I tend to be pretty modest when describing myself (blame it on the midwest upbringing), but I'll give it a go.

I'm equal parts romantic and cynic. I can be very sarcastic or very sweet, or very often both at once. My favorite thing in the world is a good conversation. Love a good drink as well. Combine the two, thrown in an outdoor setting and I'm in heaven.

I like to make inappropriate jokes. I garden, dance, cook, write, build, and smile. I'm honest and genuine and I get really excited when I meet someone else who is the same. I'm logical, I love to plan and create. I over think things. I'm very independent, but I'm always excited when a friend texts me to hang out.

I'm happy...very happy...but there's that romantic in me so....here we are.

Fact stuff: I've been in portland for 5 years. Love it. Website programmer by trade (nerdy, I know, but it's a good job...and I secretly really like it).

"Educated" (note the quotes) as a writer. Still do it whenever I get the chance (novels and short stories).

As far as daily activities: Gardening in my little back yard. Dancing any chance I get (soul night usually). Hiking near any waterfall I can find. Mixing up cocktails for my friends. Coming up with a good thing to cheers to. Biking around and pretending I'm Andy Schleck. Cooking while drinking wine and listening to Louis Armstrong or Glenn Miller. Sitting on my front porch, watching the world go by. Building furniture (badly). Talking to myself on long walks. Planning things I'll never do. Doing things I never planned.

Getting my friends drunk. Being sarcastic. Pushing stories/jokes until I end up in Costa Rica with an underage midget mistress or something like that.

I'm good at picking up on people's emotions. I'm good at being honest about myself and what I feel. And I like to think I'm good at getting people to be honest with me too. Actually, I really like the challenge of getting closed off people to share themselves, which is probably unhealthy for me.

And, flying in the face of modesty (I'm supposed to sell myself though, right?) here are some things others say I'm good at: dancing, holding my liquor, programming, making you laugh and groan at the same time, writing, cuddling, putting too much work into small things, cooking, being romantic, smiling, planning, watching Downton Abbey, wearing my awkwardness on my sleeve.

I smile too much (mostly a nervous thing when i first meet people).

I'm quiet (at first...and often later). Tall (too tall in my opinion). And I'm skinny (I'm probably too proud of that).

...hmm, I think that's all I got.

Movies: Priceless, Pride & Prejudice, Harvey, Castaway on the Moon, Wristcutters, City of God, Wall-e, Paperman, The Good Guy (fuck you, it's adorable). Pretty much any English period piece, anything with Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart (or both, aka Philadelphia Story) or any cute French romance.

Mini-series (yep, that nerdy): Pride & Prejudice, Little Dorrit, Miss Austen Regrets, Middle March, Brideshead Revisited, Bleak House, Ken Burns: Prohibition, Doctor Zhivago.

Books: I'm an unabashed lover of Harry Potter. Other than that: the Great Gatsby (or anything by Fitzgerald), Lolita, Suite Francaise, Atonement, anything by Jane Austen...would love some good recommendations too (hint, hint).

Music: Gemma Hayes, Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, Florence and the Machine, Cults, Phantogram, The Tallest Man on Earth, Washed Out, Lykee Li, Mr. Little Jeans, Caroline Smith & The Good Night Sleeps, Sean Carey, Blind Pilot, Horse Feathers, Beirut, Russian Red, Robyn, and a recent (and admittedly odd) obsession with trance/progressive/house music (or whatever Annie Mac tells me to listen to).

Food: My diet is roughly 50% baguettes, tomatoes, olives, cheese, and cured meats. But I like pretty much anything...except eggs, not my favorite.

TV: Community, An Idiot Abroad, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 30 Rock, Downton Abbey (my phone auto-corrects 'downtown' to 'Downton'), Project Runway, The Office, The Colbert Report, Archer, Arrested Development, Modern Family, Mad Men.

- Music (usually either the super mellow, folky kind or the danceable kind)
- Wine (or cocktails...or beer...or champagne...you get the idea)
- My laptop
- Something to look forward to
- Green living things (plants and trees, not monsters and aliens, those would probably scare me)
- Someone to talk about it all with

Conversations which I play out in my head. Bits of stories I'd like to write. What makes me happy, why this song is so fucking good, what cocktail I'm going to make next. Why people don't dance in Portland. What this or that person's story is (which is a sugarcoated way of saying I judge people).

I try to go out on an adventure at least one night every weekend (though, as I've managed to talk my way down to a 3 day work week, I usually have 4 day weekends). Usually it entails cocktails on my porch or in my backyard, a friend or two, a good conversation, followed by a bar/BBQ/dinner party/etc. Almost all of which end up with me dancing at some point. Also, I like any excuse to get dressed up in classy old timey clothes (I have a 1922 pocket watch I'm particularly proud of...UPDATE: RIP pocket watch, we had a grand time).

Sometimes I go see the ballet (the more intimate stuff like OBT's Uprising) or the symphony or Shakespeare in the Park (not usually on a Friday night, but I wanted to sound cultured). I'd like to see more theater and performances, but I've yet to find a partner in that endeavor.

And, if all else fails, it's me, PJ's, a bottle of red wine, and a movie (or 3).

I'm envious of the cool clothes women get to wear. Especially the coats and the dresses.

Also, at least once a month I turn into a French woman. Inquire within.

If you want to. Seriously, even if I don't respond, I'm always very happy to get your message.

But if you're looking for more specifics (I saw someone else post a list like this and I found it pretty helpful, so here it goes):

You have a passion for something, a thing you care about and can nerd out about. You like a good conversation, you really like a good conversation. You don't mind listening to me talk about things I'm passionate about. Maybe you even enjoy it. You're humble, don't like negative people, aren't a negative person. You're independent, you can live happily in your own world, but enjoy being with friends too. You have equal parts romance and cynicism in you. You dream of travel, you watch movies, you drink, you smile, you laugh, you love to laugh. You have some honor (or whatever), you think, you aren't obsessed with your own opinion, you have an opinion. You talk about your feelings (at least on occasion), you are open, you like to solve problems, you don't run away, you dislike drama...maybe you like just a little bit of drama. You've been called cute, but you kind of hate that. You're a nerd (as opposed to suave). You like that I'm a nerd (seriously, I will never be suave). You're happy at least 65% of the time, but less than 95% of the time. You maybe wear collared shirts sometimes, you like vintage things, you're fashionable, and maybe there's a few articles in your closet that either a 6 year old or an elderly person would wear. You maybe like dancing. You don't mind me doting on you. You maybe dote on me a bit. Or maybe you have an Irish, British, or southern accent (or any accent really). Or maybe you think spending all Sunday in bed, drinking champagne, watching movies, and talking before then spending 3 hours in cooking a nice dinner sound like a fun time.

Or maybe you just think we'd get along and we'd both smile when we think about hanging out with each other.

Oh, and you'd like to actually hang out in person some time because that's kind of the whole point, isn't it?