I'm an intellectual, unconventional, quirky cultural critic (professionally & otherwise). I talk a lot, but I'm also one of the best listeners you'll ever meet. I have theories (big & small) that I either ruminate over many months or come up with on the fly. Despite a bubbly and engaging personality, I'm actually a highly introverted person that spends most of her time alone by choice. Yet there's a constant tension below the surface that compels me to advertise my interest in meeting you. I'm loyal and giving, free-spirited and open-minded, never satisfied but looking for contentment.

I spend more hours than you might think possible watching movies. I'm an utter film fanatic, and I'll watch most things but I definitely have my favorites. I have a romantic comedy fetish. I don't know why since I don't want to live through one--I'm far too communicative for it to be successful, anyway. I also watch a lot of foreign flicks, especially French films.* I'm big on comedies, especially clever ones. My holy trinity consists of Albert Brooks, Woody Allen, and Larry David.

Apart from film, I spend a lot of time reading, writing, and thinking. I have a lot of passions, which I tend to call obsessions: architecture, urbanism, learning, knowledge, history, storytelling, geography (spatial thinking), politics (electoral and otherwise), people watching, modern art, contemporary art, irony, postmodernism, mobiles (hanging art, not phones).

By the way, the personality awards at the bottom are pretty spot on--except the one that says I'm less giving.

Oh, and I live in Silver Lake (Sunset Junction), or Silverlake if you prefer.

*And I guess I should admit that I'm a bit of a Francophile, and even though I don't speak French beyond a few phrases I'd move to Paris in a heartbeat. At least I plan to visit again soon.

I moved from suburban Washington, D.C. to L.A. in August 2005 to start my Ph.D. Yes, I'm the nerdy type (and yes I give preference to fellow nerds of most stripes). In a few years, I will be a professor, teaching your children radical ideas about urbanity, housing, planning, and history. My particular interest is the relationship between identity and the built environment (place is also an appropriate word here too).

Blogging and taking photos of buildings among other things...

Such as big-picture thinking. As a result, I'm problem-focused rather than solution-focused, which is a rare thing in urban planning (even the academic, rather than professional, arm). I can't tell you how to solve things, but instead I'm really good at pointing out flaws that don't allow things to be the way they ought to. But, at the same time, I can obsess over little details. This means I'm a really good observer. So watch out!

If the people are male: my big boobs.

Others might say: my intelligence, my wit, my hyperbolic sentences and gestures.

Or, perhaps, my blue eyes when I'm wearing a blue shirt.

BOOKS: Queers in Space: Communities | Public Places | Sites of Resistance; The Power of Place: Urban Landscapes as Public History; The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the Revanchist City; Redesigning the American Dream: The Future of Housing, Work, and Family Life; Making the Invisible Visible: A Multicultural Planning History; California Vieja: Culture and Memory in a Modern American Place; From Tenements to the Taylor Homes: In Search of an Urban Housing Policy in Twentieth Century America

I read a ton of things that are probably too obscure to bother listing (as if the list above isn't, ha!). I also read a ton of different news sources. I'm an information junkie, if you can't tell.

FILM: Defending Your Life, Rushmore, Election, Shakespeare in Love, Le Divorce, 24 Hour Party People, Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Pride & Prejudice (2005), Bridget Jones's Diary, Before Sunset; zillions of others since I've probably disliked more movies than you've actually seen!

To give you a better idea, since it's pretty much impossible for me to tell you everything I really like, here's a list of some of my favorite directors: Woody Allen, Brad Bird, Alert Brooks, Michael Winterbottom, Joe Wright.

MUSIC: Superdrag, Teenage Fanclub, Supergrass, The Bonapartes, Nada Surf, Spoon, Splitsville, Travis, etc., etc. I used to take advantage of live indie rock scene around me, but I seem to rarely go these days for some reason. I'm less passionate about music than I am film, to say the least, but I certainly have my favorites. I'm especially excited that Superdrag has decided to reunite.

FOOD: Burgers & Fries, Mexican (East Coast style/fake), Persian, frozen dairy products (especially soft serve), asparagus, bing cherries, everything tastes better with onions and garlic

In no particular order: my computer with internet connection (they're kind of useless without one another), films (theater and DVD), music, my glasses, some time alone, my sister

...housing, how capitalism is evil (is this the end of neoliberalism? I hope so!), (post)modernity, queer theory, the state of the world, what I heard on NPR or saw on PBS, and everything else. I'm a thinker. Big time. No doubt about it.

Probably asleep after/while watching movies. I'm a morning person. Give me a reason to stay up, and I might do it! Yeah, yeah, sometimes I go to concerts or hang with friends, but I'm pretty low key.

I have a thing for scientists. Oh and men with glasses. And stubble.

On the flip side, cigarettes are a complete, utter, and total turn off. Smoking is probably my only absolute deal breaker. Sorry.

You live near me. You want to meet in person. You like to talk and joke around. And, please, love film! Intelligence, compassion, curiosity, and conversationalists turn me on the most.

I'll be blunt. I want to meet in person. I have no interest in chatting or passing endless emails back and forth.

By the way, if you clicked on my profile because you saw that I "stalked" you but didn't send a message, feel free to send one. My lack of messaging doesn't mean I'm not interested. Maybe I was out of time? Out of words?

N.B.: I don't like the QuickMatch system. Hopefully you can actually see this message while you're in the middle of rating me--otherwise just ignore. You'd be better served, in the event of a mutual high rating, by just looking at my profile. I do find the stalker feature pretty useful.