education • social change • theatre (for aforementioned social change) • full-bodied red wines • wicked shahhhp cheddar • spirited conversation • spectrums over binaries • a good steak • sleeping in • pluralism • fireworks • sunday brunch • running • board game nights • bombay • grilled veggies • biking • camping • bonfires • shaking my tailfeather every once in a while • healthy debate • pride over closets • hiking • culture • masala chai • sunrises • the top of a mountain • TEDTalks • thunderstorms • fresh smell of earth after said thunderstorm • vermont • foodies • food • politics • cooking • budget travel • summer barbecues • history • bikram yoga • morning coffee • sunsets • jazz standards • football • tea • chicken wings over a microbrew • baseball • boston • antique stores • intersectionality • corn on the cob • optimism • humor • curry • life.....these are a few of my favorite things! :)

A few quick random thoughts about me! -

I'm an eclectic, driven guy...and I think I'm finally beginning to hit my stride. I can go from being dirty and playing in the mud to dinner with your mum in 24 minutes and 16 seconds. :) Yup, I'm family-oriented at the core - both the one I was born into and the one I've made for myself.

I tend to be a very positive person (but I'm not perfect). We all have baggage...but we must own it...I'm no exception. A work in progress, I (am learning to) question everything "normal" and enjoy the journey towards being a more aware individual. So I try not to define my life by any one aspect. Believing life is too short to be little, I avoid petty drama accompanying any kind of defined “scene”.

Say hello! :)

[Re]discovering Toronto - a familiar city that's been a second home to me for the last seven years.

Oh...and working on that Ph.D.

...eating dessert...being positive...trying to bring out the best in people...devouring chicken wings...seeing the bigger picture…and oh...stealthily avoiding the "where are you from?" question! :)

I'm just that bundle of contradictions you've always wanted to know. :)

Authors: Anzaldua, Lorde, Friere, Frankl, hooks... (Starting to see a trend?)...oh and David Sedaris! Also, do TEDTalks count?

Movies: A Touch of Pink, Across the Universe, Monsoon Wedding, Forrest Gump, Stepmom, Casablanca, A Single Man, The Color Purple, V for Vendetta, The Namesake, Milk, Shawshank Redemption, Chasing Amy, Little Miss Sunshine, Michelle & Romy's High School Reunion, A Streetcar Named Desire, Miss Congeniality, Love Actually, Spanglish, Mr. Holland's Opus, Bridesmaids, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Moulin Rouge, Up, The Green Mile, The Depahted, L.A. Confidential, Crash, A Few Good Men, A Time to Kill, Slumdog Millionaire, Blindness, The Indiana Jones Series...anything with the incomparable Meryl Streep.

Shows: (When I can catch them) Scandal, Brothers and Sisters, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Harry's Law, Modern Family, Chopped, Diners-DriveIns-and Dives, Man v. Food...and who re-runs of The Golden Girls, I Love Lucy, Friends, Seinfeld. Not a big reality TV guy...but I dig a competition with a good premise (Any takers for the Amazing Race?). CNN, SportsCenter, HGTV, Food Network would most likely be favorite channels. But at the end of the day, I don't have cable and my life does not revolve around The Idiot Box.

Music: Wow...everything from classical to jazz...to world music. I just can't process heavy metal, bad rap, and some wicked ol' country music.

Food: YOLO (You Only Live Once)...I will try [almost] anything once. Ethnic food, anything on the grill. I've never been known to turn down a warm white macadamia nut cookie!

Ideally, my five senses and the ability to love! Is that six already? Dang. :)

....Am I where I need to be and what I need to be doing? The 30,000 ft. view...the bigger picture.

...Do I have everything I need? - keys, wallet, ID, cellphone....check! ;) Because, yeah, I'm that guy!

...Frollicking in Toronto this summer! :)

From low-key drinks with friends to a quiet night at home throwing something together. It all depends on how the week shakes out...

I'm an E/I-S-T-J. There I said it! :)

....You resonated with something on here and your spidey sense is tingling. Say hello… :)