I am not a mariner, but I take lessons from the sea: stay calm, unless there's a big storm. Be friendly, but do not tolerate fools too heartily. Give serenity and opportunity to those who are willing to look.

I am a bit of a climber, and I take lessons from the mountains: Stand proud, but be humbly silent. Challenge the greatest of thinkers and explorers, but let even the weekest find comfort. The sky is something to reach for, but it is not worth blowing one's top to attain it.

I am a person, and I take lessons from those around me: cross the street without looking, swerve into the bike lanes when answering a phone call, cry when someone stubs my toe but not when I break their legs, employ sarcasm in personal ads whilst understanding that hypocrisy is the antithesis of decency...

I like athletes. I don't like makeup. I've been known to wander trails for weeks without a shower, but I can also wear a suit. I can dance across rocks like a mountain goat, but I dance on a dance floor like a fish out of water. Life's better when the sun is up, but there's also fun to be had after Helios stows his chariot.

Inquisitiveness and adventurousness are more important than wealth and beauty, although neither of the latter are strikes against you.

This isn't really a first date. A first date from online contact should be pretty simple -- a short hike near the Flatirons, for instance. But I want to find someone who will hike under a full moon to the top of Sanitas, share a bottle of wine, and enjoy life for a bit.