Hello there,

My name is Martin, and I am of German & East Indian descent. I can be a little shy and\or nervous when I meet someone, but given a little time, you'll find I have lots to say!

These things don't make me who I am, but I'm sure it gives you an indication of the kind of person I want to be:

1) I'd like to think I'm funny. I'm random, a little shy and slightly awkward; but I definitely have a sense of humour. :)

2) I have wanted to be a writer since I was in Grade 5. I won a young writer's contest, and have known I wanted to write ever since. I write both contemporary fiction and fantasy fiction. So far I've written two complete novels, and as soon as my schooling is out of the way, I intend to work on second drafts. I'd love to be published; but for me it's the creative act of writing that I can't live without.

3) I'm a pretty relaxed person, the kind of person who prefers to discuss things instead of resorting to fisticuffs. That's not to say I'm not opinionated and I don't love to argue. I just tend to do it only with people I know won't get offended by spirited conversation.

4) I tend to walk the fine line between the romantic and the rationalist. I'm one of the few people I know who would admit to reading the God Delusion while watching the Princess Bride.

5) I'm the kind of guy who prefers a pint with a few friends over "clubbing" any day.

6) I am a die-hard politics junkie. I love US Politics and Middle Eastern Politics especially. And yes, I do pay attention to and talk about Canadian Politics. If there is one thing I believe in, at least in terms of a social ethic; it's that as citizens we should discuss politics. It helps everyone in the long run the more we communicate about the policy that affects all of our lives.

7) I have a big interest in Philosophy as well. I very much like and appreciate Deconstructionist philosophy (though I'm not going to pretend I understand all of it, as it's pretty complicated stuff). Socrates and Plato, not so much.

8) I love science, despite having almost zero background in it. I was dumb when I was 16 and didn't think science was something "useful" for me to know about. Now I can get enough of it.

9) I'm an atheist. With that said, I have an incredibly strong interest in religion. It's fascinating on both a sociological and biological level. If anyone shares this as a rational interest: May I recommend the book "Breaking the Spell" by Daniel Dennett. Interesting as all heck.

10) I am a recently returned University student, finishing up a degree in Political Science at York U. I had a full time job and a decent wage, but I didn't like what I did. So I decided to go back to being a poor student for a little while, in the hopes of being able to work in a field I am actually passionate about

11) I love, love, love music. I have an obscene amount of music, both in CD and Mp3. I listen to everything from Billy Holliday and Howlin Wolf to Saul Williams to Static X and Tool. I'm also very opinionated about music. I hate new country, the vast majority of hip hop, and think auto-tune is something should have never taken off.

12) I love to learn. I'm a massive nerd, and if there is a single thing I look for in a potential partner, it's the ability to be able to learn from them.

13) With that said, looks matter. It's the same for me as it is for everyone else. While attraction is entirely subjective, it doesn't decrease its importance to making any relationship work.

14) I'm pretty much the definition of an arm-chair athlete. I have horrid hand-eye coordination, which stopped me from doing anything other riding the bench on my high school football team. That, however, hasn't stopped me from loving football (NFL), hockey (I am, egad, a Sabres fan) & basketball (Raptors fan since day 1). Soccer I tried, but by and large the only interesting that happens is when the players fake injuries to get penalty shots, and that's not exactly my idea of competitive excitement. ;)

15) My parents traveled the entire world three times over. As a youth, I spent months living in the southern US, Brazil, & India. Consequently, I've wanted to start back up with the travelling for some time now, and once the degree is over and done with, I fully intend to start visiting other continents again.

16) I've always tried to live my life according to the "Harm Principle", in that everyone is free to do whatever they want to, so long as it doesn't impede the welfare of another person. I live my life trying not harm or hurt others, and if I'm at all successful with this over the course of my life, I'll consider it a life worth living.

17) I'm horrible at proof-reading my own writing, and often miss entire words from sentences. As much as I am a fan of good grammar, self-editing is not a skill I possess.

If there's anything you'd like to know, please don't hesitate to ask. :)