sharp wit and humor, all things that I've found captivating as I continue to read further. Other authors I enjoy; Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Shakespeare, Eve Forward, Neil Gaiman, J.K. Rowling, Glen Cook, David Eddings, Margaret Weiss, Tracy Hickman, Chris Bunch, Albert Camus, WB Yeats, Issac Asimov, Michael Crichton...not to mention many science and history authors as well. Also some rather "odd" bits - ancient Egyptian poetry, the Tao te Ching, Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Norse mythology, etc. Also I *love* XKCD (and the new "What if?" comic by the same author), Order of the Stick, and a few other webcomics.

I haven't seen *too* many movies lately, but I'm still pretty good at knowing obscure movie quotes, and being able to (sometimes) recite lines from ones I really enjoyed. Some of my favorites: The Hunt for Red October, Lord of the Rings, The Usual Suspects, Serenity, Snatch, Tron, Tron: Legacy, Ronin, Dune, The Replacements, Spy Game, Hero, Star Wars, French Kiss, Harry Potter, The Great Escape, The List of Adrian Messenger (old black and white), Batman Begins, Kingdom of Heaven, Definitely Maybe, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

I like a bit of theatre and opera as well, but the one most worthy of note is that I'm a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil and fully intend on seeing Ka sometime! For shows, I have a wide variety that I like - The Daily Show, Mythbusters, Deadliest Catch, NCIS, Tron: Uprising, The Burn, Castle (when I have time), the old game show "Match Game, and a few others.

I love Japanese and Italian food perhaps the most, but, like my musical tastes, I enjoy a variety of others - I've found things I enjoy in Thai, Mexican, French, German, and even Vietnamese cuisine!

My family, my friends, music, intellectual stimulation, humor, and 45-65 (°F) weather.

Why Hephaestus went after Aphrodite, and not, say, Athena...important to ponder for me, since I'm pretty sure that I'm more "Vulcan" than not (how's that for mixed geek references)?

"42" (Life, the Universe, and Everything)

Wondering if the new Star Wars movies will draw from the Timothy Zahn novels...

Usually relaxing after a long week, or hanging out with a few friends...or playing Pathfinder or Cards Against Humanity.

I'm not into the bar scene, especially not in a college town where loud drunken moronic behavior is the locals' modus operendi, so something low key is ideal, but I'm open to other ideas too.

Beyond my D&D admission above?

My sense of humor can range from fairly subtle, dry, and witty, to outright corny and punny beyond belief! Don't buy it? Go onto youtube and look up "The Quartzite Knight"...

I'm hoping to meet someone who can see and like who I am, as I push myself to try and realize my potential. My pictures almost do me too much justice, so in the interests of honesty, I will admit that I look thinner in them than I actually am. I want to find someone who can be an inspiration to me, who can see where I'm trying to go with my life and help me on that journey as I do the same for her.

I have a very light-hearted but sharp wit, and to me there is no lost opportunity to say something funny to make people smile (or groan at puns!). Someone who can see past the times when I'm too opinionated and who enjoys me simply enjoying her company at times, but not letting me get too "sedimentary" too often!

Also, if you'd maybe be interested in a workout partner you're almost guaranteed to be faster than, or if you enjoy playing Pathfinder, drop me a line!