I'm fun-loving. I am happy and I want to be around happy people. I hold myself to high intellectual standards and I hope to meet people who emulate these standards, though I do not feel everyone, in order to be my friend, needs to have such Socratic aspirations. I really like meeting all sorts of people (especially after I have been reading Whitman). I enjoy writing, reading, and sipping coffee with my friends. I am a social butterfly, time permitting, and I am happiest when I am around other people. I enjoy drinking on occasion, but always with moderation and responsibility (I am particularly fond of wine).

Top reasons to message me:
1) I cannot quote Walt Whitman, but sometimes I like to pretend and try anyway-- I think Whitman would appreciate this.
2) I can find reasons to smile, even on bad days.
3) I own more books that I have not read than any other person I know. Evocative reading lists give me an aesthetic pleasure similar to that of good wine.
4) I use a Habitat for Humanity credit card. I also have a Starbucks Duetto card, but I try not to use it because other people probably need the 1-2% bonus more than I do.
5) I like to pretend that I can judge wines even though I rarely drink anything priced over $10. Because of this, any wine that is not Kendall-Jackson or Barefoot becomes a delicacy.
6) I like to call coffee shops "my office."
7) Two of my best attributes are also two of my worst shortcomings (no, this isn't a bad interview strategy): I rarely miss people's virtues and am often willing to overlook their flaws.
8) I was in a fraternity as an undergrad but never learned a taste for beer, despite numerous efforts. I did learn a taste for vodka and guitar hero, however.
9) I cannot sing, except by myself; Strangely, every note I sing is off by the same amount (about a note and a half).
10) I like bad puns. If you message me, I'll tell you what the fish said when it hit the wall. Or, if you know that one, I'll tell you what the Ocean said to the Shore when it pulled out for tide.
11) I have a pair of Cracker Jack Pajamas and a pair of Scoobie Doo Pajamas.
12) I want someone whom I can settle and who can unsettle me; I want someone whom I can unsettle and who can settle me (I can't help it but there might be some Lacan in this statement, too).
13) I am a humanities major who can balance stociometry and explain the Krebs Cycle.
14) I bought a Nintendo Wii to stay "in touch" with my childhood. Ironically, this method of staying "in touch" requires almost no wires.
15) My favorite word is "bombastic" because it is fun to say, and childishly ironic for this reason. It doesn't hurt that I also won a $4,000 scholarship because of this word (message me if you want to hear this story). I am also fond of "Susurrus;" it has a beautiful meaning that becomes sinister as it conjugates into an adjective or a verb (Sussrate, Sussurant, etc.). There are few things sexier than the right word delivered at the right time.

I just moved out to the Boston area to pursue a Ph.D. in English literature at Tufts. I am not completely sure what I what area of literature I will focus in yet, but I am considering 20th century American poetry, gay/lesbian literature, and psychoanalysis/trauma studies.

finding something to be happy about and listening.

I'm upbeat :)

Literature:
To name a few works/authors in no particular order: The Lord of the Rings, Brothers Karamazov, John Keats, Thom Gunn, Gertrude Stein, Being and Nothingness, Whitman!, Discipline and Punish, Dancer from the Dance, On the Road, The Haunting of Hill House, Ginsberg, Gerald Stern, Farenheit 451, King Lear, Ellison's The Invisible Man, Proust (though I've only read Swann's Way), The Name of the Rose, City of Night, Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Bishop, Yeats, and Eliot (T.S. :-p). I confess, I left out a few.

Film:
I like intelligent films the most. By intelligent I mean films that are creative in their direction, scripting, acting, dialogue, themes, etc. However, sometimes I would rather just watch a simple, thoughtless movie for its "enjoyment" factor. Yes, this is all vague, but meh.

I've been really into Film Noir lately. Double Indemnity is simply amazing!

Music:
Honestly, I rarely listen to music. However, right now I'm really into Goldfrapp. I also am a big Madonna fan and Frou Frou is amazing! I'm trying to find more bands/artists so please send me some suggestions :) I usually enjoy most Broadway showtunes, some classic jazz/songbook recordings, and classical music.

Television:
Sadly, I do not have much time for TV anymore. I get a bit giddy, however, when fortune smiles on me and I happen to catch either The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. Lately, I've also been watching Heroes, Ugly Betty, and House when I can catch them.

Lately, I've been spending most of my time keeping up with all the reading that my program requires! It's a lot, but gosh I love it! On the weekend, I can usually be found reading and socializing with friends at Diesel Cafe of the Starbucks in Davis Square.

I also make grammatical errors and such. Most people don't expect me to because I'm doing a Ph.D. in English, but my degree is in English literature and not English language. That being said, I think my punctuation and grammar skills are pretty strong.