So. It's been a couple of years. I'd like to go on some dates, and meet some cool girls, and see what's new and exciting out there in dating land. It's 2013 and I've spent the last 18 months working on me, physically. I'm bigger and stronger than at any point in my life. I can pick 300 pounds up off the floor, I can still easily run a 6 minute mile and I've cleared all the garbage out of my diet - now that I've got my body and my health whipped into shape, it's time to work on my love life.

I have a lot to talk about; I hope you do too. My past includes almost winning the state Knowledge Bowl competition, an Ivy League degree, almost 10 years in an industry up through two and a half years of running my own little contracting company which ended up being a casualty of the economic downturn, and a radical career change which has been a pretty rocky road but seems to finally be on track toward the future.

I'm adaptable. I take risks. Sometimes they dont work out. But rather than sit at home and cry about it I like to be practical and take action. Even if that action is looking for a date on the internet.

I like women who are young enough to be idealistic but not yet old enough to be jaded. I like women who finish reading this and notice that I am fluent in both comma splices and in semicolons. I'm complicated like that. Or perhaps I just dont pay enough attention. I like women who are driven like I am. I dont care if your focus is baking or painting or microbiology, as long as you have that internal fire which cannot be extinguished. I like women who are in shape and stay that way for themselves, not someone else. Are you a runner? Great. I'm getting back into running; I'd like to have a partner who runs/bikes/skates. And I like women who are are girly enough to not be afraid of makeup, a little bit masculine in the right ways such as a willingness to get dirty once in a while, and overall a little bit complicated.

This has become way too long. If I sound non-retarded and perhaps even interesting then feel free to inquire for more info. Maybe we could have a drink and blab in person. I like in person. I'm not like the normal weak, timid man you ladies generally find in Seattle. I will look you in the eye. I will have something to say. And I wont criticize the quality of your application of mascara, as I dont wear it. Not even on the weekends.

Working to get ahead and playing to be happy.

I'm one of those annoying people who is good at nearly everything. Not great necessarily; just a little above passable. On a more specific note; I'm thoughtful, considerate, and relatively empathetic. So I'm also good at listening. If you are able to both talk as much as me, and listen as well as me, we'll likely get along well.

I am self confident and straight forward. I'll look you in the eye rather than at your boobs. Or the wall. All that and, of course, my stunning good looks!

I would recommend James Michener for historical fiction. Or for just fiction .... David Brin, Isaac Asimov, Edgar Rice Burroughs. I dont read a ton these days, but I like to think that my imagination has not suffered.

I dont watch many movies but I prefer "guy movies" when I do. I liked Avengers. In the past I liked things like Matrix and Gladiator. I go to a movie to be entertained so I have little patience for critics. I saw Godzilla ... I think in 1997. That's a perfect example. I thought it was fantastic but it was panned by the critics for lack of plot and bad acting ... which always makes me ask when I see such, who the fuck goes to Godzilla for the plot and the acting?

I have a wide variety of pre-sets on my radio. I'm good with disco, classical, rock, or oldies. I especially like On the Edge, 89.5 6-12 Sunday nights.

As for food .... it being high quality and well prepared is much more important than what it happens to be. Other than that, I dont do spicy unless you're willing to wipe the tears off my face, and I try to stay away from the ethnic stuff that is so far removed from my regular fare that it really doesn't even seem like food to me. If you make it I will try it even if it is clearly sliced guts. And I will try my hardest not to make a face!

I would be sad if I lost internet access. Or a place to live with a nice view. I would like to never do without a girlfriend that I love, although I am being forced to at the moment. I would also be pretty annoyed if I lost my DVR, or my cat. Which isn't even really my cat, but as a long term boarder I couldn't have asked for a better cat. And for number 6, I could never do without a way to remain happy and positive in the face of adversity.

Right now I'm spending a lot of time thinking about spending the summer with an awesome girl. I like summer activities much more than winter. I've missed being outside and picking berries and eating ice cream with a beautiful woman out on the dock and all the other wonderful summer things that are so much better if it's not just you.

If I have a companion, I like to be doing something with them. That can be the beach, or a bar, or home cooking dinner. I like to think that I am a great cook, so if you are too that would be outstanding.

I know this is a canned answer, but I'm really not bashful. It's just not in my nature. I will walk around naked in the living room with the blinds up, I sing in the car, I flex in front of the mirror, and I'm willing to talk about all that.

If you like to cook, and be outside, and do things that result in sweating, and have nerdy conversations. Nerdy isn't an insult, nerdy just means that you're really into something, much more so than most other people. To me that is a reflection of your inner drive, which as I've mentioned is a very attractive quality. Fair warning, I am young of mind, body, and heart. I am really not looking for someone my age as almost everyone is slow and boring and jaded. So on that note, if you've liked my post but you are lamenting my 37 and thinking that I will be slow and boring and jaded, you are exactly wrong. Dont presume about me, and if you're 22 I wont presume that you are foolish and empty headed and annoying.