I've had this section blank for a while and have finally stopped procrastinating on completing it! I am not normally a procrastinating type of person but, quite frankly, I've been more than a little intimidated by this process. First of all, I am overwhelmed at how many beautiful and intelligent women are "fishing". I've seen a lot of very eloquent and thoughtful profiles and am not sure that I can properly articulate the essence of "me" in this format --- I believe I am much more articulate and/or comfortable talking about myself in person.

Anyways, here goes...I am completely comfortable with full disclosure on all aspects of my life, but I'll only cover the basics for now. If I were to fully explain every aspect of my life, it might put you to sleep...besides, we'd have nothing to talk about should we ever meet!

For those of you that may have become a little cynical, although my profile picture is a couple of years old, it DOES accurately depict me. At the risk of appearing immodest, I am often (mis)taken to be in my early 30's. I'd like to take credit for that, but its simply in the genes. Regretably, I don't have a lot of pictures of myself (not in the habit of taking pictures of myself!), so apologies for the sunglasses, beer bottle and bare chest --- and hope that it doesn't foster the wrong impression.

Some think that, at my age, the fact that I have never been married (a situation that I would love to rectify!) is odd. Well, there is no dark or mysterious reason for this --- that is, I have never been incarcerated or under psychiatric care and am NOT commitment-phobic. In my youth, I thought I had lots of time...later, I admit that I was pre-occupied with my career, wasn't really sure what I wanted from life, and most importantly, wasn't really sure of WHO I was. By the time I evolved to the point where I was comfortable with who and what I am, all my friends were married with children and meeting people became (and is!) a challenge...so, here I am on PoF!

I have been self-employed for almost 15 years now and love the freedom to be able to make family, friends and relationships a priority. I am not obsessed with making money and accumulating "stuff", yet I do appreciate the finer things in life and believe in a world of abundance (as opposed to one of scarcity), opportunities and choices. I strive to conduct business in an ethical way, treating everyone I deal with respectfully and trying to engineer opportunities that contribute on a social level. I am the eternal optimist and get out of bed every day (seriously!) with a spring in my step!

Serendipity is my favourite word. I am blessed with an incredible and enormous network of loving and supportive family, friends and associates. I have traveled extensively for both pleasure and business (and usually find ways to blend some of the former into the latter)...but, there's still a lot more to see and do (and I'd love to be able to take my partner to some of the places I've already been!).

I have a nurturing spirit and love children. If you have them already, I would do my best to be a good role model and assist with their care --- without imposing or being too overbearing. If you don't have them and want them, I'd be happy to start...if that is something that you aspire for. If you are done with raising children or don't want any (more), that's okay too.

I am personally quite conservative (but not a prude!), but politically, I have become increasingly left-of-center. More recently, I have come to loathe American foreign policy and can't stand George W. I am a voracious reader and an avid movie-goer (but am not very fond of fluffy Hollywood-style films). I'd pretty open to any types of leisure activity --- as long as pain or the risk of serious personal injury isn't involved!

I am a communicator and love stimulating conversations about almost anything and everthing. I am not the sort of person that allows issues to build to the point where bad feelings can take root. I am a romantic at heart. When in a relationship, I pride myself on being perceptive, emphathetic and sincerely LOVE to pamper my partner with unsolicited thoughtful gestures.

Okay, enough about me (for now at least!). If you would like to know more about me, I am at your disposal. My life is truly an open book --- albeit, not the page-turning sort...but that may be because the chapter(s) in which I meet you have yet to be written!

About you...I am looking for a lady that I can admire, respect and fall deeply in love with...the kind of love that has the potential to grow in intensity with time. Beyond the unavoidable need for a certain level of superficial/physical attraction, the most important things to me are that you have a good heart, a positive attitude towards life and its possibilities, are a good commuicator, have ready smile and smiling eyes.

I am open to anything as long as it is conducive to comfortable conversation. The sometimes unfortunate reality is that people often base "chemistry" on first appearances. I think the outer wrapping, whilst important, is only the beginning and sharing a meal at least affords the opportunity to establish a repartee and discover what substance may lie beneath the wrapping. So, perhaps we would meet at the bar of a nice restaurant for a drink and then decide if we would like to have a meal? At the risk of appearing chauvinistic (which I am not!), of course, the dinner and drinks would be my treat --- AND of course, with no strings attached or expectations! Whether we rush through the meal or have a nice long dinner with good food & wine that lingers to desert and an apres drink would give us both an indication of how compatible we are and obviate the typical anxiety of how we think we are perceived! I hope that isn't too direct!!