I'm smart, funny, and driven. When I'm not teaching or working, I love spending time going out with my friends, hiking and doing things outdoors, and/or just vegging out on the couch. I'm pretty sarcastic and I love making people laugh and smile. My friends would describe me as generous, empathetic, and warm-hearted. I'm very friendly and outgoing. I will go out of my way to help people and I love socializing and meeting new people. I am ferociously loyal to my closest friends and family, but you have to do a lot to gain my trust.

I just finished my PhD and moved to Texas! I have a job here for a few years, which might be just enough lol!

I am really good at teaching, cooking, baking, talking, listening, driving, traveling, and procrastinating. I also have an uncanny ability to remember names, faces, and directions. I can easily recall 150 students in a class and I almost never get lost.

My personality, my looks, and my sense of humor. I curse constantly and I don't sugar coat things. I’m intelligent and being educated and informed is important to me. I’m very passionate and I can get fired up easily about things that I believe in or love. It is not uncommon for me to go off on rants about politics, current events, popular culture, teaching, and so on. I am a dedicated environmentalist in my personal life and scholarship. I’m also 110% liberal and not budging a bit there. And I’m from New York State and it is the most amazing place in the country! People here in Texas keep saying I have an accent. They're crazy! Y'all have the accents!!

I read non-fiction academic books almost constantly for my research but they are all on more specialized topics. Some of my favorite accessible ones are _Wilderness and the American Mind_, _Bulldozer and the Countryside_, _The Omnivore’s Dilemma_, _Pink Think_, and _The Mommy Myth_. For fiction I love the Hunger Games Series, Harry Potter, and occasional books on CD while I drive. I love me some David Sedaris, Dan Savage, Soren Bowie, Chuck Klosterman and other witty writers, too.

I listen to NPR talk radio all the time, like Diane Rehm, All Things Considered, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, The Story, Living on Earth, Tech Nation, etc., and I never miss This American Life.

My favorites movies are mostly from the 80s and 90s, like Goonies, Princess Bride, Monty Python, Angus, to name a few, and lately, The King's Speech, Up, and How to Train Your Dragon! Cripes, there are so many more of all genres. I usually try to see all the Oscars nods every year, and smart movies are my top choices, but I have an affinity for action movies and animated. I will usually see any and all superhero and comic-inspired films. But I hate any type of scary or horror movie. No way in hell you catch me at anything with a fictitious creature. I guess suspenseful murder or crime dramas like Seven, Kiss the Girls, The Sixth Sense, etc. are about as far as I go along those lines.

I don't really pursue music but I love to discover new bands and artists. Meaning I don’t have time to hunt down new sounds, it just isn’t one of my priorities, but I welcome other people’s insights. Luckily one of my bests is dedicated to finding new music and we have almost identical taste. Honestly, though, I love a little of everything, from all time periods and styles. My Pandora stations are all over the map from Classical to Top 40 depending on my mood. Actual favorites that I have seen live or want to or intentionally listen to include, Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, Passion Pit, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, MGMT, Phoenix, Ryan Bingham, Beyonce, and Alicia Keys.

As for food, I love all food. I cook often and it is one of my favorite pastimes. I read cooking blogs, bookmark recipes, subscribe to food magazines, and buy cookbooks often. And of course, love to go out to eat. I will eat almost anything and especially ethnic food like Indian, Thai, Korean, and Mexican, good bbq, buffalo chicken anything, breakfast, brunch, and brinner, greasy diner food, huge and luscious salads, and plentiful buffets! I guess a bad restaurant is going out to eat and knowing I could cook a better meal at home.

My loved ones, obviously. But how about this, six food items I never want to do without....

Coffee
Chocolate
Avocados
Almonds
Pasta
Cheese

Tenure.

Adult beverages and recuperating from the week.

I’m addicted to Law and Order SVU marathons.

You're not a dumb ass. You don't need a Ph.D. but don't step to me with typos and lame lines.