I really enjoy having interesting, intense conversations with intelligent people who are curious about the world--whether about politics, Jewish cultural stuff, stories of my past (or yours), or something else. I tend to be opinionated, but I'm also happy to be shown why I'm wrong if I am. I have some strong opinions, but I usually prefer a friendly, rambling discussion to a head-to-head debate. I can be shy at first, but I'm pretty talkative and open once I get into a conversation...
I like exploring new places (museums, neighborhoods, restaurants, etc.), and I also like going to see interesting movies. I'm generally not so interested in bars/clubs. I also probably wouldn't be the first to sign up for a long hike, but I can definitely admire the natural beauty of the outdoors in California. Mostly, I enjoy hanging out with and getting to know interesting people in a quieter place.
I'm three years in to a Ph. D. program in research psychology (cognitive/cognitive neuroscience) at UCLA, and while there are sacrifices that come with an academic career (PhD Comics makes some good points :-) ), I'm generally really excited to be able to study interesting things for a living, especially after it took me a bit of time to figure it out and get to this point... (In general, I can sometimes take a while to actually figure out which direction I want to go in, hence the username...but once I do figure it out, I'll go all out for things...)
L.A. is maybe growing on me a little, now that I've been here for a few years, although there is still a lot about this crazy city that I don't really get. But it does have its charms... Like the random, intellectually stimulating lectures/programs that occasionally come up, for one. There's also the fact that you can find so many kinds of tasty food around the city. (I haven't managed to explore enough of the restaurants around here, but I know that there are some good ones. There are also the food trucks that used to come to UCLA, many of which have really tasty food, but they sadly got replaced by something more permanent but less tasty.) Oh, and there is the weather, of course. (OK, I actually still think the weather here is kind of strange--why is there more difference in temperature within a day than between "seasons"??--but I mostly can't actually complain about it. I don't mind a little bit of cold weather, but it is nice not to have summer days with 95 degrees and 80% humidity...)
I'm originally from St. Louis, and I lived on the East Coast for 8 years (Philadelphia area for 6 years, and then Connecticut for 2) until I moved out here for grad school in '09.
While I can be serious at times, I do have a sillier side, too... And finally, last but not least, while I can sometimes be a bit awkward, I usually try to be a nice person, and I'm almost incapable of lying...
I'm looking for someone intelligent and curious, and who really values learning and knowledge for its own sake, but who's also a good and caring person at heart. Someone who's just a little off-center (because being too "normal" can be boring)... And someone who can teach me new things--about my intellectual interests, but also about fun things that LA (and life?) has to offer.
