I'm fun to hang out with, for Saturday night dinner or Sunday morning coffee. I'm good at both sarcasm and sincerity. I'm a great mix of mainstream, goofy, and offbeat. I'm fun to both talk to and listen to. I like to both jump off cliffs and sit on couches. I'd like to have influence on a worldwide level while avoiding delusions of grandeur. I wrote a history book and want to write more nonfiction as well as fiction. I like to play and watch sports. I run (doing the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in April and might do a half marathon in the fall) and used to play in a recreational volleyball league, which I want get back to. I know it sounds cliched, but I want to live a life of meaning and die with a sense that I accomplished things that were important to humanity and made things better. I have a "good attitude" and generally like people and am happy. In general, I'll put a pearl in your world, as the Sade song goes.

I don't mean to just talk about work, but takes up a good part of my week..I'm an editor with a company that is under contract to a federal agency. My department works on site. Trying to figure out how to resume doing some paid work in my former career as a public historian after getting drop-kicked by the economy three years ago. Public history is the practice of history outside of academia, for non-academic audiences (for example, working as a consultant, in a museum, with archives, etc.).

I have gotten the chance over the past few years to do a lot of traveling, thanks to a dad with a long bucket list and a mom with a short one. My dad and I have been to Peru to visit Machu Picchu, to Idaho to go river rafting, and to Thailand and Cambodia (visited Angkor Wat).

--Thinking well about people without being naive about it
--Showing interest
--Thinking about the big picture
--Asking questions and then listening for the answers
--Following through

Is it a copout to say I have no idea? When I think about what other people might notice about me, it makes my head hurt.

Short stories, novels, door stopper history books, some coffee table books. I'm in three book groups. Finally got caught up on "Mad Men" and have been watching "Portlandia," thanks to Netflix. Eclectic musical tastes, from jazz to classic rock to electronica and everything in between. I'm an adventurous eater, but I'm realizing that hugely sugary and fatty foods usually aren't worth the tummy trouble they cause (I don't usually use the word "tummy").

--Money (let's be honest)
--Humor
--Tasty food
--Other people
--Film festivals
--Books (the paper kind)

--Doing art
--Writing
--Trying to live in the moment
--But also plotting my next steps

Willing to go out, but likely staying in and maybe even doing laundry (my mother's disappointed), because I get up early to go running with my running group on Saturday mornings!

In this forum, only that there are private things to admit.

You're not interested in a one-night stand, you like to have intelligent conversations, you're not shy, you're a well-rounded person, and you have more to offer than a bunch of one-liners.

More about you...It's hard to reduce a person to a few sentences. I'm a big believer in in-person chemistry. However, I'll throw in a few essentials here. First, it's important that you want a woman, not a girl. Second, I'm looking for an intelligent guy who knows his way around current events and likes to explore cultural outlets such as theater and museums. Also great is a sense of fun and a desire to be active -- let's rock this town! It would be great if you had an offbeat sense of humor without being (excessively) dirty, mean, or bitterly cynical, although you'd get a thumbs up for judicious use of sarcasm. You are caring and compassionate, but not treacly. You can both make fun of and participate fully in popular culture. You are always pleased but never satisfied. An interest in sports is fine and welcome. On a big-picture level, you're someone who wants to leave his mark on the planet, in a good way.

But essentially, I'm looking for someone I can talk to and have a connection and mutual understanding with, someone to enjoy traveling through life with. I think physical attraction and sexual compatibility are very important, but they run a close second. I think everyone's looking for emotional and intellectual compatibility first. You need someone you enjoy looking at across the breakfast table, reading the paper with, arguing about politics with, or talking on the phone with.

For now, it's important that you want to try to be friends first. Let's just meet for coffee or a drink to get to know each other, with no expectations. I prefer to start out cool and casual, and after that we can decide if we want to go on a "date." Then let's take it slow. If things are right, the sky's the limit.