Hi, my name is Mik. I got to a point in life where my head is far enough out of my ass that I can take some real interest in people other than myself. This is what I am doing here. I don't drink, but I'm vicious by nature (as in I need vices, small limp-wristed ones, but still), and while I'm very wholesome in general (great job, yoga, organic hand-massaged food etc) I have keen appreciation of the subhuman; not so much into the unicorn and rainbows thing.

I work as a software engineer for a startup in the Financial District. I find my work fulfilling, but luckily, not all-filling. My big project is to develop the spiritual aspect of my life, whatever this turns out to be; for years I've been exercising the mind and the body, but I can't do a single spiritual pushup - and I really would like to be able to. So I'm looking into this. Also: I really would like to become 'a good listener', no shit, serious about this, working on it.

My work. Cooking, cycling, cleaning. Languages. Sleeping. Entertaining myself. Growing chillies on my windowsill. Chessboxing.

I have an accent (Polish), I laugh really loud at the 'wrong things'.

"Good books and interesting movies" ;-) Really fat and boring and thorough history books. I rarely re-read books any more, so it is hard to tell what my 'favorites' are. Here is the list of books I read in the past few months:
"Soldiers of Salamis", Javier Cercas
"Pimp", Iceberg Slim
"Journey to the North of India", Arthur Conolly
"Prison Pit 1-3", John Ryan
"Lincoln", Gore Vidal
"The Barbary Coast", Herbert Asbury
"The Rum Diary", Hunter S Thompson
"Consider the Oyster", MFK Fisher
"Born to Run", Christopher McDougall
"The Best American Noir of the Century"
"Tom Brown's Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking"
"The Omnivore's Dilemma", Michael Pollan
"A People's History of the United States", Howard Zinn
"Be My Enemy", Ian McDonald
"John Barleycorn", Jack London
"War is a Racket", Smedley D. Butler

Movies I don't watch much, but mostly because I never can find any I really like (aside from yakuza flicks, which are always good no matter how bad). Blade Runner and anything by Takashi Miike; Big Lebowski; Wes Anderson. All 3 ping-pong movies.

Music: pre-bebop jazz, 'classical', bluegrass, ska, old hardcore, anything with brass.

Food: I cook a lot, most of the food I eat I cooked; I keep forgetting the things I like, and I will go for months without my 'favorite' food, until I somehow recall that I love it. I would like to start eating out more, but I don't do it naturally. I've been eating more and more vegetables, cutting out pretty much all meat except for bacon.

EDIT: DOCTOR WHO! Mark Ryden.

Sleep, time alone, the outdoors, maps, honesty, bicycles.

Myself, aesthetics, software design, the universe and the nature of being &c.

Practicing jiu-jitsu or yoga, cycling around, meeting with friends, reading.

I have a special voice for talking with dogs. Once I know a dog, it is possible there will be a special voice just for that dog.

If you find what I wrote about myself interesting the way it is, taking it at face value, and you think we could enjoy spending time together.