Like all right-thinking people, I loathe writing bios. Every time I write one I agonise over it, and I dream of one day coming up with the perfect blurb which I could subsequently use for all purposes -- professional and personal -- whenever I am asked to describe myself.

I have a feeling that this is not it.

However, some things you should probably know about me:

1) I've marked myself as bisexual here, but to be honest I'm primarily queer-identified, mostly interested in women, and the men I get involved with tend to be ones I know already through my social circle.

2) I'm 5'2" and 200lb, or a size 18 US. I'm active, strong, and healthy, work out at the gym, eat properly, and refuse to be shamed. Take it or leave it.

3) I'm non-monogamous by inclination, and not looking to hook up with anyone who expects any kind of exclusive relationship.

Just moved to San Francisco and realising that I've been living my life like a zombie for the past few years. Trying to dezombify, and mostly succeeding, I think. This year's New Year resolution: Never turn down an adventure.

Having ideas. Nerdish trivia. Over-sharing. Herding cats. Most textile arts. Travelling by myself.

Energy. Intensity. Something like that. Usually after they've known me a while they tell me they thought I was scary when they met me. They mostly get over this in the fullness of time.

As of March 2008, I can also add: luridly coloured hair.

Books: "Freedom and Necessity" by Stephen Brust and Emma Bull. "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Connie Willis. George MacDonald Fraser's "Flashman" series. Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. Old etiquette and housekeeping manuals. Current/recent reading: Lois McMaster Bujold, "Shards of Honor"; David Leavitt, "While England Sleeps"; Robert Graves and Alan Hodge, "The Long Weekend: A social history of Britain 1918-1939".

Movies: Stuff with good dialogue (regardless of genre), costume flicks, 80s teen movies, SF movies with amazing visual styling (example: The Fifth Element, Gattaca).

Music: I'm not much of a music-based lifeform, to be honest, but my iTunes seems to be pretty full of stuff in two main categories: punk/new wave/alternative and early/baroque/capital-C-Classical. Plus a lot of random other stuff. I live in fear that I'll have friends round and something really embarrassing, like Rolf Harris covering "I Touch Myself", will come up on the random playlist.

Food: Fresh and ethnic, generally speaking. I hate stodge. I like mediterranean and asian flavours. I'm not vegetarian but I'm veg-compatible; love cooking and eating veg food and more commonly treat meat as a flavouring than as a central part of a meal. Recent cooking: fennel wrapped in prosciutto; moroccan chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives; salad with roasted beets, arugula, and goat cheese; apple molasses cake.

I will presume that "air" and "water" and suchlike are not useful answers.

1. google 2. ibuprofen 3. personal space 4. words 5. independence 6. sleeping in in the mornings

What I should be doing if I could only drag myself away from the bloody computer.

The things I should have said.

The things I shouldn't have said.

It's an evenly matched battle between quiet night at home or going out with friends. Quiet night tends to win if I actually set foot in the house after work; then I will cook some food (it's a constant battle against the CSA vegies!) and curl up on the sofa watching DVDs or torrents. If I can be organised to have everything I need and go out straight from work, then you might find me eating or drinking with friends, or at some kind of organised social event. This Friday I'm going to a playparty; that means I have to pack my clothes/gear and take them to work with me, which means the fashion crisis needs to happen in advance.

I'm scared that if I die, people will come look through my stuff and I'll be posthumously embarrassed by what they find.

You're female, around my age plus or minus a decade or so, smart, educated, and:

1) You think I'm your kind of person and you'd like to hang out, do dorky things, cook food, watch torrents, knit, or explore local restaurants.

2) You're up for some casual, sweaty, kinky, rough-and-tumble fun, possibly at a women's or mixed/queer playparty.