Buon Giorno Amici! Thanks for visiting.

Please be forewarned that this individual:
*Makes lots of jokes
*Is exceeding playful and yes, mischievous too!
*Saves the serious side for work
*Never made friend or relationship decisions based on politics
*Equal friend to a communist, a libertarian, to the teetotaler and rampant user

This makes me a little unusual for the DC area - the land of the
hyper-opinionated ideologues

Lived (3 months or more, in order):
*North of Boston
*South Bay Los Angeles
*Central California
*Central Washington state
*Southern Mississippi
*Georgia, near Atlanta
*Vicenza, Italy
*(almost a year in Germany, non consecutive)
*Tacoma, Washington
*San Francisco
*Southern Arizona,
*Southern MD
*and now, one block from DC.
(up to 23 countries currently)

The countries which I have visited include:
Canada, Mexico, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, the Netherlands, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Kosovo, Moldova, Serbia, Slovenia, Vatican, Switzerland, Ukraine.

This summer I hope to expand into new continents. India and other places in Asia sound quite fascinating.

Most of my family lives in New England, L.A. or Napa so I tend to travel a serious bit around the holidays. Am regularly north of Boston, MA spending time with family.

There is a great amount for which I am thankful:
*The chance to travel and see much of the world
*The orthopedic surgeon that fixed my leg after a bad parachute jump
*The teacher that taught me to read
*The C-level execs that mentored me

Now I'm in a position to pay it forward

Aging, gracefully ;)

I have a great job, and work a fair amount in a field that is the intersection of saving lives, environmentalism, and space technology. My work is something I am passionate, after all, I could be working on my pet projects in internet security all the time.

Most of my work revolves around the US environmental monitoring capabilities. I moonlight as an independent security researcher.

I'm not always happy with my job as bureaucracy can stifle, but I am happy when I can mingle with fellow professionals in my field. Outsized intelligences, nerd-fest, someone tap a keg! People that make me think and reconsider what it is to know and learn.

(A) Sports. Playing and coaching, hitting the gym regularly.

(B) Computers, networking, technology. Solving problems. Working with abstractions, finding inefficiencies, identifying creative solutions.

(C) Making people smile / Making new friends while abroad. On my most recent trip I met a friendly Gendarme with a similar peace-enforcement background and got invited to Paris.

(D) A penchant for making unusual friends...In Italy, many communists; in California, many buddhists. In DC, many lawyers (not unusual)

(E) Food. Both consuming and assembling

Caveat Lector; I am not skilled at the following:

(A) Shopping

(B) Sitting in one place for long

(C) Failing to think

(D) Sugarcoated dishonesty

For example, once I was invited to "BODIES: The Exhibit" by a girl I dated. I told her I couldn't attend such an event considering the bodies were being sourced from Chinese prisons, and may include executed democracy protestors and Falun Gong practitioners. She thought it was immaterial and I thought it was creepy that she didn't care. Needless to say we didn't continue dating.

(E) Making bread. Have you ever heard the story about the yeasty kraken that took over the kitchen? I was the victim there.

Physically: Dimples & other celtic features. Good structure. Pale skin ala Stephen Moyer, freckles in summer

Personality: Outspokenness. Little to no filter although I am getting more diplomatic. Energy like a squirrel on Dexedrine. Aggressive, competitive, independent, driven by curiosity.

Books - My favorite book of all time is probably The Tale of Genji If you haven't read it, I heartily recommend it - such richness with a tapestry of romance and poetry woven together that I can only compare to Shakespeare in depth! That would be followed closely by Don Quixote another masterpiece.

I'm currently reading books on C++ ; the language I find fascinating and it appeals to me much more than C. Authors I have enjoyed reading are Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, Vladimir Nabokov,Louis L'Amour, Anais Nin,William Gibson, Isaac Asimov, Raymond Feist, Piers Anthony, Orson Scott Card, Frank Herbert to name a few. My bookshelves are divided into sections including: graphic arts & design, project & program management, history, historical fiction, cookbooks, networking, programming, computer security and finally, travel.

Movies - love a mix of classics, drama, guy movies, foreign films, great cinematography and witty wordplay. Dangerous Liaisons, Valmont, Pride & Prejudice, The Breakfast Club, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Braveheart, Seven Samurai, Terms of Endearment, anything James Bond. I also like foreign films & independent films and with the American Film Institute Silver so close by, I have been attending regularly.

No tv but netflix and equivalents yes. The Walking Dead, Dr Who, MI5, The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones to name a few. I like watching TED, as any self respecting techie would proudly say. Yes, I'll admit to appreciating teenage vampire dramas. Secretly though, I am pining for more Legend of the Seeker and wish The Tudors had never ended!

