It seems like cats and mushrooms are both polarizing things... I love both, and if you do too, we'll get along just fine. Also probably helpful to know that I'm a morning person who doesn't generally drink coffee except at Sunday brunch, and I'm generally pretty upbeat but have a bit of an existentialist/gloomy streak by times (this would be when I'm in an Eeyore mood).

Since I seem to be mentioning all the practical things here (for fun, please see below), might as well put in that I don't like air conditioning much (although I have it and do resort to it for a few nights every summer), and keep my place at around 68 in the winter. This is the stoic, frugal New Englander in me. I am also a bit of a nut about reusing/recycling and I drive a manual transmission car. Other than that, I'm not very frugal... or stoic, for that matter.

And, since we never explicitly get to say, I've never been married, don't have any kids, and am interested in both with the right partner.

During the day, I push pixels. For the man. I'm a techie and an artist, and I design web applications for a living. It's fun, and most of the time it keeps me engrossed enough at work that I keep to my daily limit of 2 pieces of chocolate (dark, it's *good* for you). I also manage the team that develops the user interfaces for our applications, which is less fun for me, but needs to be done too.

When I'm not at work, I'm usually either hanging out with my friends enjoying a local restaurant or cooking at home, doing something creative, checking out some local theater... ahem, *theatre*... or sleeping. I also love shopping for produce (and meat, and eggs, and cheese, and flowers...) at the farmers' market. Green City is amazing!

And then there's the gym part. My heel is finally feeling better, so I'm getting back into running. I like riding my bike, too, particularly along the lakefront early in the morning, and sometimes I ride to work.

Oh, and I like to travel. I just got back from a great trip to Japan, and am looking forward to doing some weekend camping this summer. I also go to Boston quite frequently to visit my family, including my two little neices, who are two of my favorite people on the planet.

I'm really good at cooking and baking, CSS, math, making spaces beautiful, knitting, picking colors for things, making people feel welcome in my home, taking care of myself (would love for someone else to take over some of this; I offer the same for him), finding the best clothes at Target, painting (walls, edging in particular - it's a zen experience), making jewelry, finding great restaurants, choosing wine for my friends (would love for someone else to help with these last two, too, and, while we're at it, cooking - it's more fun with a friend), and being pretty goofy. I can also imitate a Boston accent and a dentist's drill. I know; you're entranced already.

People usually notice my hair first, then my smile, and then my shoes. After that, they probably notice that I'm opinionated...

Books change frequently, and in general I like pretty much anything that has a really good and interesting story (this covers a LOT of books, which is good, because I like to read). The most recent book I read that I recommended to people (um, pushed on them?), though, was The Audacity of Hope.

Movies. Similarly, I like things with a good story, and I also like beautiful, or at least interesting or inventive, art direction. Favorites include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Amelie, Strictly Ballroom, and, more recently, I really loved Up.

Music staples include REM and the Cowboy Junkies, but I love all kinds of music, as long as, you know, there's a good melody and possibly some interesting harmony. I'm also a sucker for piano, steel guitar, and quirky lyrics.

And food. Well, there's not much I don't like. I'm glad I don't have to choose one kind to eat for the rest of my life, but if I did, I'd choose two (cheating): Italian and Mexican. Three: and bacon. Oh, 4: chocolate. And I included cake below. Phew!

Since you didn't ask, I'll also tell you that my favorite architects are H. H. Richardson, F. L. Wright and A. Gaudi.

Light, colors, spices, fresh air, the ocean (Lake Michigan is substituting here in Chicago), and cake.

Where do I start? My brain is generally a crazy mish-mash of thoughts from the philosophical to the mundane. Usually there's not much that you might find in US Weekly in there, but even that sneaks in occasionally. If you have random thoughts to offer, I will pick them up and run with them.

Typically on Friday I'm out with friends, unwinding after the week. Sometimes, however, I am in bed by 8, and that's just fine with me.

This is not very private; you'd know the first time we ate together. I currently have Invisalign trays for my teeth. That's right, after 37 years, I'm straightening them out a bit. They weren't that bad, but since I'm having some shifted for "medical" reasons (cross-bite), I decided to have others moved for vanity. It'll all be over in November, I think...

If you enjoy thoughtful, meandering conversations over a glass of red wine...