It's kind of hard finding a good way to start these things so how about I just tell a story.

In college my roommate and I had this Bacardi bottle full of Tide (yep, really original blacklight fun). Then one Saturday afternoon I ran out of non-Bacardi detergent. While I could have gone out and purchased more, why would I do that when I had some perfectly good Tide in a non-standard bottle.

At the time I was living in a 10 story building with laundry in the basement. So I grabbed my laundry bag and the bottle of Bacardi and got into the elevator. Being that it was a Saturday, I needed to do laundry and I'm a night owl, I'm sure I looked a bit disheveled. So I'm in the elevator and naturally the others on the elevator are looking at me, it's not everyday that someone is carrying a bottle of hard liquor and laundry around a college dorm filled with people under 21.

When I got down to the basement I (thankfully) found that it was pretty busy but I managed to find a washing machine that was available. So I threw in my clothes (pre sorted in case you're wondering) and when the person next to me was looking I unscrewed the cap to the bottle of "Bacardi" and proceeded to pour it into the machine. After a couple ounces I covered the top with my thumb and pretended to drink right from the bottle before dumping even more into the machine and slamming the bottle down on top of the washer once I was done.

Needless to say this got a little attention. The hard part was keeping a straight face during all of this and at the same time trying to figure out exactly how much detergent I had put into this load. But in the end my clothes got clean, a few people had a new story to tell and the looks on their faces will always make me smile :).

Today I am still an easy going person with a good sense of humor but also very motivated. I tend to not get hung up on minor problems and do my best to stay optimistic and laugh through the tough ones. I enjoy a wide variety of activities, hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, music, concerts, photography, writing and the list goes on. I'm a big believer in the idea that it's not what you do or where you go, it's who you do it with. Because of this belief, I tend to only surround myself with truly amazing people and thankfully I've been fortunate enough to find a good number of them over the years.

Everything I can.

But more than anything I'm taking a risk. I've quit my job and am funding my own startup company. Because it's my own money, I'm finding myself extremely motivated to work my ass off. Thankfully I've got a ton of passion for the work and the product.

I've also found myself seriously addicted to rock climbing. I've been hitting up the Belmont Planet Granite three to four times a week and simply can't get enough of it (I'm trying to get myself ready to do a few climbs in Yosemite this summer).

Being Creative. Crap, with a claim like that this should be really cunning.

Learning. Almost everything interests me and it bothers me to have unanswered or poorly answered questions.

Listening. I assume that I am good at listening because I seem to be the person all my friends turn to when they have a problem.

Exploring. I love visiting new places and trying new things. I never considered this a skill or something that made me different from others until I meet someone without this ability.

This is a tough one...

I really have no idea. They might notice that I am tall, or that I am male, perhaps that I am human, I'm really not sure. If you feel that this list is incomplete or inaccurate in some way let me know.

Books: Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey is by far my favorite book.

Movies: I love movies and on the top of the list is: Touching the Void, Dogma, Office Space, Fight Club, High Fidelity and others.

Music: I love music and listen to a ton of it. Currently my favorite artists would be Jack Johnson, Guster, Ari Hest, Blackalicious, Charlotte Martin, Amos Lee, Andrew Bird, Blue October, Cake, Dan Darrah, Deltron, Dispatch, Donavan Franenreiter, Elliot Smith, Finley Quaye, G Love, Gorillaz, Jurassic 5, moe, Pomeroy, Tommy Guerrero, Tribe Called Quest, Tristian Prettyman, Wilco, Yo Flaco. I can go on for hours. Generally I am open to all types excluding Country, Christian Rock and Gangster Rap.

Foods: Some people think I am a picky eater, I disagree, somewhat. I like almost all foods, but I am not a fan of desserts or nut products. If you happen to like these foods that's fine, you can have my portion.

Friends and family
Music
The outdoors
Climbing gear
Problems to be solved
Sandals (preferably Chacos)

My mind seems to at war with itself, bouncing between thoughts of outdoor adventures and the never ending list of things to work on for my startup company. I guess this isn't a bad thing because it helps me find a balance in my life.

There's not much in my life right now that is typical :). But here's some things that I'm game to do any night: hang out with friends, see some live music, visit the climbing gym, relax with a movie and most nights I like to get some sleep in there somewhere.

At one point when I was in college I found myself out of money. I just started a new job as a programmer for the university and was waiting for my first check. I didn't have any money, absolutely none. But fortunately Iowa has a 5 cent deposit on cans. So one night I went into the office and collected every can I could find. I cashed the cans and purchased all the spaghetti I could. I ate spaghetti with butter and salt for every meal for two weeks until my first check came in.

I'm a friendly guy so don't hesitate to email me if you want to.

Actually, you should message me even if you don't want to. I'm sure everyone has been told at some point that sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. :)

Most importantly you should message me if I have messaged you. Even if you want nothing to do with me, have some fun, tell me to get lost, make up a story about how you are fearful that you are the gatekeeper and I am the key master and although you are very attracted to me it would be dangerous for us to meet.