I have been writing about myself in letters to pen pals for as long as I can recall. In that regard there has always been a tried-and-true method of introducing myself to new friends.

What I've found is that informal always works best. Don't worry about spelling too much. Don't worry about grammar and syntax. Dangling particples are one's best friends (as well as funny). And I start sentences with 'and' alot not to mention using the occassional run-on sentence just to save time and make reading a little more breathtaking in spite of the english teachers shaking their heads in disappointment but what the heck.

In other words, be yourself. Write to friends spontaneously. What ever comes out (heh heh), goes down on paper - minus the occassional faux-pas belch and that rare prosterior peep. The one who wins my heart is the one whose personality shines through in spite of himself.

So many guys I write to are afraid of one little thing I find is almost a neccesity in personal letters. I believe it is not an ego thing. I do not see it as such in any case. "I." "I." "I." People think it "I" is egotistical, vain, and such forth. Well... no, it isn't. How in the heck are you going to get your points across - interests, personality, likes, dislikes, et al. - if you do not use the all important "I"? Oprah Winfrey has made a career out of using "I" at every given opportunity. Not that you'll get your own talk show or become a multi-millionaire, but used in moderation, others will come to know you much better. Besides do you really want to go through life referring to yourself in the second or third person?

Well, that said, I can go on to introducing myself to you using the way I have always used.

In personality, I would like to consider myself a caring, sincere, understading, open, and friendly guy - and not in word alone. I like to laugh and have fun but know when to be serious and responsible. In spite of a shy and quiet nature, I like adventure and excitement in life. I will try anything once - within reason. (I suppose, though, that within reason is relative.) This has given me a life of diversity which compliments my belief in learning, growth, and change. Nothing too intense - just a healthy dose of common sense. Thus, life has brought me new experiences constantly and consistently - it is never boring. When opportunity doesn't knock, make the opportunities.

I know myself well, am secure with myself, and have direction in life. You can't easily categorize me: half city, half country; half loner, half socializer. In balance. Can one be a romantic, an idealist, and a realist all rolled together? Yep. Definately. What's more, it makes you a very easygoing person who is easy to know. I, for one, like others to be comfortable around me.

Never give up until 20 minutes after your dead.

We never stop learning until we die. Even then, I have been told by some that you learn to die.

Well, I am a Native Canadian-Irish guy. Do not ask me about my heritage or culture because I haven't got the foggiest notion. I was adopted at birth into a middleclass German-Ukranian family. The native people have a name for guys like me - and I know because I have heard it enough times... "white indian". So be it. I don't know anything else so why worry about it.

I have known I was gay since I was 12 - or at least put a name to it. It has never been an issue in my life. Nor is it the focal point of my life. I am too busy to worry about it. It rates about 60th on a list of life's priorities. It is a part of me, but I have many parts of me as well. It is "the whole" I worry about sometimes. Stereotypes and cliches are not my speed and I dislike perpetuating them - nor do I like to see others do so. Not into the gay scene. More into the mainstream life of things - far too much to do and not enough time to do it all.

Men. I get asked about them alot. The usual questions. One common question everyone has is about "Type". What is your "type" of guy? Who do you go for? I haven't got a type. Yes, I have PREFERENCES, but they do not mean much. No, I do not limit others by typing them. I know from personal experience what it is to be typed. One can lose a lot in a potential friend or an enriching encounter (...and while sex is great too, it is not what I am only referring to.) Relying on expectations and overt perceptions of others is not how I operate in life. So I do not base friendships or relationships on my preferences. You can't do that with LOVE.

Well, that is me in a nutshell. Like anything, it's generalities. Furthermore, nothing is written in stone. Things change.

Here is where I introduce my better half to you. His name is Karl and we have been hanging out with one another for about five years. Like me, he loves cats, science, and the computer. His profession is programmer-analyst and he is the real whiz behind all I know about computers up to now.

Of course what would life be without the two of the bestest friends in the world. Marcio lives in Brazil, and we have known one another forever. A loving, caring, and actually quite funny dude. Giacomo is your typical Italian and he is as loving as he is fiery - he is constantly on the move.