im in love with my friends and albany and my feline and getting shit done and thinking about things that are hard to figure out or just straight up dont have answers. i wear my heart on my sleeve and although i would say im sensitive and emotional, its not always reflected in my face.

i love human beings. really fucking love them. just seeing some stranger from across the street that i may never talk to or know anything about brings me great joy. people are so damn amazing. everyone is full of magical stories and experiences. too many to ever hear all of them. i love meeting new people, and i guess thats why im on this site.

my convictions are very important to me, but i dont believe in right and wrong or good and evil. im interested in nuance and contradiction. and the things we dont understand. like the in between spaces of whats best for us and whats best for others. how do we reconcile conflicting needs?

i agree that you cant be neutral on a moving train and im very invested in the idea of accountability and taking responsibility for privilege, particularly when it comes to gender and race. i am a feminist and anti-racist who is not without folly but completely committed.

i have mountains of respect for my partner of over 10 years with whom i have a wonderful and lovely poly-amorous relationship.
(shes taking a break from okc.)
im not looking for romance on here nor am i not looking for romance. i do want to meet new people and hang out and have fun and whatever that looks like in reality is fine with me. i think you cant force or contrive these things anyways so no worries...all that being said, im a really great date. platonic or otherwise. im easy to be around, a good listener, thoughtful, fun and never ever sketchy or pushy.

generally speaking im really excited about life. about the projects im working on. about working with others to come up with creative solutions to little and big problems. about the fucking insanely beautiful, creative, trusting, sweet friends (that are all resisting the status quo in one way or another) that im so damn lucky to have in my life.

a few years ago my partner and i moved to albany to be able to commit to a community and settle somewhere. we were extremely lucky to be able to buy an incredible building in albany. most of my time is spent working on the house and gardens. fixing things up, changing layouts, visioning future projects here, thinking about how to limit our role as agents of gentrification... its a wonderful home and im so lucky to get to share it with my friends who live here.

all that and helping people during emergencies and occasionally running into burning buildings.

sometimes this: im sorry

heres some things the people closest to me have told me im good at, and i sure hope theyre right....
listening.
getting things done.
multi-tasking.
being level headed.
not being defensive and being open to critique.
making beds.
seeing potential.
creating beautiful spaces.
facilitating workshops on gentrification and cultural appropriation.
fixing things.
three pointers from the wings.
not caring weather i win or lose.
working hard.
loving people.

garlic, hopefully on my leg, not my breath.
or that im filthy and carrying some piece of wood or steel?

on certain days its probably the gigantic red truck im driving!

well, off the top of my head and i know ill forget some:

books: the bluest eye, living my life, assata, the road, watership down, native son, house of leaves, the grapes of wrath, 9 stories, the wasteland, soledad brother, brave new world, anything by bell hooks or james baldwin, reference books! social/political non fiction (race, class, gender)

movies: prometheus, biutiful, the decalogue, the golden door, sunshine, putney swope, the proposition, la moustache, daynightdaynight, children of men, matewan, tuvalu, alien, the edukators, i am cuba, ali: fear eats the soul, the assination of jesse james, a single man, let the right one in, brazil, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, dead man, beastmaster (fav from my childhood)
anything by bergman or kurosawa

one of the scariest scenes ever put on film

i dont really watch tv, although i have seen all of six feet under and loved it.

Music: slint, unrest, digable planets, low, the velvet underground & nico, tinariwen, sonic youth, kraftwerk, gang of four, belle & sebastian, a silver mt. zion, neil young and crazy horse, sleep, talking heads, abner jay, pj harvey, fugazi, grauzone, leonard cohen, johnny cash, lungfish, john fahey, group inerane, das racist, santigold, nina simone and more!

my lovely friends
roshi moshi (felis catus)
engaging critical discussion
getting dirty in the garden
access to thew news (al jazeera, democracy now and local news)
hard, meaningful work

“Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another--physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion.”
-toni morrison

and adopting a puppy....soon!

home with my housemates. eating good food. maybe watching a movie. maybe going for a walk. maybe making some noise with instruments. definitely not at first friday!

i cant listen to this song without crying...not that there is anything to hide about crying, this one just really gets me, every time
the partisan

and i never make the first move. ever.

if you would like to.
-or-
you want to play some music.
you want to go to the adirondacks, catskills or berkshires more often and would like a hiking or camping partner
you love giving and receiving constructive criticism.
you want to explore.
you want to ride bikes through the city on a warm summer eve and stop by the river to sit and people watch.