hello there. i'm a masters level social worker of the social justice/political agitator/cultural change agent variety.

i've been told i'm opinionated, but i think people mean that i have opinions on many things and express them freely, not so much that i adhere to them blindly. i'm a very logical thinker; if you can give me a sound argument you may be able to convince me to change my mind. i like to read Scientific American and Consumer Reports. i am somewhat anti-establishment, but only because i think most establishments are outdated and useless or harmful. i have many qualms with the institution of marriage. i am friends with many amazing, encouraging, fantastic, spectacular people and i love them all very much. i believe in The Secret. the Belief-O-Matic at Beliefnet.com labels my religious philosophy "new-age". the term cracks me up, but the description is pretty right on. i love living by myself and miss it tremendously. i recently got a cat and i would like a dog at some point. i drive a hybrid. when i'm depressed or stressed i get very irritable and can be quite curt. it doesn't happen very often though.

i don't cook although i would like to learn. especially because i have a wheat intolerance which makes eating "normal" food extremely difficult and potentially hazardous. (look up celiac disease for more info.) i don't watch/have a tv although occasionally i realize there are a few things i really am missing out on (the Colbert Report and the Discovery Channel, for example). i'm silly. i like kids, but what i like more is giving them back to their parents at the end of the day. i'm proud of everything i've done with my life but i want to do so much more. i am easily amused and find so many things interesting. i love to learn and am a curious person, perhaps in both senses of the word.

i find it funny that OKC thinks i am "less dorky". some people i know would probably disagree. ...ah, they have finally wised up and taken that award away!

i consider myself to be 'sex positive' but i'm not personally into too much kink. i also have herpes which has, to some degree, put another type of kink into my sex life in the last few years. it sounds scary to a lot of people, but it's really quite common and not actually half as horrible as most people think. i'm happy to answer questions or share information about it.

the social and political issues which are most important to me are mental health and illness, women's health and rights, civic participation and political engagement, and the environment.

here are some of the things i look for in a partner (though to be honest I'm not really here to find one): strong character, independence, intelligence, humor (specifically witty and dry), health conscious, socially aware, politically liberal/progressive/leftist, is down with the search for spiritual enlightenment or is at least ok with me being a sort of alternative healing hippie on my own spiritual journey. someone who can walk into a room full of people he doesn't know and successfully mingle without getting annoyed or bored. at least for a little while. ****honesty, integrity, intentionality*** i want someone to be straight up with me. i don't need to dissect, i'm very low maintenance. i just need to be able to establish some mechanism for effective communication. let's see... creativity (not necessarily in the realm of fine arts), passion, someone with goals and purpose and the motivation to meet them. self-reflective and insightful. self-reliant. but not too much, of course. meaning: knows the difference between dependent, independent, and interdependent, and can apply them appropriately. someone who is curious and likes to explore and learn. someone who can keep his cool and does not have a short temper, or at least doesn't behave in an "angry" manner very often. an overall positive energy.

some bonuses would include: enjoying cooking (and being good at it!), being musically/artistically inclined, perhaps playing an instrument, guitar maybe? and/or singing. likes to give and receive backrubs, maybe is a splendid dancer and would even like to take ballroom dance lessons with me! someone who appreciates the outdoors. i love to camp and canoe and really want to do some backpacking. i've done almost no traveling but i want to see a million places! someone with the travel bug who could guide me a little.

trying to figure out the answer to that exact question... getting closer.

I currently work at a psychosocial rehabilitation program for adults in mental illness recovery. I enjoy the work a lot but have been there for a long time and am beginning to burn out. I also don't see much room for professional advancement with my current employer. My longer term plan has me moving into women's issues and program management. or alternative healing. or going back to school for... something. or maybe something else.

I'm also a yoga teacher. I teach a Yin class once a week at a small yoga studio, as well as a short modified class with my clients at work, and I sub an occasional Hatha class now and then. I am getting ready to teach an 8 week basic course at a local church this fall and hope to pick up more classes in the future.

Update: I recently got my hours cut at work which sucks financially but has freed me up to start massage school. The Universe has arranged it for me that I am able to take most of my classes on Mondays, the day that has been cut from my work schedule. I start classes next week and in September 2010 I will be a certified massage therapist. Yay!

beyond that i'm having a personal renaissance. for me it is true - life begins at thirty. i am finally crawling out of the dregs into the sunshine. i feel somewhat like i just arose from a coma with severe amnesia. if you believe in auras you might say i've been transitioning from blue to violet. i think i'm here now.

organizing things, thinking linearly, thinking 'outside the box' (yes, i am a fabulous paradox), listening, dancing, problem solving, laughing, having juvenile fun, having a really bad memory.

i'm very small. petite. short. with a good figure. i'm generally fairly approachable.

(A) i love many books on many topics in many genres. right now i'm pretty submerged in yoga texts and expect I will be doing a lot of reading for school soon. but i've determined i need to do something about the fact that i wasn't required to read very much in high school and never took an english or great books course in college and am therefore very poorly read (or not well read or however you might say that.) so a few years ago i started on a mission to familiarize myself with as many of the classics and great books as i can. if you have thoughts on which are the greatest of the great books, i'd love to hear your recommendation on what should be at the top of my reading list. some of my faves so far: the grapes of wrath, to kill a mockingbird, animal farm, and the sound and the fury.

(B) i'm not a big movie buff and i suck at pop culture/media. i like movies where hot chicks kick asses (kill bill, alias - not a movie i know, but i only watch it on DVD in multi-hour time spans so i think it counts), movies that mess with your head (memento, the jacket, the machinist) movies with bizarre or interesting takes on love and/or human relationships (garden state, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, amelie)

(C) music: radiohead, the cure, prince, foo fighters, beck, beasties. but i'm a lover of style in any genre.

(D) i really love food. a lot. most foods. i am especially fond of mexican, indian, italian, southwest, sushi, pretty much any seafood, bread, cheese, ice cream, cookies. i'm a fairly adventurous eater. however, i'm allergic to wheat and am sensitive to milk products so in reality my diet is fairly restricted.

strictly speaking, not much besides what's already in my brain. for practical day to day purposes: my planner, cell phone, laptop, news/information/literature/other brain-food, lip balm, and lots of drinking water. oh, i'm also partial to sunshine and dry air.

my future, currently. and my present. possibilities and opportunities. love. sex. spirituality. relationships. politics and democracy. how awesomely lucky we are that fruit exists. human psychology. how happy I am that I cut all my hair off, and how long I should wait to start growing it back. celiac disease and yeast related illnesses. on a practical level, i'm thinking a lot about vocational issues including what background music will facilitate you having a meditative yoga experience, and what electives I should take in school.

very tired. I may go home for an early evening or may meet up with other folks for dinner or something else on the town. Once a month my studio holds satsang (yogic gathering for learning and discussion) which I usually attend. i would like to do more cultural and educational things because i feel like i'm not taking as much advantage of local activities as i should be. i'd also like to start going to more concerts. i love live music and used to go to shows all the time when i was a kid. i'd like to get more involved in the Detroit music scene. Could use a nudge with this.

not so much private, but definitely undesirable and possibly embarrassing - i live at my mom's house. not an idea situation, but financially necessary at the moment. despite what you may think, social work is not a lucrative field. ;-) actually, it works out on other levels too, so it's not too bad.

you are EXTRAORDINARY.