I'm Zac. You probably aren't, if you're female, but maybe Zacketha would make an OK name. I'm pretty laid back, I tell a lot of jokes, some of which are actually funny, and I like to talk, assuming I know who you are. I'm less extroverted if you spontaneously walk up to me on the street, though. E-mail's a good way to begin. For that matter, so is chat...You can find me as zacwbond on AIM if you so desire. I'm on Yahoo too. I'll reply to you eventually, but note my bad habit of leaving chat programs running while I am at work, etc. I like going out but sometimes I like staying in. Oh wait, that's not true; for the most part, I'm not a big fan of going out. Well, I go to the occasional recital or museum or otherwise non-crowded, non-drunken locale. I also like taking long walks. Whether the walk is in the woods or the flat suburban landscape I live in or a dense city doesn't really matter much to me.

I've lived in the south or at least southish for all my life, aside from a stink in college in Cleveland--I was born in Alabama, and went to graduate school in Virginia; now I am in Kentucky. At present I'm employed as a programmer, writing code for various hardware devices. I enjoy my job, but I see it largely as a supplement to the other things I enjoy--music, literature, eggs, obscure trivia.

Life is at something of a standstill. My middle school, high school, college and graduate school years were spent preparing to enter the workforce with a good job. Well, here I am! What now? I suppose the next step is finding a friend/lover/etc. of some kind--so it's not a total coincidence I happen to be here writing this introduction :-)

Since I'm here for matching purposes, I suppose I can list the things you can expect from me if I were attached to you. You'll probably see movies you never wanted to see before. You'll probably drown in mix CDs. I'll also send you occasional poems, most of which will be bad, but some will be good (though those will not be authored by me). You'll talk a lot, and if I'm lucky listen some too. I'll experiment with recipes on you, most likely. Sometimes you might not even have to fake enjoying the meal! :-D If you can cook, all the better. Or if you can't, then we can spread the blame around!

What about more generally? I'm open minded, I'm happy to compromise on most random things in relationships, and I don't get angry unless I feel I am not being respected. I like experiencing new things, although if they are new dangerous things or new intensely social things my excitement won't be quite so high. I'd get along well with your dog, and maybe your cat, but I'd eye the latter with suspicion. I'm pretty thrifty. I wish I could play the piano, but I don't wish so much that I'm willing to pay to take lessons. I'm quite good at easy crossword puzzles. I might remember enough to solve some Calculus problems, and I can C code you into oblivion.

Well, I've got a memorable face, and maybe that's a good thing; the jury is still out. I think outside of appearance, the most notable thing about me is my penchant for doing the totally absurd with a straight face.

I read a lot of literature. Poetry is always good. My favorite poet thus far is Phillip Larkin, however morose he might be. Edward Thomas is another favorite. I also like Chinese poetry, even if the translations can vary a lot. David Hinton is my favorite translator. Right now, I am slowly plowing through "War and Peace," in the latest translation by Pevear and a name I can't quite recall how to spell. I spend a lot of money at half-price books, and if you ever want to meet me, I'm the blond guy there every Saturday afternoon--in the morning I usually hit the Friends Book Cellar at the library.

I have a Netflix subscription, and I filled it with such a long queue that I've totally forgotten what I have. Much of it is old. I really like silent movies because they must be watched in a very attentive way; it's even better when they don't have title cards (e.g., "The Man With the Movie Camera"). There's lots of other things I like, but nothing pops in my brain. Sounds like a good conversation starter, doesn't it?

I listen to an enormous variety of music. What I like to hear any given moment depends on my mood; excessively teenage emo is a good choice when I am grouchy with respect to love and dating. I tolerate some country music if the topic is interesting and the sentimentality doesn't feel forced. There's lots of smart rappers out there, and I particularly like densely packed lyricism and fast delivery. Mostly I listen to "alternative" rock, to use a meaningless term. MeWithoutYou is my favorite band of modern vintage; Joy Division my favorite from years ago. On the classical/art music side of things, I'm basically obsessed with John Cage. I like baroque music for the clockwork precision of its melodies, and high modernist music for shocking my expectations.

This is already too long, so I'll be brief with food. I'm not too picky. I like meat, the easier to chew the better. And vegetables. Oh yeah, don't forget the grains. My favorite food is probably...eggs.

Well, my music collection gets me through most days. I'd be sad if my potted plant Mr. Plant disappeared. My glasses are pretty much required in order to not die. What else? Oh, I hated college, when I didn't have a bathtub. What better place to fall asleep and drop your book and wake up angry about its sopping wetness (raise your hand if this has happened to you). Geez, two more. Obviously I can live without love, but at least the hypothetical possibility of it is required. And dammit, I like a nice vanilla Coke each day.

Actually, I think about dogs a lot. Isn't that weird? I should buy one, but I can't take care of it due to being, you know, gone 9-10 hours each day. Yet I still think it would be nice to have a smiling furry face greeting me each day. I like my plant and all, but let's face it...smiling is not its strong suit.

Depends on what's going on. I usually have a delicious dinner out for one on Friday, under the theory I might somehow encounter someone. Later in the evening comes a walk, or at least on days when I am not stuck ice-skating around the track behind my apartment, or otherwise freezing to death. Some Tuesdays I go to the local atheist/agnostic/freethinker/whatever group, and on Saturdays I am out most of the day on my usual book/food-hunting adventures around Lexington or Louisville. I'm up for a concert at the UK recital hall any day, or at least any day I can find a place to park...

Huh. I'm an open book. I'll tell you almost anything, I guess--exceptions being things like, "Hey Zac, what's your social security number and credit card number?" Being an open book means I guess I don't have much private to say. Well, how about this: I'm totally incompetent when it comes to laundry, and hardly ever fold anything, let alone hang or put things where they ought to go. That's why I wear a sweatshirt or jacket nearly all the time. If you criticize me, I'll go on a long-winded rant about efficiency, opportunity costs, etc. :-)

You're single, you want to talk to me (well, obviously), and you enjoy carrying on conversations through email. Actually, I'd rather move to the phone sooner than later, because it's so much easier to catch subtext when you can hear vocal inflections and so on (sarcasm can be terrifying in e-mail!).

But generally anyone who's interested in an entertaining guy should contact me.