I've traveled around the country as much as possible on a shoestring budget, living in Oklahoma, Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, and obviously Colorado. Everywhere I lived I learned important things, the greatest of which was that I am a strong person and there's not much in the world worth being afraid of.

Over the past year and a half or so, I've really gotten into music. It was startling because I wasn't that big of a music listener most of my life, but then I started listening more and going to concerts, even working for a webzine so I was reviewing music and interviewing musicians. It's a bit of a rabbit hole, the music world. For every band I find, there are half a dozen more being recommended to me. There's such a huge world of sound out there, full of passion and clever writers.

I used to work at the library, and definitely believe words are sexy. A good turn of phrase makes me weak in the knees. And for the record, librarians aren't the pinched bitter prudes that are the stereotype.

I have come to believe that perception is everything. It really makes me curious about quantum physics, but for the most part I just think a lot, wonder how the way other people experience the world differs from my own.

I've been known to enjoy a good serious chat just as much as I enjoy talking about zombies, vampires, unicorns, and toasters.

I work at Table Mountain Inn, up in Golden. It's such a beautiful view on the way to and from work each day that I can't hate my job even when it proves exhausting.

In my freetime I always have a pen nearby; I'm usually writing. I usually go for short stories, but I've been known to jot down a poem or two.

Every few weeks, my best friend and I try to go out dancing. We devote the whole day to treating ourselves special, and end with getting all dressed up and shaking our butts either at Milk Bar or The Church.

I haven't done it much, but I like karaoke, and if I can find other players I enjoy board games, card games (such as Munchkin), and especially word games. Strip Scrabble, anyone? In my quest to keep myself occupied, I've even worked at developing my own card game with a friend.

words. They've been my passion since I was a child, devouring vocabulary books like they were dessert. I wanted to be a writer or an editor, and I still do. There's something so fulfilling about taking someone else's words and turning the potential into something better than they were before.

I'm also good at listening, keeping the peace, playing amateur therapist to the people I care about, texting until people think my fingers may fall off, being sarcastic in a subtle way...

I'm quiet. They probably notice that I'm watching them, but not saying anything. I like to see how people interact with other people before interacting with them myself.

My friends all joke that they could put me in a sack with nothing but potatoes and the internet and I'd be happy. I do love potatoes, but I have a weakness for chocolate, cheesecake, pasta, and burritos. I think there should be songs about how delicious burritos are.

My favorite music varies. Lately I've been listening to Jane Jensen's Comic Book Whore a lot, and I like everything Stephin Merritt has ever done. I like One Ring Zero, Urusei Yatsura, and other music that doesn't go together. My boys are My Chemical Romance and The Matches though. I've interviewed The Matches a couple times for a webzine and they are gentlemen, if a bit scatterbrained at times. I love talking music with people, I can't lie. Oh, and there's this local band you should check out: Bad Mother and the Sons of Bitches.

I like movies that make people think. My top film is one nobody else I know seems to understand my love of, but The United States of Leland just clicked with me. My secret shame is I also have a weakness for stupid girl movies with happy endings. I like The Crow, I like The Matrix, I like Memento and Fight Club and an assortment of movies both popular and unheard of, including a few cult classics. I love musicals.

As for books, I can only give an abridged list. The Lake of Dead Languages. The Book of Courtesans. The Basic Eight. Good Omens. House of Leaves. The Nightwatch series. Louisa May Alcott wrote some wonderful gothic thrillers and I like Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and the weirdness to HP Lovecraft's stories. Oh, and John Robinson. His book of poetry, Love Letters Unsent to People Unmet, it moves me.

Being able to express myself (or to choose not to, for that matter).

Intelligence. The only reason I keep hope in the human race is the evidence there are intelligent people.

Books. I was grounded from them when I was growing up and snuck them, reading snatches by whatever light there was.

Tea. Sometimes I can take breaks from it because the weather's warm, but give me a hot cuppa chai or PG Tips and it warms my soul as well as my body.

Baking. I like making cookies or brownies or trying my hand at other desserts.

...I feel so cliche for saying it, but my friends. They've been there for me and I need to be able to be there for them too.

people. Who they are, what they want, how they think... All I have are questions and the only way to answer them is to watch and learn from the world around me.

When I'm not thinking about people, I'm usually thinking about what I've been writing, what I want to do, what the people around me want to do, what to read next... I always seem to be thinking, but not always about things worth discussing.

Trying to remember I have to be up Saturday morning for work. But because that inevitably fails, my fridays are usually spent listening to music, trying to write short stories, and everything but going to bed before midnight.

I write, but I'm afraid to show my words to people in case they're not good enough.

you want to talk. I'm a good listener and open-minded.

Or message me if you want to talk music or books. Or talk to another huge geek.