I'm better at beginnings than endings.

I like doing things that scare me.

For example: two years ago, I stopped working in software to become a high school teacher. I'm about to start my third year, and I love it.

One more example: I've just started learning to play soccer, at the age of 27.

I greet strangers, and I break rules that I don't believe in. I care about both philosophy and active citizenship. I try, with varying degrees of success, to practice feminism and antiracism.

I like being short.

I'm equal parts urban and rural. I love riding my bike around town, sitting at coffee shops reading or having engaging conversations, people watching. But I also love the land, and my relationship with it is important to me. So I hike, sleep outdoors, practice indigenous survival skills, and geek out over knowing the names of trees and plants. I try to learn about local ecosystems, and about where my food comes from and where my waste goes.

I have a tumblelog, which is a stream of bite-sized thoughts and gems from the internets that I think are true, good, beautiful, or hilarious: http://thakker.tumblr.com

Having fun. Helping people learn. Laughing a lot. Speaking to teenagers with respect. Thinking about thinking. Questioning my authority, so as to legitimate it. Doing my part, I hope.

Seeking adventure. Trying hopelessly to slake my wanderlust.

Things I'm already good at:

Math, logic, and grammar. (Or is it, "Math, logic and grammar"?)
Admitting I'm wrong, and laughing about it. (I've had practice.)
Savoring each bite. Actually, let's make that "savoring" in general.
Parenthetical finesse. (Yep.)
Thinking out loud.
Programming.

Things I'm working on:

Teaching
Writing
Listening
Soccer
Visual art & design
Putting people at ease
Making fire by friction (for real!)
Asking thought-provoking questions

That seems to depend more on them than it does on me, so I'm going to answer the opposite.

The first thing(s) I notice about people:

Each list is in order, starting with what I notice the soonest.

First second: sex, race, smiling?, hair color, age, eye color, height, width, velocity.

First minute: mood, comfort level, style, intentions (good? evil? obscure? etc.)

First hour: sense of humor, honesty, interestingness in conversation, optimism/pessimism, political leanings, considerateness

Books:
Pedagogy of the Oppressed, The Giver, Much Ado About Nothing, You Shall Know Our Velocity, Ender's Game, Prodigal Summer, Still Life With Woodpecker, Harry Potter (1-7), Experience and Education, A Sand County Almanac

Movies:
The Royal Tennenbaums, Harold and Maude, Les Triplets De Belleville, The Last Supper, Leon the Professional, Requiem For a Dream, Van Wilder, The Wicker Man (original, once-censored, 70's version), School of Rock, Lost in Translation, Sneakers, everything Tim Burton

Music:
rock, blues, hip hop, jazz, bluegrass, folk, funk, reggae, classical. The Avett Brothers, Girl Talk, Chopin, Doc Watson, Gillian Welch, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Miles, Monk, Coltrane, Lauryn Hill, Arrested Development, Rolling Stones, Outkast, DJ Shadow, RJD2, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, ani difranco , The Doors, Pearl Jam, Elvis, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Jasmine Roe, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Led Zeppelin, Sublime, Tool, The Reservoir Dogs Soundtrack, Otis Redding, Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Ella Fitzgerald

Food:
spicy, fresh, homemade, previously-untasted

1. Friends who are different from me

2. Something new to learn

3. Something old to practice

4. Unlined paper, pencils, and at least three colors of pen

5. Somewhere to get lost.

6. [space intentionally left blank]

Words
Reasons
Democracy
Typography
My students
Social justice
Sustainability
Interesting math puzzles
The role of education in _____
The role of _____ in education
Treating people well
Punctuation
The woods
Design
Chess

My inner child is coughing.

If you're going to message me, one of the following MUST be true:

1. You are funny.
2. You care about something a lot.
3. You can figure out a way to break this set of rules.
4. You are an honest Cretan.