When I was a kid, I wanted to have a dragon more than anything. Now I just want to be a dragon.

Someone asked if that was a furry reference, so I guess I will add that it is not. Sorry.

1. Want to save the world. I'm seeing how well writing works for that. Stay tuned!

2. Sometimes, I also write poetry. It's like a game with the English language. I've had a couple published lately, and occasionally I get to read somewhere.

3. There are about 128120189 things I want to learn. Blues harmonica, Spanish, and yoga headstand are just some examples.

4. One of my longterm goals is to travel more. I spent six months in South Africa recently and it was an amazing experience that completely changed my outlook on life. I am considering various escape schemes for the mid-distance future, including teaching English overseas, and graduate school likewise overseas. I also have smaller plans like visiting my friends who are currently in Korea, and going on one of those heartwarming quirky roadtrips (often the subject of indie movies) with my best friend in which we discover the cause of her father's death and also laugh inappropriately at the Alamo.

Deadpan commentary. Dancing like a total dork. No-handed biking. Running for long distances without stopping (if I give myself a few weeks to get back into it). Reading aloud. Narrowly avoiding cliches in my everyday life. Public nudity.

When Juno was big and I wore more ponytails and flannel, complete strangers would tell me I looked like Ellen Page.

Other comments I hear often:

"Wow, you're really short."
"Hey, a lefty! That means you're creative."

Favorite writers include Michael Ondaatje, Peter S. Beagle, Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Siken (poet), Anne Carson (poet), the short stories of James M. Cain. Stephen King. Paul Auster. I've read one book by Barbara Kingsolver and hope the rest are just as good. This is just off the top of my head - I read a lot, and like a lot of what I read. I've got a long list of other reading ahead of me.

TV: Lost, Arrested Development, 6 Feet Under, 30Rock, The Wire. And, um, Gilmore Girls. Don't ask me to talk about tonight's episode of anything, though, as I don't have any kind of signal for my TV and rely on the internet.

Movies: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, In Bruges, Fight Club, Blade Runner, The Big Sleep, Into the Wild, Inglourious Basterds, Boondock Saints.

Music: I used to work at a radio station and I picked up a lot of random stuff there. Soul Coughing, Mirah, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, White Stripes, Neko Case, The National, various Balkan-influenced groups like Gogol Bordello and Devotchka. I'm still working on knowing the really well-known ones, so I end up having a lot of conversations that end with, "Sorry, I've HEARD of Metallica but I don't know what they sound like." Weird, I know. And after about ten years of playing in orchestras, I'm also really in love with various classical/romantic/etc composers. Beethoven and Shostokovich pretty much break my heart.

Mangoes, metaphors, the written word, my bicycle, sensible shoes, public radio.

Hijinks and mayhem, often in Madison. OR, holed up somewhere writing and reading. It depends on whether I feel like driving, and whether I have to work the next day and can I afford gasoline.

I'm recovering from an awkward youth. Occasional relapses.

Behind this link is one of my favorite poems. I'm not saying it will tell you anything useful about my outlook on life or relationships. But it's pretty damn cool. No, really damn cool.

I don't by default look for serious relationships. Anyone who messages me with, "I've been looking for a nice girl to settle down with," is going to be ignored because, frankly, that's not who I am. Not at this point in my life, anyway.

You have something to say.

Hint: I like book and music suggestions.