I am loquacious, magnanimous, and ridiculous.
My Self-Summary
I’m a Bronx native. A know-it-all whose days are peppered with
humbling moments. I’m a big talker and a joker. I am high-minded
and lowbrow. I like holding hands. I wish I had a secret
laboratory, but for now I’m content making delicious concoctions in
my kitchen. I like to think of myself as a tough New Yorker, but
this city still takes my breath away with its unexpected corners of
quiet beauty. I’m a fiercely loyal friend.
I am smart, goofy, and a whole lot of fun.
I am curious about people; my discipline gives me permission to be
nosy. I like reading profiles and looking at pictures. If I've
rated your profile highly, that means I saw something interesting
in there. It doesn't mean necessarily that I want to marry you. And
don't be scared by the rifle. I only shoot at paper targets.
What I’m doing with my life
I am a graduate student, finishing a doctoral dissertation in
cultural anthropology (field site was Paris, France). I work as an
instructor at a community college, and I do administrative work at
a predominantly women's school nearby.
I’m really good at
Rabblerousing, tomfoolery, defiance, mockery, gourmandizing,
lounging, carousing, imbibing, warbling, crooning, belting it out,
working it, breaking it down, owning it, gadding about, traipsing,
witnessing and testifying.
The first things people usually notice about me
My smile and my sense of humor.
My favorite books, movies, music, and food
BOOKS: Lolita, Brideshead Revisted, White Teeth, Watership Down, Me
Write Book: It Bigfoot Memoir, In Me Own Words, twee fairy stories
by Patricia McKillip and Robin McKinley, Giovanni's Room, The
Mismeasure of Man, Palestine's Children, Story of a City, Women of
Algiers in Their Apartments, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and
Clay, anything by David Sedaris, anything by VS Naipaul, anything
by James Baldwin, anything by Jane Austen, The Color Purple, the
Griffin and Sabine books, Little Big, American Gods, Good Omens, A
Son of the Circus, Anil's Ghost, Interpreter of Maladies, The
Namesake, The Lovely Bones, A Dying Colonialism, In Search of
Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio, Random Family, The Color of
Liberty, Seducing the French, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, The
Sandman series, The Preacher series, The Books of Magic series, The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, the Adrian Mole
diaries, The Loved One, Vile Bodies....
MOVIES: Breaking Away, ZARDOZ ("The voice of the turtle is heard in
the land." Motherf*ing WORD.), Fight Club, Black Orpheus, Mad Hot
Ballroom, Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge, The Price of Milk,
Romeo+Juliet, The Naked Civil Servant, Ma Vie en Rose, Crooklyn,
Mississippi Masala, Punch Drunk Love, Gosford Park, Croupier, La
Haine, Beautiful Thing, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the
Desert, Big Night, The Matrix, Batman, V for Vendetta, Philadelphia
Story, Philadelphia, Murder by Death, Inside Man, Monsoon Wedding,
Funny Face, Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,
The Usual Suspects, Joe Dirt (don't ask), The 40-Year Old Virgin,
Etre et Avoir, Diva, Star Wars, The 25th Hour, 28 Days Later,
Trainspotting, Dirty Pretty Things, Kinky Boots, Midnight Lace,
Bugsy Malone, Hairspray (the original), Cry Baby, Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (anything
set in a chocolate factory is good), anything featuring Toni
Collette, Kate Winslett, or Chiwetel Ejiofor....
MUSIC: Nina Simone, Beck, Beastie Boys, Peter Gabriel, Peter
Gabriel-era Genesis, Bessie Smith, Soundgarden, Chris Cornell, Ella
Fitzgerald, Rage Against the Machine, Miriam Makeba, David Bowie,
TTD (Introducing the Hardline only), Public Enemy, Emilie Simon,
IAM, Akhenaton, Shurikn, Skunk Anansie, Yo La Tengo, Radiohead,
Bjork, Ben Harper, Tricky, The White Stripes, Massive Attack, REM,
Talking Heads, Remy Zero, Roxy Music, Philip Glass, The Style
Council, Shriekback, Amy Winehouse, Ray Charles, Garbage, General
Public, Gnarls Barkley, Burt Bacharach, Scritti Politti, Dinah
Washington, Sade, The Flaming Lips, Queen, James Brown, Modest
Mouse, Missy Elliot, Duke Ellington, Zap Mama, Charles Mingus, The
Indigo Girls, Hubert Laws, Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding,
Aretha Franklin, Arling and Cameron, The Specials, The Mighty
Sparrow, Charlie Parker, Toshi Reagon, Sweet Honey in the Rock,
Sarah Vaughn, White Zombie, Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan, The
Jackson Five, Prodigy, Stevie Wonder, The Wild Tchoupitoulas,
Desmond Dekker, Khaled, Alice Smith...but that's just off the top
of my head.
FOOD: I enjoy pretty much any cuisine. I like the expansiveness of
the term "omnivore." I particularly enjoy Asian cuisine: Thai,
Indian, Japanese, Chinese. I am known to make a heartbreakingly
good lasagne (baked pasta cannot be denied). To me, a cheeseburger
is the perfect food, although very little can beat a cold, ripe
mango. The only things I don't like are innards and raw oysters.
The six things I could never do without
Family, friends, music, email, books, and coffee.
I spend a lot of time thinking about
World peace, post-it notes, social justice, le mot juste,
cocktails, band names (if I had a band, I'd call it "Capital I" and
we'd sing the jingle from the old Sesame Street cartoon), finishing
my homework, travel destinations, love scenes, great-smelling
toiletries, adventures, snappy comebacks, and my regime coming to
power, finally.
On a typical Friday night I am
Home, catching up on Netflix or reading something embarrassing. I
prefer to go out on other nights.
The most private thing I’m willing to admit here
I once punched a man on the NYC subway. Believe me, he had it
coming. And, no I am not usually that impulsive or violent.
You should message me if
You can appreciate the love of a woman of size. Your sense of
justice is matched only by your sense of whimsy. You know how and
when to use Standard English properly. You can engage in a lively
debate without becoming a bully. (Good conversation is really
important to me.) You actually like to leave the house and go out
on dates. You are not above making a fool of yourself. You are not
cruel or false. You are not a sexist, racist, or homophobe. You're
not into proselytism. You don't get impatient with people who walk
really slowly (I am recovering from a broken foot). You like
kissing.