Intro
At this point in my life, I'm only looking for friends.

Yes, I'm married. I'm not going to hide it. I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for here in the long-term, but I'm certainly not looking for anything more than a good friend right now. The only relationships that last in life are friendships. Whether those friendships have additional labels attached is mostly irrelevant to their longevity.

About Me
If you sincerely want to know me, you will find my true self waiting in the quiet moments between words, at the pause in a great conversation when words become unnecessary and silence wraps itself around us like a soft blanket.

Honesty is a strength of mine, deception is not. My inward mind, my self as I feel it in my clearest moments, is not always evident to others. It is difficult to describe.

Some specific interests of mine include photography, poetry, philosophy, graphic design, and sign language. I love to read and I don't watch much television, although I do occasionally watch movies.

My Philosophy
I am trying to live as I think a good person should live, to be an example to others who are in need of encouragement, to help those that I can, to forgive easily, and to show kindness and understanding at every possible opportunity.

Current Plans
In progress...

Random Stuff
I'm kind of a jack of many trades. I can hit a nail with a hammer and assemble that annoyingly complicated piece of furniture you just bought. I can usually explain that convoluted philosophical argument you've been struggling with for days. Basically, I am good at seeing how things (and concepts) fit together and making things fit together. I've also been told I'm great with kids (which is awesome because I hope to spend my life surrounded by children).

Writing
I consider myself to be a good writer. I've been concocting stories since before I could write them down myself and I spent many years in junior high and high school improving my skill at writing poetry. My college papers received compliments from my professors. I am relatively good at spelling words correctly and I enjoying both editing other people's work and finding errors in published works.

Graphic Design
One of my favorite hobbies is graphic design (making birthday and holiday cards, event invitations, thank-you cards, flyers, bulletins, business cards, etc.) and if I may be so bold, I have never failed to receive compliments on my work. This kind of work especially brings out the perfectionist in me and I take delight in making each work something I am proud of.

It used to be quite noticeable that I was quiet and withdrawn, and at times you may still find me that way, but in the last year or so I've become significantly more outgoing and assertive. I'm still honest almost to a fault and I have trouble catching onto people's jokes sometimes, but most people seem to find me personable and friendly.

(Current)

Books: Stranger in a Strange Land, The Tao Te Ching, Diamond Age, The Golden Compass, Beggars in Spain, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Xanth series, and everything by Orson Scott Card (my favorite author).

Movies: The Life of Brian, Whale Rider, Adam, The Time Traveler's Wife, Up, Pineapple Express, Simon Birch, Yes Man, Sicko, The Princess Bride, August Rush, Juno, Stranger Than Fiction.

Shows: I don't own a TV and I do not watch TV and I really don't like being places where there is a TV on, especially a loud one. I find televisions very distracting and bothersome. But... sometimes I do watch Doctor Who or a few other shows Netflix.

Music: I mostly listen to rock. I will occasionally listen to pop, but I am not into rap or jazz.

Food: I think my all-time favorite food is cooked apples, maybe caramel rolls. I'm not usually a picky eater, but I don't enjoy pickles or olives or peppers or spicy food. Ignore that 'picky eater' bit.

Happiness: I believe that deep, abiding happiness is something that is good to strive for. Maybe it's selfish, but I want to be happy, to love the life I'm living, to have a life full of laughter and good memories. I also want to make others happy. We are all tiny, insignificant blips in the grand scale of the universe and yet we have such passion in us. We have one short life, one brief existence, within which we have one chance to make a difference.

I worry about money and the future, like most people who have not enough hope for either. I think about beauty and about philosophy. I dream of a life surrounded by people who care about me and whose lives I am able to change for the better.

Holding my son, wishing he would go to sleep so that I could spend some time on the computer.

This will depend on how well I know you and how receptive I think you'll be, but here's something to chew on.

Sometimes I find it hard to let go of people entirely, especially people I've been close to, even though I know that they're no longer a good influence in my life. They still appear in my dreams sometimes and if I run into them in person, it can be very hard to just walk away despite knowing that they have not changed and will only hurt me more. I don't make any effort to contact them or see them, but my memories of people haunt me at times.

If you think you might be one of those people in my dream-life, or you just want to talk, send me a message. If you're kind, I'll get back to you, even if I haven't been on in a while.

Please keep in mind that I'm more likely to respond to messages with coherent, complete sentences.