I'm full of contrasts, and have a tendency to do whatever I want, wherever I want. I have a lot of freedom, and don't hesitate to make use of it. I've been known to hop on a plan to Panama with a few hours notice, to waterski at night, and to carry kayaks through the jungle for 2 days and then go on a business trip to Australia for 3 days. Pretty much nothing in my life is normal.

I struggle with answering questions like "Where are you from" (San Francisco Bay Area? Germany?) and "Where do you live?" (in a typical year, 2 months in China, 6 months in California, 2 months in Panama, 2 months traveling elsewhere).

When I travel, I like to step off the beaten trail in rather extreme ways, and often literally... I whitewater kayak, backpack, sea kayak, and really want to go on a bike trip in western china.

Friends tell me I have a great, though sometimes a bit too sarcastic sense of humor and I noticed I love being silly at times and serious at others.

I'm anti-consumerism (don't own a TV and hate shopping), but I value the freedom and security that comes from having income or savings.

Here is something really strange about me: I don't get jealous. Ever. Envious, sometimes, but not jealous.

Do you?

I want to make the world a better place and leave a mark somehow, in a way that lets me build strong meaningful relationships with friends.

Eventually I want to meet the right person to start a family with and settle down (though not geographically -- I think moving around every few years is great for kids, and I still want to sail around the world).

Analyzing and solving problem, software design, math, exploring, traveling, not falling (I'm really stable on my feet when running on bad trails), motivating other people when I'm excited about something, and being loving, supportive, and pleasing to people I care about.

I suck at:

Modesty, listing things in an appropriate order, reading people and picking up signals they send, communicating ideas to people who listen with their emotions and not rationality, and making unimportant decisions quickly (if you're good at that, great, I want to learn to deal with this...)

I don't really care about how I dress. My socks don't match. Or I'm not wearing any. Or I'm wearing sandals in the snow. Or all of the above.

Food... I love to eat! Vietnamese and Thai are favorites. And fortunately I can eat as much as I want without gaining weight. I tend to get a long with people who like to eat - in many ways ;)

Books: I've been enjoying Peter Hessler's books about China recently.
Contemporary favorites in fiction include Neal Stephenson (yeah, I'm a nerd), I love Tom Robbins (Bonus point if you can tell me what you think about using meditation techniques to do better in office politics), and other than that I'm all over the place.

Movies: The only Hollywood movies I sometimes enjoy are clever comedies. I liked Fight Club, American Beauty, and the independent Austrian movie I saw a couple of weeks ago.

Freedom, the Internet, good food, sex, Conversations with friends about big ideas, and adventures in nature.

Our future, and how to make it better.

Either enjoying conversations with good friends, or out making some new friends.

I don't get jealous. Ever. And I have my doubts that monogamy works (though I'm sometimes open to trying. Not right now, though.).

You have or want freedom to be wherever you want, while still following your dream.

If you're nearby and want to meet someone who is decidedly different.