Howdy! I'm Kate as you can see up there ^^, but I figure I'd introduce myself to you directly, since this whole Internet dating thing can be so impersonal.

I guess you'll learn a lot more about my preferences for media, food, etc. below so I won't go into much detail about that sort of thing here.

To be honest, I'm always unsure of what to write in these summaries. It's my natural instinct to try to sex it up by being as witty, clever and quirky as possible, but I think I'm sorta done with trying to show off in that way. Instead I suppose I'll just discuss in a non-clever way the things that I'm passionate about, and let you decide if my personality meshes with yours.

What to say first? I guess it would be that I'm intensely focused on art, in all of its varied forms, both as a consumer and producer. Every first Thursday, you'll see me tromping around for the Pioneer Square Art Walk, which I enjoy quite a bit. I also do a bit of visual art myself - paintings, costumes and such - and am holed up in my studio with a brush in my hand in the afternoons after work for a lot of the week.

If you're curious about my work, you can check it out at http://armyofmeat.com

Oh, I forgot to mention, I work in a computer job for a large company downtown, so I end up spending a lot of time online. I love discovering new, interesting things to share with people. It's fascinating watching memes grow and evolve in the hyper-evolution-chamber that we call the Internet, and I thrive on the constant novelty of it all.

Hmm, I don't want you to get the impression that I'm some sort of shut-in - I do quite love living here in Seattle, surrounded by the beauty of nature, and I quite enjoy (easy) hikes, riding my motorcycle, going to farmers' markets, or just generally exploring.

Actually, exploring is one of my favourite things to do - I love seeing places I've never been, even if it's just around the block from me. I particularly enjoy eating at new restaurants since I sort of consider myself a foodie.

I'm working hard to become the sort of artist I'd like to be. Right now, I'm focusing on becoming a good enough painter to fully express myself on canvas. I actually spend quite a lot of time doing this, since it's the thing that makes me the happiest!

My day job is as a tech support monkey for a software company. I'm quite good at it, and it's pretty 'career' but it's generally not something that I talk about much, since there's really only so much you can say about helping people use software.

I'm really good at learning and growing. At some point I got it into my head that I should be as much of a polymath or 'well-rounded person' as I can, so I'm constantly devouring information about new spheres of interest. I sort of developed a reputation in my youth as a dilettante, becoming intensely passionate about a subject (say, bicycles) and researching it to the point where I knew all the lingo, could spout random trivia, and generally converse with the cognoscenti. Then, after I got bored, I would move on to the next topic and repeat the process.

As a result, I'm really knowledgeable about a lot of varied topics. I suppose I'd make a pretty good geisha.

People usually notice my hair at first since it's really long and black. Then I suppose they notice my eyes, which I've been told are somewhat unusual. Nobody ever seems to guess my nation of origin correctly (Vietnam, by the way) since my eyes are somewhere halfway between the double-fold eyelids of Westerners and the single fold traditional to East Asian folks.

I suppose after that would depend on whether I've opened my mouth or not. If I have, it's probably the fact that I've got a pretty dry, irreverent sense of humor and am an irredeemable nerd/geek.

Ah, laundry list time!

Books - Tao of Pooh, Fruits (& Fresh Fruits), Dune, Song of Ice and Fire, all the Malcom Gladwell books, books about art, architecture, design, fashion

Movies - Whispers of the Heart, But I'm a Cheerleader, Blade Runner, Fifth Element, Fear and Loathing, Step Up 2 the Streets

Music - J-pop, video game music, New Pornographers, Avett Brothers, Great Big Sea, Tiller's Folley, Celtic-flavoured stuff, Dragonforce, Vienna Teng, Deltron 3030, Blue Scholars, MGMT, Arcade Fire, Decemberists

Food - I love all sorts of food, as long as it is tasty and made with care. I also quite love to cook, but am only average at it.

Sadly enough, #1 is probably my iPhone. It's made out of magic and pixie dust and has become a vital part of my life. :(

The others are my friends, art supplies, good food, sleep, and the Internet.

Art gets the lion's share of my mental processing time, since it's what I've devoted my life to, but I also spend too much time imagining fights between historical figures, fictional characters, and giant robots.

Usually Friday nights will find me at a restaurant with my friends, or maybe chilling out and playing video games at home. I've never really been a party-all-the-time sort of person, and I need a night to recover from the work week before the madcap adventures start.

Hmm, the most private thing? Well, I suppose that would be that I am a transsexual, and used to be a boy. I'm pretty open about it, so it's not really a secret or anything, but since I don't go around shouting it at the top of my lungs, I figure I ought to give you the heads up.

Ah,dating-wise, I suppose you should message me if you're an interesting, intelligent, attractive person who is relatively sane, is either gainfully employed or has an awesome excuse not to be (freelance assassin, mad scientist, ghost).

Also I should say I'm not looking to join a polypile (z - a scroll labeled FOOBIE BLECH) so if you're currently in a relationship, don't expect anything more than friendship.

That said though, I love to meet new friends, so even if you're some sort of insane boring ugly unemployed person, I guess it'd be okay too, as long as you're aware your romantic chances are slim. Like 'string-theory' slim.