I can be really loud and rowdy around people I like, and nearly silent around people I don't. I have no patience for people that bore me. I like roughhousing. I love to laugh. I don't like to beat around the bush or have to be overly strategic in conversation, I tend to just say what I mean. I can burp really horrifyingly loudly, but am prudent about when I reveal this superpower. I don't mind getting bruised or scraped up or dirty in the process of having fun. I always know what time it is, and yet I am always late. I love love love getting exposed to wonderful new things and watching movies and listening to great (usually indie) music. I'm extremely proactive and get annoyed by highly self-absorbed people and lazy people who won't respond to a bit of motivation. I'm cheerful and energetic and fun, and enjoy bringing out those qualities in other people, but also like to counterbalance all the shenanigans with alone time, a serious conversation, or taking the time to quietly appreciate things of beauty.

I recently spent 2 years traveling around and living in Europe, first in Lisbon, Portugal and then in Amsterdam. I made some friends in Lisbon during my post-graduate school travels and decided to stay there for a while rather than sit around my parents' house in Phoenix, or start living a "grown up" life in the US. I made excellent use of my degrees in chemical engineering and oceanography by working at a hostel, bartending and cooking dinner for the guests. Eventually most of our friends moved on and I got a bit tired of living in a "Latin-style" country, so I found a job in Amsterdam working as an au pair for a Dutch family, and spent 6 months living there. Great city! Unfortunately they kicked me out for a bit. I spent 6 months living back at home in Phoenix, and managed to find myself a nice little niche in the downtown Phoenix music/arts scene. I partied a lot and went to a lot of shows, but wasn't really going anywhere. Fortunately I got accepted to grad school in Amsterdam, so now I'm back (and legal!), pursuing an MSc in Environmental Chemistry. Bring on the responsibility. I also work for a Dutch music zine, writing copy and helping out with various other things.

being self-deprecating... entertaining and taking charge of children using minimal verbal communication, cooking tex mex food for large groups of people, mixing caipirinhas, recommending sweet indie music, talking at length and with enthusiasm, paying attention to detail in the lab and on the computer, dissolving things with frighteningly strong acids, editing

i'm a tall, loud american. i stick out. fortunately i'm good-natured enough that people tend to eventually forgive me for the "loud american" part. while in america amongst my kind, i suppose it's my glasses, my height, or my vintage-loving steez.

BOOKS: extremely loud and incredibly close, the fountainhead, all my sons, cyrano de bergerac, the great gatsby, everything is illuminated, this book will save your life, me talk pretty one day, no one belongs here more than you. i don't read as much as i'd like.

MOVIES: harold and maude, rushmore, synecdoche new york; the royal tenenbaums, amelie, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, lost in translation, moulin rouge, dancer in the dark, donnie darko, the truman show, magnolia, midnight cowboy, united states of leland, punch drunk love, goonies, brick, children of men, down by law, juno, old joy, groundhog day, thank you for smoking, john carpenter's the thing, easy rider, the graduate, wayne's world, be kind rewind, lars and the real girl, me and you and everyone we know, knocked up, being john malkovich, buffalo '66, all about eve

MUSIC: animal collective, of montreal, phosphorescent; grandaddy, songs: ohia, neutral milk hotel, andrew bird, the unicorns, cat power, sigur ros, sufjan stevens, the constantines, radiohead, spoon, joanna newsom, lucero, modest mouse, mirah, (early) interpol, man man, the handsome family, john vanderslice, (early) white stripes, beck, ugly casanova, the arcade fire, clap your hands say yeah, wolf parade, the hold steady, smog, talking heads, the joggers, the walkmen, david bowie, the kinks, the dresden dolls, tv on the radio, beirut, mates of state, blonde redhead, cold war kids, lcd soundsystem, bon iver, patrick wolf, menomena, the papercuts, peter bjorn and john, the black keys, the lovely feathers, why?, dent may, the tallest man on earth, here we go magic, sunset rubdown, dan deacon, department of eagles, ramona falls, city center

FOOD: speculaas (how do i love thee? let me count the ways...), bread of all kinds, decadent breakfasts, strong/spicy flavors, indian, thai, mexican/southwestern, italian (duh), sushi (with lots of wasabi and pickled ginger), anything involving black beans or sweet potatoes or avocados, goat cheese, brie, camembert, "forest fruits", dried figs, pickles, peanut sauce, soups, salads with fruit/nuts/cheese/mixed greens, chocolate above all other sweets, bread pudding, unexpected flavor combinations, fancy beers, coffee, chai, mango nectar

music
fun and interesting friends (i.e. laughter and conversation)
means of getting myself around (e.g. a bike or a car)
beer
cheese
exercise

music, dudes, and how i'm not doing enough with my life

out on the town

i break out the big vocabulary words when i get drunk.

i just want a tall, sexy, funny hipster to laugh at my jokes and call me out on my bullshit and and have adventures with. is that too much to ask?

there is no point in contacting me if we don't have much in common. if you can't carry on a conversation about music or film or art (or at least science, but let's hope it doesn't come to that), don't bother. i'm not on here because i'm desperate or can't get laid, i'm on here to leave no stone unturned in the quest for mr. right. or at least mr. right now. ok?

as david cross said, while reflecting on the go-getter attitude of a garbage man IN A GARBAGE TRUCK, driving alongside a girl and catcalling her: "i'll ask 100 chicks, maybe i get 99 no's, that's fine... maybe that 100th chick likes to fuck on a pile of trash."

i do not like to fuck on a pile of trash.

in other words, douchebags and creeps - PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE.