Me: A guy on the cusp of turning 30 who is actually looking forward to what lies ahead, rather than mourning what has already passed. I work with words - I'm a journalist - which means that I have a deep respect for people who know how to use them (and, conversely, find people who send illiterate text messages and generally abuse the English language a bit irritating...) I'm ready for all that family stuff when it comes, if it comes, but I'm in no rush to get there. I spent my twenties figuring out who I am, and I'm looking forward to spending my thirties, forties, and whatever lies after that being that person.

You: Smart, maybe a bit sarcastic, fond of irony, quirky, unconventional, a professional at what you do (I really don't care if it's medicine or clowning, provided you enjoy doing it and seek to do it well) and able to appreciate physical humour. Oh, and drop dead gorgeous, of course, but I've been alive long enough to know that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder - how else do you explain Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett? - so as long as you don't have a thicker beard than I do, there's no way of forecasting compatibility. I'm much more interested in, and attracted to, what goes in inside someone's head, anyways.

Oh, and since internet dating is all about putting your cards on the table up front, I'm a devout atheist, so unless you're willing to put up with incessant conversations on said topic, people who have a close relationship with God, Allah, Jehovah, or any other omnipotent deity should probably steer clear of sending me any messages. It would save us both a lot of trouble, in all likelihood, since we'd just waste our time trying to convert each other...

Oh, shoot. Maybe go somewhere nice to eat, maybe grab a coffee somewhere, maybe go for a walk outside if it isn't pissing rain. Anything, really, as long as there's an opportunity for conversation that allows us to get to know each other better. I'm a guy who finds a mind as attractive as anything else, so good conversation's a big deal for me.