On Friends, when Phoebe asks her brother what was so great about the woman who just broke up with him, he thinks for a moment and says, "Being with her was so much better than ... not being with her!" That's what I want. Someone I can truly say that about. As important as shared interests, sexual chemistry, and so on, are, the big thing is how enjoyable it is being together moment to moment.

So what's it like being with me? I'm somehow both passionate and easy-going. On the tennis court, I'll give it my all on every point, diving for balls and crashing into fences, but then get over it quickly if I lose the match. I'll express my opinions with great animation and wild gestures, but then be interested and receptive if someone disagrees with me. I adore my favorite music/movies/food/etc., but tolerate mediocre music/movie/food/etc. well enough too (how else to find new faves?). In relationships, I get jazzed about the good stuff, and let the not-so-good stuff slide pretty easily.

If any of that sounds good, I hope you'll send me a message. Who knows? You may find being with me much better than the alternative!

I have a fabulous job teaching math to really bright and motivated middle schoolers. Outside of school, I play lots of piano and tennis, and try to spend as much time with friends as I can, preferably eating good food and drinking good wine.

Parallel parking, getting wrappers off of CDs, and running crosscourt topspin forehands;
Performing, music directing, accompanying, sight-reading, entertaining;
Maintaining my poise, letting the little stuff roll right off of me;
Origami, ping pong, billiards, cards and board games of all sorts.

My wit and friendly, expressive face.

Books: Reading What Is The What right now and really enjoying it. Just read I, Claudius (fabulous—I love historical fiction). All-time faves: Catch 22, Pride and Prejudice, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Last of the Wine, Chaos (James Gleick), A People's History of the United States. Fair warning: We probably aren't destined to be together if you love either The Da Vinci Code or The Fountainhead!

Movies: Woody Allen to The Terminator, Hitchcock to Caddyshack, Vertigo, Manhattan, Laura, Raising Arizona, Clueless, Die Hard, Dazed and Confused, Au Revoir Les Enfants, Five Easy Pieces...

Music: Good music in any genre (as Ellington said, "If it sounds good, it is good!"). Duke Ellington, Peter Gabriel, Shostakovich, Ben Folds, Lucinda Williams, Brahms, Pink Martini, Kacey Chambers, Bach, Ella Fitzgerald, REM, Talking Heads, Kate Isenberg (look her up!), Rupa and the April Fishes (look them up!).

Food: Indian, Thai, sushi, to name a few. Anything natural, healthy, and preferably spicy.

Humor, my piano, tennis, great music, intellectual stimulation, and my homemade gorp.

Annoying melodies and why they won't leave my brain; How to be a better teacher; Penguin love; Tantalizing math problems I just can't quite solve; and... You, and why it is we haven't found each other yet!

Out with friends
At Cafe Barrone listening to dixieland jazz
At home playing my piano and listening to music
Playing tennis

I long to own a bidet.

You're looking for a guy who can play lots of Scott Joplin pieces on demand;
Your past boyfriends haven't been patient enough explaining the ins and outs of trigonometry and fractal geometry;
You're looking for love on and off the tennis court;
You're emotionally stable, positive, generally low-maintenance, and enjoy life!