Growing up in Los Angeles, I remember always being impressed by my older brother's spontaneity. If he and his girlfriend had a craving for tacos at 10pm, they'd drive the two hours down to have them in Mexico, just for the fun of it. If they were sitting around and got an itch for bright lights and gaudiness, they'd get up and go to Vegas.

20 years later I am the one who still craves that spontaneity. Sadly, my employer isn't too keen on me disappearing every few days. Also, while Chicago is a nice town, it feels like driving two or three hours in any direction doesn't really get me anywhere interesting. I suppose that's why I'm looking for someone who will actually do things with me. Said things could include movies at the Landmark or Music Box, bookstore browsing, going for drives while listening and singing along to music that we both know and love, going to museums, going to essay readings and storytelling events, walking without a destination, eating sundaes at Margie's, watching plays, taking classes at the Discovery Center or Lill Street or Old Town School, trying to cook, chatting at a (preferably independently-owned) coffee shop, kayaking down the Chicago river, attending soccer games, dancing, and contemplating tattoo subject and placement (but not necessarily getting one).

I have a soft spot for shy guys (not the nerdy, socially inept kind of shy; smart, witty, unsure how to approach a woman but once he does she's captivated shy -- glasses a very sexy plus), but I've come to realize and accept that take-charge guys really do it for me, too. In any case, it would be pretty great to meet someone who is spontaneous (but not irresponsible), and adventurous (but not reckless). Add kind, intelligent, and loyal and I think I'd die!

You would get the same in kind, plus someone who loves spicy foods (truly enjoy the sizzling torture of my favorite Thai dish cooked 911-hot), independent and/or foreign flicks (although I will admittedly enjoy the hell out of zombie/horror/slasher movies, underdog movies, and any movie with a dance plot, no mater how bad), all kinds of music -- mainstream and non, (The Beatles, Neko Case, Wilco, Phoenix, Tupac....), NPR (Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me is hilarious), art (the likes of Goya, Hopper, and Matisse), and movement (dancing, walking, swimming). Oh, and parentheses -- I love parentheses (obviously!).

I ask myself this most days. Professionally speaking, though, I'm in nonprofit management.

listening, making some people laugh, geography, dancing without reason, playing along to "Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me!", reading between the lines, not overstaying my welcome, advocating for the underserved, picking sweet fruit, judging character, being loyal.

I don't know about the first thing, but I can probably guess the last: my silliness. I'm a liiiiittle bit shy at first, which comes off as serious. However, once I'm comfortable, I can be really silly and playful. People just don't see it coming!

I like good movies, but I'm also a sucker for zombie/horror/slasher movies and any dance movie, no matter how bad. My favorites include: Lost in Translation, Man on Wire, Salt Lake City Punk, Ghost World, When Harry Met Sally, About a Boy, Life is Beautiful, Kingpin, Sling Blade, Almost Famous, Wallace and Gromit (The Wrong Trousers), Cinema Paradiso, Farewell my Concubine, Indochine, Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo, Zombieland, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Emperor's New Groove, The King's Speech, Once, In The Loop, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

I'll admit I mostly have bad taste in TV, but my favorites are pretty good: Louie, Mad Men, Archer, The Walking Dead, Downton Abbey, 30 Rock, The Wire, Antiques Roadshow.

As far as books go, I've read many (lit major), but these have blown my mind: The Unbearable Lightness of Being, White Teeth, Middlesex, The Color Purple, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Before Night Falls, Invisible Man, Arrancame la Vida, The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton, Life of Pi, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

Music is big for me. It's on loud (if I'm alone) and it's on often, especially in the car. If you're with me, you're likely to hear Neko Case, Phoenix, Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura, Rage Against the Machine, The Shins, Wilco, Mary J. Blige, The New Pornographers, CCR, Al Green, Sublime, Outkast, Ella Fitzgerald, Feist, and lots more.

Oh, food I love = Korean. Yum! If you twist my arm, I can also be persuaded to enjoy Mexican, Mediterranean, vegetarian and many others. Would definitely like to have more fish in my diet, too.

Um, I don't think there's much I couldn't do without. I use my computer a lot, so I'd hate to not have it. I guess I would also add my ipod, my watch, my best friend, and pomegranates to the list of things I'd like not to do without. Oh, and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert -- love 'em!

whether I'm doing the right thing. Or how much more fun it would be to do the wrong thing. Or how much fun it would be to do the wrong thing with Stewart AND Colbert. ;)

going for a walk, browsing at a bookstore, grabbing a drink, listening to live music, Netflixing, having fun just shootin' the breeze with my best friend.

I'm divorced and, while falling in love and living happily ever after would be wonderful, I'm not desperate for the husband, house, 2.5 kids dream. Life can be about way more than that. Still, I'm open to letting things happen as they will.

Also, I will not have children, but don't mind if you do.

How's that for private thoughts?!

you're witty, you're a bit shy, if you're tall, if you're strong, if you think punctuation is important and you use it, if you're good at fixing or making things, if you're an intellectual, if you couldn't care less about watching sports, if you want to go for a walk, if you like listening to music in bed, if you enjoy spicy food, if you want to catch a movie at the Landmark or Music Box, if you know where my screen name (minus the "s" at the end) comes from, if you want to move to Belgium, if you'd rather go out for physical activity than sit on the couch all the time, if you're over 30.