Women have said I am nice, intelligent, and funny once they get to know me. Yeah I know... that's not cliché at all, is it? :) I'm usually a very pragmatic and laid back person. I'm not a super-charismatic "player" and I don't come on strong. I'm a hard worker and a very hands-on do-it-myself kind of person (house and car maintenance, finances, etc). I also know how to relax and have fun. I'm analytical and a deep thinker, and I sometimes over-think things. I'm very honest and sometimes blunt when necessary, but I'm also affectionate, compassionate, and romantic at heart.

I like being outdoors when the weather is nice, whether it be hiking at Turkey Run, boating at Clinton lake, Six Flags, or just taking my dog for a walk. I love exploring and photographing new places, especially the mountains and the coasts. Some places I've traveled to in the last couple of years are Niagara Falls, San Diego, LA, San Francisco, Colorado, Wyoming (Yellowstone and Tetons), and Las Vegas. In the winter I love snowboarding. I also like just chilling, reading, watching movies, playing board and card games, bowling, going to a ball game, and hanging out with family and friends. I don't normally do the bar scene, but generally I'm up for just about anything as long as the company is good!

I don't have ambitions to become famous or take over the world or anything like that! :) I believe that happiness is enjoying the simple things in life with someone special. I own my home and I am financially secure, so my goal now is to find that someone to share my life with.

I'm looking for an honest, straight-forward, communicative, expressive, affectionate, positive, intelligent, small-town, jeans-and-t-shirt kind of woman with a good sense of humor and a pretty good idea about what she wants in a relationship. She must believe in true love as being a bond of friendship, trust, respect, and passion. She must desire and be able to make time for us in this fast-paced world, whether it's spending time together, talking on the phone, emailing, etc.

I'm looking for a woman who desires to be in a relationship and is self-motivated to find someone. I put "long-term" because I'm looking for more than friendship, and dating is simply the route for developing a relationship. I'm not interested in women on this site who don't truly want to be in a relationship at all and who are only looking for new friendships.

I'm looking for someone within 25 miles of Champaign-Urbana. I won't completely disregard anyone farther away, but I'm really looking for someone who I can spend time with and get to know in person. That won't be practical if you're very far away.

Communication is very important! I'm very attentive in a relationship but I don't read minds or play games. People should clearly say what they want and how they feel. Meet each other halfway. Here is a good article about the dangers of expecting your partner to read your mind: http://www.jenniferdiebel.com/uploads/Issue16-HighStakesMindReading.pdf

If you think we might be a good match, send me a message!

Misc info about me:
Education: BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois
Residence: own my home, live alone
Favorite foods: BBQ, steak, Italian, Mexican, pizza, chocolate, ice cream, sour candies.
Places to eat: Hickory River, Buffalo Wild Wings, Olive Garden, Papa Dels, Los Zarapes, my grill.
TV shows: House, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met your Mother
To read: the news online (general, science, technology), sci-fi, and non-fiction
Music: most anything
Religion: I was raised Catholic so I do hold a lot of traditional values, but I am not religious (nor spiritual) anymore and that must be respected.

Low-key. If you're one of those women looking for an extravagant first date, I'm not your guy. I like to cut through the bs and see if we're really compatible, not create illusions. We're just meeting to see if there's something there. Don't get me wrong, it can still be amazing, but it'll be because of a connection between us, not extravagance.

I'm only on here for a different way of meeting people. I'm NOT looking for an online-only chat buddy. On the other hand, we will need to write enough to get to know each other a little bit and decide whether we want to meet in person. I would prefer meeting sooner rather than later though because I won't really know if there's something there until we've met in person.