Laughter is the best thing in the world. So I spend a lot of my time looking to laugh, or make others laugh. I'm clever, and witty, and kind, and utterly pragmatic. I make choices based on a personal code of ethics founded on the fact that the only person I must live with is myself, so I damn well better be good company. I am a good man, but I am not nice--although I am polite. Usually. It's a good idea to not ask me questions unless you really want to know the answers.

I'm housebroken, though, so I'm safe around grandparents and small children.

Enjoying it, mostly. Living in San Francisco, and loving it; working at a fun job that pays well; listening to good music. I write. Not enough, although it is what I love best. I read. Again, not enough. I love good food and better company, and I'm not afraid to roll up my sleeves and get the job done.

Writing. Laughing. Listening. Being a friend. Cooking. Being anything but bored. Trivia--if it's mostly useless information, I know it.

My smirk. Intelligence. Empathy. That they expected me to be taller.

Really, I love stories. Any good thing is usually a story, in and of itself. That said:

Books: Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan and The Sarantine Mosaic, Hambly's Dragonsbane and Dog Wizard, Wilde's quips and plays, McCarthy's The Road, Barnard's translations of Sappho's fragments, Helprin's Winter's Tale and A Soldier of the Great War, Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan Adventures (although Barrayar is really a Cordelia Naismith Adventure and arguably my favorite), Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day, Austen's Pride and Prejudice (what magnificent snark), Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, Card's Speaker for the Dead, Gaiman's Sandman cycle, May's Intervention, Silverberg's short fiction and novellas, Lukyanenko's Night Watch series, McKinley's The Hero and the Crown and Sunshine, Stephenson's Snow Crash, Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch...

Movies: Todo sobre mi madre, The Lord of the Rings, Hero, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Belle Epoque, Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (it's excellent and it's Almodovar), LA Story, Bridget Jones's Diary, The Quiet Man, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (because really, who isn't a lonesome polecat?), Moulin Rouge, Volver, The Matrix, Roshomon, Casablanca, A Knight's Tale, Imagine Me & You (so I'm a sucker for romantic comedies)... And if we expand to include TV: Battlestar Galactica (the new one, which is excellent, even if the finale made me want to throw things), The Big Bang Theory (because it's funny as anything and never cruel to its characters), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls (the banter, the banter!), Farscape, Veronica Mars, Top Gear (I have my utter guy moments), How I Met Your Mother, Grey's Anatomy (yes it's a soap opera--what of it? This isn't a list of the best TV, just my favorite.), Doctor Who, Torchwood, Mad Men, Firefly, Coupling (because it makes me laugh and laugh and laugh), Slings & Arrows, Rome, and Gossip Girl (what?--it's marvelous trash, and I'll defend pop culture 'til I'm red in tooth and claw). And, based on the strength of just the pilot, I anticipate loving Glee fiercely.

Music (all sorts, here's the stuff you may have heard of): Mecano, Ben Folds Five, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Tori Amos, Mike Doughty, Keane, La 5a Estacion, Tegan and Sara, Mikel Erentxun, Amaral, Vienna Teng, Chavela Vargas, The Smiths, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Clash, Nortec Collective, Cake, Noa, La Ley, Dar Williams, Gomez...

Foods (by cuisines): Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Southern, Indian, Mediterranean, California and Pan-Asian Fusion.

Writing. Good stories. Good food. Good music. Loved ones. The ability to laugh at myself.

All the people that live inside my head. (I did mention that I'm a writer, yes?)

I don't have typical Friday nights. Last few have been spent in the following manner: at a great rock concert, driving home to visit my family, going to bed early after a hard day and a harder week, cooking dinner for friends, at a dear friend's rehearsal dinner, out at the movies, spending too much time online, working on my novel, out for drinks with friends, catching up on TiVo...

I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

You know how to laugh, and make others laugh. You enjoy good food. You can dance. You not only have opinions, you have reasons for them. You're smarter than the average bear. You value a good kiss. You think red is a good color for walls and feel that yellow is underestimated as a wardrobe option. You have a thing for fiery Latinos. Your vocabulary is large and interesting and you think words are sexy. You think that while jewelry is nice, real estate is better. You understand the perfection of a warm, sun-ripened peach fresh off the tree. You think that sex is something you do with the lights on. You haven't got a clue, but are looking for answers.