So, the basics:

I'm a high school teacher, a bit of a history nerd, a Pittsburgh native, Catholic, and a once and perhaps future expat (I lived in England for about 2 years and am considering going back).

Since I go into likes and dislikes a bit more below, time for random facts!

I hate the rain. I know, I know, I used to live in England. Well, it didn't really rain that much in Cambridge and I still hate it.

On the subject of weather, I love snow. Love it, even if I have to shovel my car out. I learned to ski when I was 5 and I go up to Hidden Valley or Seven Springs whenever I can.

If I have extra money, it will probably go towards shoes or random kitchen supplies. I am frequently to be found wandering around Williams Sonoma (or looking online) and wishing that teachers made a bit more money.

My favorite sporting event is Wimbledon.

I was a band/choir geek in high school and college and I still love to play the piano and sing, although I don't know how well I actually do either.

I have an entire bookshelf filled with Star Wars extended universe novels, but Timothy Zahn's are my favorite.

I love to travel and I've been all over Europe. Next on my destination list is the Holy Land, India and Australia and New Zealand.

OkCupid keeps suggesting that I write my answers in Italian and French. Let's just say that I probably know enough to order dinner in both countries and translate letters from my mom's family, but my speaking and writing skills have gotten a bit rusty.

Teaching history at a private school

Trivia. I remember useless facts like nobody's business. Ask me to name the kings and queens of England in order and then ask me when my best friend's birthday is. Go on.

I also love to bake and my family certainly seems to think I'm pretty good at it.

I'm a pretty good tennis player and a mediocre rower, but I adore both. I also play a mean game of Wii Sports.

Apparently it's my glasses. I've been wearing contacts again lately, after a few months of glasses wearing, and several of my students have informed me that they think I can't seem them now.

Books: Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice (I'm a big Jane Austen fan); Heart of Darkness; White Teeth; Brave New World; Darkness at Noon; To Kill A Mockingbird; An Instance of the Fingerpost; The Chronicles of Narnia; Lord of the Rings; Harry Potter; anything by Terry Pratchett (mostly Discworld books and especially Jingo); Brideshead Revisited; Orthodoxy (by GK Chesterton) and also the Father Brown mysteries.

I have a deep and probably irrational hatred for The Da Vinci Code and all things Dan Brown. Conversely, I loved National Treasure. I can't explain it.

Movies: Casablanca (I will never, ever get sick of watching this!), Lawrence of Arabia, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Stage Beauty, Serenity (Firefly was one of my all-time favorite TV shows), James Bond movies (especially From Russia With Love), To Catch a Thief, Rear Window

TV: Mad Men, Chuck, True Blood, The Mentalist, Burn Notice, In Plain Sight. Also Firefly and Arrested Development and a number of other currently off the air shows.

Music: The Decemberists, Bloc Party, Vampire Weekend, Lily Allen, The Killers, The Chieftains, Badly Drawn Boy, Gaelic Storm, random 80s pop. I also listen to a lot of probably terrible Top 40 music.

Food: Pasta, pierogies (especially the homemade kind - they seem to taste extra good at fish fries), kielbasa, all sorts of Mexican food, Indian food (I make a decent korma), all kinds of desserts. I've never met a carbohydrate I didn't like.

My family
The internet
An actual kitchen (Ok, I did for a year, but it was horrible!)
Crossword puzzles
Tea
Chocolate

Hanging out with friends or falling asleep on the couch (depending on how long a week it's been).

I mostly want to visit New Zealand because they filmed Lord of the Rings there.

You enjoy both sampling various baked goods and random discussions.