Recently, I've come to the conclusion that the list of things I like or at least convince myself that I like is incredibly long. In fact, the list of things I know I don't like has only three items: Running. Pooping outside. Eggplant, poorly prepared. For running, I force myself to run for a very short amount of time at least twice a week, since I am convinced that if I ever get good at it I will like it. For number two, every few years I forget about the whole bathroom situation while doing outdoorsy activities and am reminded why I am generally not a Happy Camper. I try to go camping, I find this deeply undignified, and I find a way to go home early before I make everyone unhappy. As for the eggplant, badly done eggplant goes in the trash. Every time. I will not.

I hope that last paragraph doesn't sound too negative. I'm really quite nice. I enjoy absurd conversation on ridiculous subjects, where you end up laughing until you cry. "Yes, and..." is so important. I love art and learning. I love hearing people talk about the things they're intersted in and knowledgable about, no matter how boring they think it is (it's not). I'm a bit of a news junkie. I like feeling engaged with the world around me, and I like people who are the same.

I like things that take a bit of an effort, and I like people who are more than glad to make it. Making a complicated meal rather than ordering in, dressing up on occasion because it's fun, watching a movie or reading a book that is a bit more complex than normal, or just doing something you know you're not good at because why the hell not-- these are the things that sound like fun to me. Like anyone else, I love my comfortable spots (reading in dive bars or watching Archer while wearing soft pants probably eating cheese), but I generally feel that life without some stretching is hardly a life.

I'm in the in-between stage where I'm going from my "grown-up" helper type career to starting creative career that I always intended to do in some way. Translation: I'm doing some assistant work for a friend to pay the bills while I recover from my first career in social work.

I'm shedding my protective shell. I love people and I love learning what makes them tick. I am at my best when I feel busy and useful. I have a dry, dark sense of humor. I curse like a sailor when in adult company. Small children love me, I think it's because they think I'm one of them. Right now I am working on the neverending task of putting my life in order, dealing with things like an em-effing adult-- saving and being self-reliant-- so I can make myself a decent safety zone when I embark on my Next Big Thing.

Making fairly obvious advice sound insightful. Sleeping in. Reading in bars. Pulling others out of their shells.

Little. Yellow. Different.

Okay, actually none of the above, except maybe the little part. I'm petite.

Random on my iTunes: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Nick Drake, Spoon, Elliott Smith, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, Grizzly Bear, Of Montreal, TV on the Radio, Bon Iver.

I have so many favorite books that it's hard to know where to start: Murakami. Raymond Carver. Marquez. David Mitchell. Classics that eventually get made into costume dramas. Some nonfiction stuff.

Shows: I watch more than a person without a TV should. I'm on constant reference mode, nerdily. Breaking Bad, The Wire, Game of Thrones (Game of Thrones!), Parks and Recreation, Party Down. I could go on for awhile.

Movies: I like good "good" movies and good "bad" movies. They all have their place.
Movies that have stuck with me: In the Mood For Love, Children of Men, Pretty in Pink (except the last 5 minutes), The Chinese Connection, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, On The Waterfront, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Food: I'll eat just about anything. I find finickiness to be a sign of weak character.

The temptation to answer this as if it were some kind of quiz to prove that I know I need oxygen to live is amazing. I guess that says more about me than a list of six things ever could?

These days I spend a lot of time thinking about what comes next for me, where I want to be going, and how I can take the knowledge I've gained from past experiences.

Most start out with the plan of being healthy and going to the gym or on a long bike ride and end up with the reality of friends out at a dive bar or in with whatever's on Netflix.

I hate everything with fake mustaches. All of it. It's not cute or funny or original. Stop it. Stop it now.

Entertain me. Don't scare me.

If you're pretty sure you're not this guy: http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/negroni-season