I grew up in a large, loving family. Actually a ginormous family of eight of which I'm the baby (gotta love old-style Catholic families. Don't worry, not looking for a repeat performance.). My mom is amazing, and I have great brothers and sisters spread out across the country, nay the world. Mom paid for a good education, and life has equipped me with a working moral compass, more self confidence than I deserve, as well as a variety of interesting good-hearted friends and a zest for life. (And tolerance for the occasional run-on sentence.)

I try to keep up with friends, new and old. I'm big on the golden rule. I like to read (more nonfiction, but enjoy the occasional novel), like to write, enjoy dancing and getting better at it, love recorded and live music, as well as playing music. I like to travel. I enjoy restaurants and good home-cooking, though my own cooking skills are not what they should be.

I'm ever searching for the next thing to say that's so off-the-charts hilarious that those around me squirt whatever they're drinking through their noses and start punching me because they're in so much pain from laughing. I really want the truly lethal joke, like in that old Monty Python sketch.

I am curious, funny, and generous.

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(I know this profile has grown shaggy and long and probably needs a good buzz cut, but how does one sum his/her whole life quickly? Whole books are written on this stuff. To speed things along, feel free to skim these I-hope-helpful Notes and get to the meatier stuff below.)

NOTE 1: I'm open-minded and try not to dismiss people right away. So I tend to revisit profiles and look for details I missed the first time or take note of updates. It's my way of reaching more fine-tuned judgments about our respective compatibility. So if you see me show up a few times in your Visitor list, I'm not trying to be a stalker. And I won't necessarily be messaging you. Feel free to beat me to the punch, though, if I pique your interest.

NOTE 2: No, is an acceptable answer. It's not just for two-year-olds anymore. "Not No, but Hell No" is fine too. I realize after some time on this site that some of you get inundated with messages and I've learned not to take it personally if I don't hear back. But feel free to tell me No. If you message me and you clearly haven't read what "I'm Looking For" (I'm talking to you strange woman from Missouri!), don't expect a response. Otherwise, I'll try to give you an answer, and that may be No.

NOTE 3: If you don't include a photo, I'm probably not going to respond. Multiple photos are preferable. I have run across a few good reasons from women who don't post photos. I still appreciate, though, the courtesy of a good set of shots.

NOTE 4: I would prefer if you answer more than 100 questions. OKCupid matches are much less reliable if you answer fewer than that many questions. The best is if we both answer the same questions publicly and fill out explanations. That's the stuff. I am more relaxed about the number of questions answered than when I first started out on here, but it's still very much appreciated.

NOTE 5: These profiles should read like we're talking casually to each other, getting to know each other. So when you write in all caps I don't get that casual feeling at all, I FEEL LIKE YOU'RE SCREAMING AT ME FROM THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS AND I DON'T LIKE IT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!. Chill out, it's cool. We're all friends here, at least for now. And, maybe it's a generational thing, but keep to a minimum the IM language. It's kind of a crutch, I find. And along those lines, use LOL when you really are laughing out loud, or would if you weren't in a library or attending a funeral.

I work as a writer, examining education, from young children through senior year of high school. Didn't think I'd like the topic at first, but have found it intellectually stimulating and an enjoyable challenge to write about intelligently.

In the past two years, I've developed a belated taste for athletic activity. I have developed a workout routine that has been paying dividends. I am open to other physical activities and plan to work hard to avoid getting into a rut. I've also improved my diet by cutting out many bad things and focusing more on good things. But at social gatherings I will relent somewhat and enjoy myself. I feel I've made a life change and plan to stick with it.

I am trying not to sit still and am trying to plan for the always uncertain future.

talking with people of all different stripes. I pride myself on being able to hold a reasonably interesting conversation with almost anyone. Friends say that I'm a good listener as well. Writing for a living, I am comfortable communicating with words. I write nonfiction every day, but also have written stories, screenplays and poetry. I think there's a great dancer inside me, but he needs more practice to emerge, preferably with a patient partner. (NOTE: I'm taking swing dancing classes these days and am also learning some Cajun dancing, so doing much better on this score) I've played music my whole life. I played in bands in high school and college, composing songs and recording them. Piano is my main instrument, but I can play guitar and have a pretty good singing voice. I can be quick-witted and would love someone who can return fire. I can handle ambiguity and think that life is rarely simple.

When I was a kid I had bright red hair that made me a big big hit with the old ladies, but that has darkened to more of a brown rust-tinged color. I've always been relatively tall and thin. A female friend once said I have giraffe eyes. Another female friend confirmed unbidden that I qualify as a cute guy, but that my voice can be too loud at work. But you can't hear me yet, so don't think that's a problem at the moment.

(Didn't type all the following in. Stole it from my Facebook profile. Very skimmable.)

Books: The Unbearable Lightness of Being, A Bright Shining Lie, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Dispatches, All The Kings Men, Rising Tide, Wiseblood, 100 Years of Solitude, the Master and Commander series, and assorted poetry. Does the New Yorker magazine count?.

