Me in a nutshell? I'd probably have to describe myself as an "adventurous dork with a taste for dark beer."

I'll give you an example. If you were to sneak into my place and dig around a bit, you might stumble across a rock climbing harness, the TV would probably be set to the history channel (if I bothered having cable), a guide book to some foreign country would be on the coffee table (at the moment: Chile) and there would be about six different micro breweries represented in my fridge.

Seriously though, don't sneak into my place. I don't find stalking to be an attractive quality in women ;-)

Enjoying it as much as I can.

I'm an engineer... which means I was one of those kids who took apart the family phone and re-wired it for my own amusement ...that was in 5th grade (true story).

When I'm not geeking my way through the next paycheck... I'm busy traveling, whitewater kayaking, home brewing, climbing, mountain biking or trying something completely new and random (like the mosaic class where I was the only non 50 year old woman). I've been to 20ish countries so far, with the most recent being Belize and Guatemala.

Whitewater kayaking is probably my number one passion right now, I spend countless weekends in the summer doing it and I try to include it in my travels when possible (pulled it off when I was in Panama, Costa Rica and Nepal... hoping to do the same in South America some day). Two years ago I got certified by the ACA to be a whitewater kayak instructor. Since then I've started teaching a kayak class for a community college on the side (just for fun) and occasionally I lead river trips for a local club, and a paddle shop.

-Generously using hot sauce
-Mario Kart on N64
-Cooking: I'm pretty bad ass in the kitchen. So if we ever go head to head on Iron chef america, you'd better watch out!
-Kayaking
-Mini Golf (I'll bet you a beer I'll beat you!)
-Finding adventures by accident

Apparently I have a good taste in belts... or just one belt. Anyway, everyone seems to notice it for some strange reason.

Hey! My eyes are up *here* thank you

Books: lonely planet and culture smart guides. I've also been reading some psychology related books lately. Personality traits, how the brain works, why men and women are different... understanding how people think is interesting. I also started "For whom the bell tolls." Its the first fiction novel I've attempted reading since some college class made me -we'll see how this goes. 33 pages down, 470 to go. "Into the Wild" was the first book I could say was better than the movie -that means I get to join the Book Snob Club now, right?

Movies: Bond flicks, "Everything is Illuminated" and "Into the wild" are high on the list. Also, going along with my mild kayaking obsession, I enjoy movies like "wild water" and "Frontier" -I try to make it to the Banff Mountain film festival tour when it hit's chicago. If you've never heard of Banff, you've got to check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHDGv1RR2v4
...best teaser trailer ever!

Food: If I haven't tried it, we need to put some on my plate. But the usual favorites are: Thai, Mexican, and Texas style BBQ and just about anything that does not come with golden arches.

-My passport
-Spell check
-Dark beer
-Hot sauce
-My Kayaks
-My Zwilling kitchen knives (a guy's gotta eat)

When is the next time I can go kayaking

What's the next stamp I'll be getting in my passport. (answer for now: Belize)

What's the next beer style I want to brew. (answer for now: Maibock)

What's my career going to look like in 5 years... should I get my PE? PMP? MS:EE? MBA? blah blah blah... Life was so much simpler in 3rd grade. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Easy: 8th Grade! done! time to finger paint!

I really, really don't have a typical Friday night.

here's probably the top 5:
-hitting up a brewery or beer-bar with friends
-road trip to go kayaking (the rivers don't come to you)
-board games and beer with my cousins (the cousins who are under 21 get root beer... and maybe a sip of my beer when no one is looking)
-hanging out with friends and a movie and some home cooked food
-IO, Annoyance, TMLMTBGB, Second city, Zanies or some other equally good comedy venue

I'm usually pretty sarcastic, but I do have a serious side, and for the right woman- I can be quite sweet as well (but we're going to keep that secret between us, ok?)

Oh, and I've never tried yoga... I feel like that's weird since I eat kashi cereal and like "nature stuff".

You have a positive perspective on life, don't take yourself too seriously, consider yourself smart (most of the time) and are a curious creature -constantly learning, exploring and trying new things....