I would like an activity partner for hiking, tennis, racquetball, etc.
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The difference between "LOVE" and "IN LOVE"
Ever see someone start a fire by pouring gasoline on a pile of wood and then throwing a match???
You get a big WOOF!!! followed by an all encompassing flame... (that is being "in love")

When the gasoline has burned off sometimes the fire goes out and sometimes it leaves a smaller flame... (This smaller flame is "love"... Trying to get the "gasoline effect" back when the fire is already burning can be dangerous... However; If you carefully tend to the flame you can get it to grow to where it is almost as satisfying as the big WOOF!!! it started from...)

Most people are disappointed by the "small flame" that is left... They want the warmth and light of the big fire but do not want to put in the work needed to keep feeding the flame when the infatuation is gone... (Those people will never know "true love" even though they may have been "in love" many times. These people are the ones who like to say "I love you - but I am not IN LOVE with you anymore...") I am hoping to find both experiences... I am expecting to find people who know how to provide solid friendship along the way...

I speak 3 languages. Like to cook (even though I am not all that good at it.) I do not play games and have no patience for having them played on me either.
I want to travel a LOT more in the next few years. I would like to share little journeys of discovery with someone special. I have not yet made it to Spain, Greece, Norway, or Eastern Europe. I would very much like to go to Machu Picchu in Peru. (I would like to go on the several day hike to get there instead of the train / bus ride) I would also like to visit Costa Rica, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, and Africa. One vacation I would like to try is kayaking in the thousands of lakes and rivers of Finland. I would like to rent a cabin on a lake / river and spend a couple of days paddling / kayaking to it, hang out there several days (candle-light dinners, fireside chats / snuggling, late afternoon / evening saunas, daytime skinny-dipping) and then paddle another day or two to a "pick up point." One of my life dreams would be to become well off / brave enough to take off from work for the 6 months or so that it takes to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada.
I love being exposed to other cultures and countries. I believe that I learned more from living in Scandinavia for a year when I was growing up than most people get out of a college education. It is hard to find people who have lived in multiple countries that are narrow minded... (It kind of just does not happen...)
Since I used to be a vegetarian you might not be a good match for me if you are afraid of a little onion, garlic, cayenne pepper or the type that pushes vegetables off your plate into the trash. (I can understand not liking mutant little cabbages (brussel sprouts) or okra... but I would like to have a choice of more than 6 veggies to choose from that can be included in a meal...) My idea of a good salad consists of more than just lettuce and salad dressing... I love Italian, Mexican, Indian, Peruvian, Greek, and other foods...
I love music. (Both recorded and live) I do not play any instruments but have an extensive music collection. It is unusual to see me without music playing. I enjoy rock & roll, heavy metal, folk music, occasionally even classical or country.
My "religion" is listed as "other." Most of the major religions in the world have a common "thread" that runs through them. Most people focus too much on our differences and miss our similarities. I do not particularly care what your religion is as long as it means that you try to make sure that you are a better person today than the one you were yesterday. If you are not growing as an individual you may as well end it now.
There... At least I have more than the 2 sentences when I first filled out this section...

I think guys and girls are like two sides of a coin...
It is really HARD/impossible to see what the other side sees... It LOOKS like a completely different world...
The truly successful couples rejoice in discovering and exploring those differences... Through their bonds with each other they get a glimpse of the "other half..."
The rest of us appear doomed to beating each other up because what we see does not match... (Never quite realizing that each of us is only directly seeing half of the world...)

Now... If only I could find someone with the patience to help me understand the half I have not seen...
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Monogamy...
As for monogamy it sounds fine and wonderful to a guy when he's greeted with a kiss, hug, and a smile when he walks in the door... After 4,653,238 complaints about what he has done wrong, two kids, a mortgage payment, and an endless wish-list / honey do list that can never be satisfied... he comes home from working 9 hrs and driving 4 and the only hugs he gets are from his kids and the "love of his life" treats him like the furniture... (that is when monogamy sounds pretty damn close to slavery...)

To someone who has escaped "slavery" (from the forums and generally more open discussion between men about love and relationships over the past 10 or 20 yrs) monogamy does not sound all that enticing... When your "monogamy" switches from being a "celebration" of your relationship to a tool used to "control him" your relationship begins to die... Once a guy leaves chains / prison behind he tends to be a lot more aware of where the bars are...

Probably something pretty practical that I would like to do anyway even if not on a date. That way even if there is no significant connection we can still both enjoy ourselves anyway without feeling like we wasted the day. Example: I try to hike / walk at least 2 miles after work 3 or more times per week. (It only takes about an hour, you can meet in a non-threatening public location without all the frills and expenses of a fancy dinner / show / whatever and it gives you enough time to see if you actually like each other or not...) If you are both enjoying yourselves it is easy enough to extend it by "tacking on" coffee, dinner, movie, or whatever makes sense...
Simply meeting for coffee is fine too...