For anyone taking the shopping list approach, I'm an Irish guy living in New York for the last few years. I studied English and History of Art in Trinity College in Dublin, then did a masters in Multimedia, and I recently wrapped up another graduate degree at Columbia here in New York. I've had a bunch of different careers, most of which paid terribly but were loads of fun, and now I'm gainfully employed like a good responsible adult.

Beyond the shopping list, good people, good conversation, and the occasional bit of mischief make my world rotate. Work is just one part of life - more than a means to and end, but it's definitely not the only thing that matters. Some of the true pleasures in life include a perfectly made grilled cheese sandwich, a run by the water when nobody is around with some music blaring through your headphones, a good pint of stout, a book you keep thinking about when you stop reading, or that guilty film you're not supposed to like but you do anyway.

I have my solidly pretentious moments where the world revolves around high-art, music, theater and literature, but I can always be tempted away by anything that gives an adrenaline rush or a good belly-laugh. My happy place is the top of a mountain somewhere with a few friends, looking down on an untouched snowy descent.

I've had a pretty weird career, doing everything from working as a chef, an art teacher for kids, a part-time snowboarding instructor, a writer, and I've spent the last few years working in the tech industry around the world. I run a property company on the side, and clearly I get bored easily.

Telling stories
Spotting things that most people don't
Synthesizing
Making the perfect food to match any craving
Explaining things
Getting myself into heated debates, and just occasionally admitting that I'm wrong.

The fact that I can hold a conversation with just about anyone.
My accent - Irish (although I'm told that Americanisms are starting to slip in - why did you take the I out of aluminium?)

Ahhhh, the stuff that matters.

All kinds of music, from the Black Keys to Daft Punk to Big Black Delta. Shockingly, not a big fan of Taylor Swift, so there are some exceptions.

Was an English major and a writer, so I read a lot, and love anything by Salman Rushdie, Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Kurt Vonnegut. Recent pleasures have been 'Diary of an Oxygen Thief' and 'Mortality'.

I don't have a TV connection because I find most of what's on absolutely terrible, but I do like a good film and have been known to stream the occasional episode of something exceptional like Breaking Bad or The Wire.

Music that gets under your skin
Conversations that flow
Snow
Something to read
Internet access
Occasionally getting out of Dodge and finding some space

Why things work the way they do

This is a ghastly question. I do what most of us do - I'm out with a bunch of friends for a couple of drinks, some food, some live music or following someone's harebrained scheme for the evening.

I'm kind of afraid of/repulsed by styrofoam.

You're willing to throw caution to the wind once in a while and get involved in that occasional bit of mischief, like to talk about everything and anything from the nature of the universe to why dogs are better than cats (or the reverse if you're into it), are passionate about something, even if it's something you think nobody else will be interested in. Trust me, if you're passionate enough about anything, even if it's stamp collecting or your quilting hobby, it's far cooler than being uninspired.