I was introduced during the Jyomon period, and am made from glutinous rice that is steamed and then pounded with a hammer, or mallet. Nowadays, I am available in supermarkets. To make me, first the rice must be steamed. Then it is pounded and kneaded at length until it is pliable, and is then molded into small round cakes about the size of a hand. I am very chewy and sometimes people choke on me, especially the elderly.

I spent several years in emergency veterinary medicine idealistically saving the world one puppy at a time and accumulating anecdotes for parties and the Thanksgiving dinner table, but eventually my student loans kicked in and I reluctantly moved back to a day job. This makes me feel like a sellout, so I'm heading back into the medical field, specifically oncology.

After a lifetime of being picked last for kickball teams, I am finally beginning to understand the joy of running, and recently began training for my first marathon.

I'm constantly coming up with wacky ideas and projects. I'd say something stupid and pretentious here like "life's too short" or "I view my life as a series of opportunities for everyday performance art," but really, I have to suppress a desire to kick hippies who talk like that. I honestly just come up with stupid ideas and then want to see them exist in more than just my head. I don't have nearly enough time to implement them all, but if I ever become a multimillionaire, one of the first things I will do is employ a small staff whose sole purpose is to bring all my plans to fruition. This sounds far more sinister than it actually should.

The second thing I shall do is purchase several dozen pair of funky glasses so I can switch them whenever the mood strikes me.

A perfect night out for me is front row seats at a rollerderby match with a beer in my hand, or around a campfire with friends. My perfect night in is a good book and a hot bath.

I probably know more 'your momma' jokes than you. I can knit an awesome mohawk hat, or bake a very delicious cheesecake. I sing loudly at Irish bars. I hold two IT degrees.

I am not awesome at minigolf, but that does not stop me from loving it unconditionally. I am also not awesome at running, but no matter how slow I go, I figure it's still faster than sitting on the couch.

Things that I love doing: riding my bike, playing board games, tending to my kitchen garden, baking, reading, telling offensive jokes, and delving into whatever project is my current fascination. Right now that is: well, I have two...making musical instruments out of empty culligan bottles, and eating on $1 per day for 30 days to better reflect on food choices we make in America.

Either that I'm tall, or how nerdy my tattoos are. I'm not kidding; they're really nerdy. If I'm with my dog, people don't even notice me, because she is simultaneously much cuter and uglier than I am.

The thing that they don't notice that they should is that I'm an asshole with a heart of gold.

A) Hyperion, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, China Mountain Zhang

A.5 (television)) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Futurama, Flavor of Love, Battlestar Galactica

B) High Fidelity, Best in Show, Birdy

C) Erasure, Yaz, The Dregs, Great Big Sea, The Blue Nile, Depeche Mode, Peter Gabriel, Propaganda, Data, Mr. Bungle, LCD Soundsystem, Bellatrix, The Postal Service

D) Cheesecake, oysters on the half shell, sushi, Oaxacan mole, and gas station hot dogs. Not all at once.

protons, neutrons, electrons, gravity, DANCE, and my inhaler.

...Tony. Wondering where he could be, who he is with, what is he thinking, is he thinking of me, and whether he will ever return one day.

Playing board/card games with friends, sleeping, doing laundry at my brother's place, or trying to catch up on watching movies that everyone but me has seen. Would you believe it took me until April '07 to see Raiders of the Lost Ark? Yeah, me neither.

I have difficulty being friends with people who aren't passionate about something in their lives. I don't care if it's designing trebuchets in AutoCAD, building decorative birdhouses, or collecting Transformers, but whatever it is, love the hell out of it. Love it like a hurricane.

On a slightly less pretentious note, I was a very lazy Girl Scout. I only got the merit badges that everyone got when we went on field trips, save one, and that was for brushing my teeth.

And I hate writing online self-summaries, so I usually just act lazy and steal text found during random Googling.

You probably shouldn't. I think most dating sites are plastic and creepy.