I'm a ballroom dancer, dancing competitive on the UK amateur circuit. I can do (at a far lesser standard) latin american, swing, rock and roll and argentine tango, and in my time I've also done ballet, tap, 'modern/character', offbeat, freestyle and street.

I have a peculiar relationship with exercise: it needs to sneak up on me. I love my dancing and I enjoy martial arts, having trained a little in Pencak Silat, but I dislike exercising for the sake of exercising. The repetitive nature of the gym has bored me whenever I've tried, and while I like swimming with company, I find swimming lengths along to be dull. Cycling works from A to B, but cycling in a circle makes me wonder why I didn't just stay at the start. Exercising needs to be fun and preferably a social thing in my eyes!

I am unashamedly a geek; I enjoy reading Sci-fi/fantasy and historical fiction, I get enthusiastic about Doctor Who, and I do RP DnD and oWoD. Being a geek is something that I don't think will ever change. All ur bases are belong to me, I mean, us!

Two years ago I was bitten hard by the travel bug; I did charity work in Malaysia and had a fantastic time. Since then I've found the courage to travel alone and explore a range of locations from the Northumbria hills and the Devon coast to the streets of Singapore and Bangkok. Adventure tends to come and find me, and I love it. I treasure my little car, a Fiat Panda, which I see as my freedom to run off into the world on a slightly less international basis.

I long to do more travelling, particularly if I can combine it with the veterinary field so that I feel I'm doing some good in the world. India, China, Japan, horse-backing across Mongolia and riding the ships of the desert through the middle east, meeting the tribes of Africa and going on Safari, dancing in the mardi gras parades of Latin America and photographing the outback of Australia; I want to do it all. Travelling for me is about new experiences with things and people, learning someone else's way of surviving, and seeing familiar sights at home with eyes that know there is a different way to do things.

I like cooking, particularly recipes that I pick up during my travels. Savoury and sweet, it comes from scratch whether pastry, pizza, ice-cream, curry or multi-course dinner party. I taught myself to cook more than just the basics while at university, and now found it a good way to relax and enjoy delicious food. I own a couple of weird teapots and lots of delicious kinds of tea in various colours, scents and flavours; I was infamous in my lectures for taking a teapot with me. I am now renowned at work for adhering to "Cake Friday"; I bake things on Friday morning to take into work with me!

I am the kind of person to have a few very close friends, but those who do reach the inner circle find a fierce loyalty that has seen me travel hundreds of miles on hare-brained schemes and sudden whims, particularly at odd hours of the morning. (Finances don't yet stretch to international destinations... though this has happened once and saw me crossing international borders.)

I studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, to qualify as a vet and managed to persuade a veterinary surgery in Kettering that they wish to employ me. I love my job to pieces spending far too much time there even outside my hours of employment; I guess I am a workaholic! It's everything I hoped it would be and more though, so I'm glad I have a job that I really enjoy.

With my dancing, I have danced with my current partner for about four years and we are working towards developing our national ranking. In our age group, we're about 30th in our category, so definite room for improvement.

Thinking about going travelling again in the not-too-distant future...

Losing my keys. Being fashionably late. Cooking. Ballroom dancing. Relaxing over a cup of tea.

My long hair, a voice that is often singing when happy, and a habit of speaking using a wide range of onomatopoeia which nevertheless is very descriptive.

Squee!

Narh?

The list goes on...

Reading:
Sci-fi/fantasy - Orson Scott Card, Terry Pratchett, Robin Hobb
Historical fiction - e.g. Bernard Cornwell, Jean Plaidy.

Movies: Depends on my mood! Moderately light comedy through to serious dramas have held my attention. I like films which have at least a token plot, and by far I enjoy productions which pay attention to small details as well as big. Just to give a few examples of the various films I've watched recently: Princess Bride, Green Mile, Princess Monokome, Equilibrium, Shrek, Sweeney Todd, Pirates of the Caribbean, Minority Report, Cool Runnings.

TV: I watch precious little t.v, given I lived for years without one and still don't watch things live. I can be convinced into watching series of things: Doctor Who and Hustle have both been introduced into my life relatively recently. I vaguely follow the F1 motor-racing as well, a throwback from growing up close to Silverstone.

Music: Most things go as long as they have rhythm and tune. The extremes of genres tend not to fit very well; while I like some softer metal, I dislike random screaming into the microphone and I can't stand warbling operatic singers. Music is not (despite competency in piano, harp, clarinet and vocals) a major defining feature of my life.

Food: While I will eat almost anything (peanuts and overcooked vegetables are some of the very few examples of that which I will not consume), I favour freshly prepared and cooked foods. Chilli I will eat; I'm just incredibly sensitive to it! However, I do enjoy curries and similar dishes, as well as European cuisine, Mexican, Chinese, Sushi/Sashimi... om nom nom nom! I also go crazy for strawberry ribena and I have a collection of lots of different types of tea.

In no particular order:

Massage - definitely a welcome luxury at the end of a long day. Being part of the university massage society was a good thing.

Car - I travel too much to want the inconvenience of not having one. I relish my freedom.

Laptop - I've never owned a desktop, only a laptop. I have a lot of my important course documents on here as well as random creative writings, photos of my life, games etc.

Sleeeeeep - I am very fond of my bed and I enjoy lazy mornings with no rush to get up.

Hairbrush - there was a time in my life when I didn't have access to clean bathing water. For nearly two weeks mud built up in my hair from the river water and I hated the feel of it as I couldn't get a brush through.

... you know, I'm not that materialistic and I'm struggling to think of things without which I couldn't do. Ah ha! Glasses! I'm not that short-sighted, as in, I'm typing this without them, but I feel lost watching t.v. or walking outside without them.

Recently, I discovered that I feel naked without a stethoscope around my neck at work. Go figure?!

Where I put my keys/bag down. The number 42. The best way to spend a day in the sunshine. What would happen if you put buttered toast on a cat's back and let it jump off the table. What's up with my most recent weird case at work. Whether I should get a kitten. When the next dance practice will be. Where I put my keys/bag down after finding them a minute ago.

Cooking dinner then heading out ballroom dancing with friends and then socialising afterwards over a drink or two. Alternatively, spending the evening in with a book/film/good company.

Hmm... work in progress.

... you're looking for friendship and/or conversation, like to meet to chat over coffee, if you want to keep me company while swimming, or just generally feel like giving me a poke to say "hey".

I'm definitely not looking for any casual hook-ups or short term flings, and I'm determined to be clear about that right from the start.