I am a charming blend of serious and childish, highbrow and low, sacred and profane, sweetness and sarcasm. My two great ambitions in life are to write a well-received book of poems and to drive in a demolition derby. And I can cook.

I believe in: the life of the mind, the goodness of most people, duct tape, never throwing away something you might need someday, glitter, the beauty and necessity of language, having as many adventures as possible, the power of tea to make everything better, christmas lights, being a smartass, making wishes, dancing my ass off, the ability of a cigarette and a pool cue to make anyone look like a badass, DIY, getting drunk and telling stories, punk rock, lullabies, pez dispensers...

Long term: getting my MFA in poetry at West Virginia University (three semesters to go). Short term: Teaching two sections of freshman composition. Learning Old English. Trying to find time to write poems. Hoping someone will publish said poems. Attempting to knit my first sweater, with disastrous results.

Cooking and baking. Listening. Taking care of people. Relating to children. Finding cheap stuff. Making things. Knitting scarves, and dishcloths, and anything else you can make flat and rectangular.

I have no idea, really. I should ask someone.

A) Books are more or less what I do, being an English graduate student...by which I mean, this is by no means a comprehensive list: In The Night Kitchen, A Coney Island of the Mind, The Collected Works of Jane Austen, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre (but not Wuthering Heights, it gives me nightmares), Teaching to Transgress, and many many books of poetry including ones by Matthea Harvey, Matthew Rohrer, Eric Gamalinda, Mark Doty, Brenda Hillman, Robert Hass, Charles Simic, and Lucille Clifton.

B) Stranger Than Fiction, Amelie, Monsoon Wedding, The Neverending Story, Pan's Labyrinth, The Royal Tennenbaums (do they remind anyone else of JD Salinger characters?), Ghost World, Hellboy (I and II), Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Sabrina, The Last Unicorn, John Hughes movies, Foxfire, y tu mama tambien, Heavenly Creatures, Garden State, Pride & Prejudice (any version), Mirrormask

C)I have eclectic musical tastes, and I'll listen to damn near anything once. Lately it's been a lot of The Weakerthans, interspersed with The Sounds, which I realize is a very odd combination.

D) I've been on a bread-baking kick lately. My current favorite is homestyle white bread with thyme. Makes an awesome chicken sandwich.

1.books. 2.poems and the means to write them. 3.my cat. 4.claw machine arcade games, and my insane ability to win at them. 5.the nebulous belief that my life will eventually make sense. 6.cartoons.

The proper declension of Old English strong verbs. The stack of freshman composition papers in the corner. The nature of memory. The fact that I should really be writing.

I may be at one of the smaller drinking establishments in Morgantown (Riverstone or McClafferty's, usually). It's equally likely that I'm in my apartment, reading or grading papers or cooking something experimental.

I seem to be allergic to everything these days.

You see something you like, you have something interesting to say, you don't have a picture of your truck in your profile, and/ or you're really bored. Also, please feel free to message me if you can explain the bus routes, and which one I'm supposed to take to get to Evansdale campus from Westover.