I enjoy live music a great deal, Irish pub music, Acoustic guitar, rock/alternative, classical, trance/house/Drum and Bass. My favorite bands/artists are, by genre
(Alternative) Smashing Pumpkins, U2
(Trance) Robert Miles, DJ Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold (Classical) Rimsky-Korsakov
(Post-Wave) Future Islands
I enjoy exposure to new music, more recently that has been early alternative, post-punk, post-wave & garage-rock. If I am seeing shows, 99% of the time it is indie rock. Noting above, my favorite bands are Smashing Pumpkins and Future Islands.

Often traversing Epicurious finding new recipes then trying them out. I have 20+ cookbooks too, so finding something fun to make is never much of a challenge. My baking though is mediocre, or worse; I don't attempt much beyond muffins, brownies, cheesecake or cookies.

The food I assemble vacillates between Pescatarian and Paleolithic ; I don't have anything against meat. It is all a matter of convenience and expedience. I generally do not eat fast food because I want to live a long time, and I believe in good nutrition.

I like Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, a mellow red like bardolino, a citrus Hefeweizen Bavarian-style. Please hold all American hefes - too well-traveled for that! I've also been trying out big reds more recently. Hey, it is good for your heart! :D In spite of appreciation, I drink little.

Theater I love but have never gone here in the US. Hopefully that will change soon because I adore Shakespeare. I want to go see Julius Caesar & Macbeth very much, not as much a fan of newer plays.

What, and more importantly, why.

(1) Dark chocolate - my true love.
(2) Debit card - a man must eat
(3) laptop - I like reading!
(4) iphone - an escape in boring meetings
(5) passport - travel
(6) Shun 8-inch Chef's knife - I can make food and defend myself!

(1) Scintillating eyes
(2) I miss my family!
(3) What is the next great meal I shall make
(4) Why am I not in Europe?
(5) I feel so cooped up - MUST travel now!
(6) How can I bring out the best in people around me?
(7) how to convince grandmothers into sharing their ethnic food secrets with me
(8) starting my own business
(9) business models
(10) software
(11) computer security
(12) heat dissipation with computers
(13) the intersection of technology, project management, program management, systems engineering, development methodologies
(14) The perversion of just concepts, such as "equity feminism" into the misandric "gender feminism" reprehensibility.
(15) Unintended consequences
(16) Eponymous laws
(17) How the legal, ethical, and moral vary.
(18) New job!

One of the following based on my schedule:
(A) work - more often than not, and yes, I commiserate the fact.
(B) ethnic food with a friend in DC
(C) Live music in Baltimore
(D) Collapsing, exhausted after a long week.
(E) Gym

Rather than divulge, I'll share idle thought!

********

My bathroom contains a bottle of organic shaving gel. After using it, the face smells like a mixed salad with sprouts on top. Vegan ladies, please.. restrain yourselves.

********

I actually do read profiles here. Most are a bland regurgitation of finicky drivel.

********

When I am playing Quickmatch, I feel bad about giving someone a bad score, so I just skip them. Quickmatch is addicting for an aesthete!

********

I like to people-watch. I enjoy looking at faces and giving them scores based on my interpretation of attractiveness. In this way, OKC is so much like the 90's Hot Or Not. Nostalgia! :)

********

I wish OKC would go back to separate scores for personality and attractiveness. It is far easier to find a cute face than it is a great personality.

********

As a young news-paperboy, I traded my extras with a Cordon Bleu trained chef. Copies of the Palos Verdes Peninsula News in exchange for the most heavenly croissants, the very best espresso, lattes, and mochas. The combination of a french cafe and food to die for......

********

I'm so much more west coast than east coast, but considering years lived in the south, I don't know where that puts me.

********

Dusty Springfield's most famous song defines me.

********

As a child, I distinctly remember having crushes on my mom's friends :)

I think our cultures over-idealizes youth as beauty

You are good conversation, not offended by sarcasm. This is important to me.

You have a bigger brain and are fun. I adore intelligence and exuberance!!!

You treat your parents wonderfully and have a healthy relationship with them.

You are not a complete couch potato.

You have exuberance, charisma, empathy, brains, playfulness, and a sense of adventure. Adventure when it comes to what you read, eat, and explore, NOT something else ya pervs ;)

It wouldn't hurt if you brought the energy of Kara Thrace, the sharp tongue of an Elizabeth Bennett, and the brains of Temperance Brennan perhaps with a tad bit of Camille Paglia thrown in for good measure. However, that might be too much perfection...

Hey, a man can dream right? :)

*****************************

I think there is someone out there who can bring out the best in me, and I in she.

*****************************

Since I am future oriented, I don't see someone fitting any of below categories as good relationship material. Please do not message me if any of the following are true for you:
You selected looking for "casual sex".
You are a poly-amorous type.
You are a negative individual.
You are a permanently offended type.
You are currently pregnant.
You are a man, or were born a man.
You are a single mother (not including widowed)

And finally, as if this was not long enough... TL; DR
You are a professional dog-walker, and your idea of a fun first date after dinner activity includes playing with the dogs, as if you are one too. Thanks to past experience, I am going to say I'm not your type and wish you great luck in finding your fellow "furry" guyfriend :)