Me : At a Glance

Vital Stats:

Turned 30 in August 1994. You do the math from there on.
Married, taken, not looking.
Freelance web designer and occasional writer looking for a full-time job.
Former retail manager.
6 feet 3 inches (188 cm) on an, ummm, ample frame.
Brown hair with developing flecks of gray, but it's all stubble anyway, so who cares?
No tattoos, no piercings, and no desire for either.
Graduated 1991 from UNC-Greensboro with a BA in Geography and Sociology (Urban Planning Concentration).
Currently back in school working on my Master of Library and Information Studies degree.

Generally a loner, and not at all comfortable in large crowds.
Strong sense of humor.
Agnostic bordering on aetheist.
Self-obsessed, self-aware, self-reliant, and selfish.
Mild control freak with occasional passive-aggressive tendencies.
Not prone to major mood swings. Or at least not noticeable ones.
Depressive interludes from time to time.
Very little patience with whiners, "entitlement syndrome", and those who refuse to take responsibilty for their own actions and choices.
Devout believer in natural selection.
Severe distaste for dogma.
No drugs since about 1980, and I've been smoke-free since 2 November 2003. I don't really drink anymore either.

Hometown: Greensboro NC (1964-1986, 1989-1992).
Subsequent residences: Myrtle Beach SC (1986), Charlotte NC (1986-1989, 2005-2006), and San Francisco CA (1992-2005).
Present residence: Winston-Salem NC (as of 19 June 2006).

Pizza: pepperoni.
Burgers: mustard, onions, cheese, and maybe bacon.
Burritos and tortas: carnitas.
Veggies: non-California tomatoes, squash, collard greens, black-eyed peas, okra.
Cuisines: Southern and Cajun, Mexican, Italian, Thai, Ethiopian, Diner.
Cereal: Cocoa Pebbles, Count Chocula, Bran Flakes.
Snack Foods: Funyuns, Chips with dip or salsa, Milky Way, Chocolate chip cookies, Rice Krispie Treats, Fritos.
Hate: raisins, pickles, tofu, black olives, canned corn.

Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, Baltimore, Fresno, Pittsburgh, and (of course) Winston-Salem.
Used bookstores.
Libraries.
Thrift stores.
Old supermarkets and other commercial architecture.
Diners and other restaurants that haven't been remodeled since the Johnson administration.

Books: Non-fiction almost exclusively. Urban planning and history, architecture, roadside and highways, corporate histories.
TV: Simpsons, Cops, Fillmore, All in the Family, Streets of San Francisco, Dragnet, King of the Hill.
Movies: Film noir, 1970s cop and disaster flicks, old classics, 1950s chick flicks, Hitchcock.
Music: Steely Dan, Buzzcocks, Ella Fitzgerald, Cure, Bauhaus, pop standards, old country, old jazz, 80s wave, indy rock, bitchin' pop songs.
Old supermarkets and other commercial architecture (yes, I meant to repeat this).
Urbanism, urbanization, urban history, and urban form.
Low-budget road trips and long, aimless drives.
Filemaker Pro.
Contrarians and curmudgeons.

"Gay culture" (whatever that is) and people who substitute sexual orientation for identity or personality.
Non-critical thinkers, conspiracy theorists, religious nutjobs, and others who unquestioningly parrot whatever liberal or conservative dogma was presented in their favorite magazine this week.
Sports.
Nature, camping, and the great outdoors.
Gyms.
Art galleries.
Cities that think "urban" means "lots of upscale chain stores".
Stuffy, pretentious, and overpriced restaurants (or anything else).
Dancing, dance clubs, and most dance music.
Large crowds, especially large crowds of homosexuals.
People who don't follow the basic rules of courtesy and civility.
Drugs. Yes, this includes marijuana.
People with no sense of personal responsibility.
Volvos and their drivers.
Spoiled yuppie brats.
Humorless queer activists.
Fundamentalist Christians and other religious terrorists.
Anyone who uses the term "negative energy" in a non-ironic fashion.