I think thunderstorms are thrilling, and anthills are nothing short of miraculous. (I can't decide whether I'm a poetic scientist or a scientific poet.) Watching a well-played soccer pass exhilarates me, and actually making one myself is even better—to tell the truth, I can run around chasing a soccer ball for hours without even needing to keep score. I've recently started learning to meditate, and I like the idea that the practice of mindfulness will help me perceive the world more clearly.

I'm a genuine and open person who builds close connections over time. I'm not judgmental, I seek consensus, and I don't have a problem admitting when I'm wrong. I will hold my ground on my convictions, though, and I love having to defend my beliefs in an argument. I think a lot about what and how I write and I enjoy doing it. I tend to want to do things my own way. And I am unabashed in my geekiness. I am generally cautious, but I like to break the pattern randomly with an impulse buy, or by approaching complete strangers, or exploring a foreign city where I don't know the language.

I own a condo and am close to my family, so I feel settled, but I'm always searching for stimulation and fulfillment. Thankfully, my job provides both in spades. Outside work I've had some great experiences, like teaching in Africa and singing with the Berlin Philharmonic. I love well-expressed ideas in many forms: elegant computer code, a crafted and honed argument, an ingenious screenplay, an incandescent piano solo. Every so often one pops out of me, though I really don't practice creative expression as often as I should.

Touch is very important to me, and I never tire of the simple pleasures: holding hands, an arm around the waist, a kiss. I tend to appreciate things that people pour their hearts into, and people that pour their hearts into things. And of course, people who pour their hearts into other people.

Coordinating a transition from a traditional computer-lab-based school to a laptop school
Playing soccer (both on teams and park pickup)
Learning to meditate
Writing an app for the iPhone
Searching for cool Atlanta events
Singing in two choirs

Coming up with cool original ideas
Seeing the other person's side of things
Detecting in- and out-of-tuneness
Writing with style and attention to detail
Designing elegant computer code
Cooking very tasty meals
Making out (especially the kissing part)
Dancing unaided by alcohol
Being unexpectedly daring at random times

I think they pick up pretty quickly on the fact that I'm intelligent and thoughtful. I think people also notice that I'm open and direct and genuine. Also perhaps that I can be somewhat intense.

I have been told a few times that my eyes match my eyebrows...

Love them steamed green beans and broccoli. And good marinara sauce. Oh, and homemade caesar salad with croutons sautéed in olive oil and garlic. Mmm, and Strawberry Cheesecake Ben & Jerry's (sprinkled with chocolate chips). Really, lots of different foods'll do it for me. I have a special place in my heart for spicy and complex foods, such as Indian and Thai. Film: I'm a fan of movies that are creative and non-formulaic and have something interesting to say (e.g. The Royal Tenenbaums, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), or that are formulaic but archetypal (e.g. Little Miss Sunshine, Saving Private Ryan). Oh, and I love Pixar films--except maybe Cars, which I merely liked. Music: nothing overproduced. Lots of classical, especially the Romantics, like Rachmaninov, and jazz (real jazz, not "smooth jazz"), and modern rock and funk and TMBG and Sufjan Stevens and... Hey, if it's creative, I generally like it. Deerhoof is new to me and I have them on heavy rotation. In books, I like those story/documentary/activist things like The Ominvore’s Dilemma, and good fiction, modern and classic (Steinbeck, Salinger, Chabon). A book I almost always recommend is Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. I am totally unashamed to say that I devoured the Harry Potter series. (But I don’t have any paraphernalia or visit the fan sites.)

Freshly ground black pepper. Ask any of my friends.
A computer and a means to program it. For the fun of it, you understand. Yes, I'm just geeky that way.
The color green.
Making out. (Especially the kissing part. And all those other parts, with the hands. And what comes afterward.)
Dancing, especially Latin and funk.
People who communicate ideas and emotions well--poets, writers, public speakers, musicians, artists...

Why there isn't a form of punctuation halfway between a period and an exclamation point.
How to find out what's really cool to do this weekend. Creative Loafing is a starter but it can be overwhelming.
That I should be making plans for this weekend rather than letting Friday arrive and then scrambling to figure out what to do.
All the creative things I could be doing but never get around to.
Why it's so hard to wage change against entrenched interests.

I don't spend a lot of time thinking about Nascar, or celebrities, or marketing.

wondering what a typical Friday night is like for me. Seriously. I run the gamut--I could be out dancing at a club, or at home reading or watching a movie, or out with friends just chilling, or seeing a live music show or a play, or at a museum...

How boring is this description? How interesting is typical anything?

Not much. I'm not really prone to laying it all out there for strangers. If I meet somebody and like them, I open up very quickly.

I'm seeking a fellow adventurer and lover of kisses and backrubs, one who can use laughter to remind herself not to take things too seriously. She's still marveling at how cool the world can be; she's afraid that the world will never be fixed despite our best efforts; and she's trying, regardless, to make things better. She looks deeper than transactions and affiliations to seek meaningful connections with other people, and has a strong, healthy relationship with her family. Most importantly, I'm looking for a woman who knows who she is, whom she wants to become, and what's important to her, and her eyes shine with conviction when she talks about it.