MisterUnderhill

Hi there! I am awesome (and I'd like to thank all the friends who've helped me be able to say that). Because I've taught myself to cook. Because I play the ukulele unironically. Because I go the extra mile for my friends. Because I call my mother at least once a week. Because I am a historian, and I am going to be a professional historian, and nothing life has thrown at me has been able to take away that dream, including raising 2 kids with multiple chronic medical problems. Because I love to cuddle. Because I'm not afraid to wear a silly hat in public. Because I've pubbed my ish. Because I know when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em, and when to form my cavalry into a square. Because ,I'm always willing to learn something new. Because I lived to tell the tale. Because I do it my way. Because I'm willing to listen to what you have to say, and I expect the same courtesy from you.

In more straightforward form: I'm a transplant from the southern USA, now living in Minnesota. I'm father of 2 wonderful kids (a 19-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy). I have a history degree, but I currently work in medical records. I juggle. I play the ukulele. I read science fiction and fantasy, and zines, and anything else that catches my eye. I love to play games (board, card, video, war, parlor, etc.). I'm new to this whole "swapping" thing, and I'm looking forward to diving in and making new friends.

I love music fairly indiscriminately. I like dance music, folk, filk, opera, pop, punk,world, metal, classical, classic rock - just about anything. Particular favorite artists include Rush, Kiss, DJ Lobsterdust, Matisyahu, Anna Netrebko, TMBG, the Grateful Dead, the Beatles, the Moody Blues, Led Zeppelin, the Clash, the Decembrists, and many more.

Anyone who's read and enjoyed Sylvie and Bruno (by Lewis Carroll) is automatically a friend of mine. I also love Tolkien, Burroughs (both William S. and Edgar Rice), Asimov, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft, Agatha Christie, etc.

My favorite living author is Cherie Priest. I have a very short list of authors that I'll buy their books in hard copy as soon as they come out, even if it means spending the extra money to buy hardbacks, and who I'll even pay extra to get special editions of their books. The list is Cherie Priest and . . . actually, it's just Cherie Priest. If you've never read any of her books, stop depriving yourself.

I'm a big-time Anglophile. I love the middle ages, the Victorian era, and the Edwardian era. I love steampunk. I love art nouveau. I'm trying to learn to speak French. I love to cook, and I love to bake. I want to learn to make stuffed animals and art dolls. I've just recently started reading comic books again, and in the process switched my allegiance from Marvel to DC. My favorite superhero is the Green Arrow. I'm left-handed. I like Hello Kitty. I'm planted a garden this year, for the first time ever, and grew quite a lot of carrots and tomatoes (would have preferred more carrots and fewer tomatoes, but you take what the garden gives you).

I'm a big geek. I get enthusiastic and excited about the things that I like, and I'm not afraid to show it.