Movies: Raising Arizona, Casablanca, L.A. Confidential, City of God, Amadeus, Ghandi, Heathers, Ghost World, American Splendor, Local Hero, The Godfather, Sling Blade, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkhaban, A History of Violence, Election, Batman Begins, Gattaca, Rushmore, Jackie Brown, Gods and Monsters, You Can Count On Me, Unbreakable, Delicatessen, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, The Incredibles, Children of Men, Pan’s Labyrinth, Little Miss Sunshine, Lost In Translation, Catch Me If You Can, Minority Report, Sexy Beast, Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter Jr., Three Kings, Being John Malkovich, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Howards End, Almost Famous, Say Anything, This is Spinal Tap, Office Space, Crumb, Burnt By The Sun, Chinatown, Dick, Clueless, Belle Epoque, About Schmidt, Last Of The Mohicans, Sideways, The Departed, Goodfellas, House of Flying Daggers, Stop Making Sense, Alfie, Tom Jones, The Empire Strikes Back, The Big Chill, Napoleon Dynamite, Pulp Fiction, Chariots of Fire, The Bridge Over the River Kwai, Stalag 17, Dirty Pretty Things, Fight Club, The Big Lebowski, Eastern Promises, Alien, 2001: A Space Oddysey, Old School, E-T: The Extra Terrestrial, Meet The Parents, The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring, Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Silence of the Lambs, V for Vendetta, Zodiac, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Ocean's Eleven, The Matrix, Back To The Future, Unforgiven, Up .

TV Shows: Lost, Arrested Development, My So Called Life, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, The Simpsons, Moonlighting, Seinfeld, Frazier, Cheers, MASH, The Riches, Burn Notice, Front Line, Justified, Game of Thrones, The United States of Tara. (There are so many shows out there to watch. If you think I'm missing out, feel free to set up a showing for me)

Music: The Beatles, Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, The Who, Peter Gabriel, Air, Stevie Wonder, Wilco, Arcade Fire, Jamiroquai, Prince, The New Pornographers, U2, The Kinks, Paul Simon, Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine, Suzanne Vega, Tokyo Police Club, James Taylor, Wilco, Rage Against The Machine, Ween, Michelle Shocked, Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Steely Dan, Fiona Apple, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Postal Service, The Magnetic Fields, Flight of the Conchords, The Decemberists, Ozomatli, Aimee Mann, Vampire Weekend, Kate Bush, Ivy, Beck, Donovan, The Police, Death Cab For Cutie, David Bowie, David Byrne, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, R.E.M., Black Kids, She & Him, Big Star, Tom Waits, Ben Folds, Tom Petty, Beirut, The New Orleans Bingo! Show, The Black Keys, Josh Ritter, Ray LaMontagne, Adele, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Bon Iver, Feist, Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes, Iron & Wine, Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers...

Food: I'll eat pretty much anything. Only a few things that I haven't liked in the past: sea urchin, beets and brussel sprouts. But tastes change, so perhaps they just weren't prepared right. When I eat just for me I try to go light on the meat or better yet avoid it. Also have cut out junk food, soft drinks and desserts. i like vegetarian fare as well and wish I could cook more of it. At a restaurant, though, I'm an adventurous eater. Tend not to order the same thing twice if I've been to a restaurant before. I enjoy wine, but wish I was more knowledgeable on the subject.

Not really into this question. Survival and basic liberty require many things. I don't need to recite all 30 articles of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights do I?

Obviously, I can't do without the fairer sex or I wouldn't be here.

Andrew Marvell was right:
Had we but world enough, and time/This coyness, Lady, were no crime...

But we don't have world enough or time do we? Time's winged chariot draws far too near. So get on with it XX chromosome possessors.

No one thing. I'm an observer and love nothing more than to capture life's little wonderful absurdities. I have a more serious life of the mind as well. I try not to dwell on problems inordinately, especially things I have no control over.

out having fun with friends, either at some watering hole, cooking at someone's house, seeing music or watching a movie. I do stay home the occasional Friday night.

I am a late bloomer. I wasn't comfortable with my self image and relations with women until I started a long-term relationship several years back that ended not too long ago. But I feel I've just scratched the surface of my potential. I'm ready for the roller-coaster.

I am also a bit of a fidget. Sometimes I flick my toes without knowing it. My mom used to grab my knee to stop my foot tapping, like my leg was a spinning coin she was slamming flat on the ground. Also, an old girlfriend joked that I should subscribe to "Extreme Fidgeting" magazine. I think it's kind of endearing, but I don't notice it most of the time. Just fair warning.

I had a lot of searching things to say here when I first wrote this. In truth, I'm looking to have fun with someone else. Fun might turn into more, but let's start with fun. Actually, a blast would be nice. (Don't get me wrong. I'm not commitment-phobic, just saying we should really relish each other's company first and foremost before we can talk about more serious steps). I dig you ladies, despite how infuriating you can be sometimes. There are some kinds of fun (beyond the obvious stuff) that you can't experience any other way. If that works for you, message away.