Hi potential friends.

((adding this section in here since it's the first that shows up under friend search. What am I here for? Well... friends, obviously. But I'm open to different stuff. In descending order what I'd really like to find:
1. True friends that I had a deep connection with and could become some significant part of my life - I feel like this is really hard to find, and don't expect to find it here - but if I did, cool. Could be people from anywhere.
2. Locals in the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area who wanted to hang out or do stuff together. What kind of stuff? Look under my hobbies I suppose.
3. People in the same area willing to invite me to social gatherings or clubs, etc. I feel like I need to socialize more.
4. Pen-pals, anywhere around the world, if we have a lot of stuff in common and this could be the basis for a lasting relationship based on correspondence and perhaps a future meeting when I start traveling again.
5. FWB near me.
6. Just interesting conversation ... but... this is my lowest priority. I'd rather connect with people who were interested in having a real friendship/relationship so that means being open to meeting in person, not treating me like some kind of weird leper just because you met me on the Internet. That's kind of bizarre, but, I know people who still do that... I'm as real as any person you would meet anywhere else in real life.))
okay back to the rest of my overlong profile...

Where to begin? I must have written a hundred profiles in my life aimed at finding dates or love or sex, but never one aimed at finding friends. Weird. Weird? I don't know. I was talking to my friend Michael today about how I think most of what humans do has to do with their sex drive, whether conscious or sub-conscious. So maybe it's not. At the same time I was relating how my libido seems to have become almost non-existent and how this may be linked to me not really having the desire to do *anything* anymore. (Depression, old age, other stuff?)

I thought it would probably be good for me to try and get out and meet more people. Or just get out of the house. I also have always thought it would be wonderful to have a place, online or wherever, dedicated to finding real friends... I mean the kind that you can form a life-long bond with, friends who would die or do anything for you because they so value your presence in their life. I've got so many "friends" all over the world - a lifetime of traveling the globe, working here and there, Couch Surfing et cetera has given me this - but very very few true friends. And I've long thought that my life could benefit from having more of those.

Maybe you can tell from my chosen handle here one of the reasons why this has been difficult for me to find. I can be a bit misanthropic. I don't really click with most people. And this has become a lot worse the last few years as I've been less emotionally healthy than normal. I can be very much an introvert - I find spending time around other people to be draining and spend a lot of time inside my head - but I used to feel like an extrovert trapped in an introvert's body. Even though I found it difficult and taxing, I still liked being around people. But that was years ago. Lately I've just been keeping to myself. But I think it would be good for me to get out more.

So... uh... I probably sound like a huge drag, right? I think I can be fun to be around to the right people though. I've got lots of interesting stories to tell. I enjoy having intelligent conversation; though best if you are open-minded and non-judgmental as my opinions don't fit into any one neat category. Maybe you could call me a rational skeptic - that label fits me more than most others. It has been said about me by others that anyone can be my friend; I've been told by other people that I was the nicest guy they knew, the smartest guy they knew, and/or the most interesting or unique; and I think I have the potential to be a pretty good and loyal friend. I am very non-judgmental myself, and a good listener, if you need someone to talk to and unload on.

I'm open to meet men or women, and open to many different relationship types and activities. A friends with benefits situation might be nice; but that's honestly not the primary thing I'm looking for here. But I am a sex-positive person so I don't think that it's something people should be ashamed of. I'm hetero.

And, for whatever reason, it seems like I get along better with younger people like 20-30 most of the time, though as I get older and older it seems like they are less interested in hanging out with me. And I don't really care about this just musing...

Anyway, feel free to message me. Don't know if this site works at all but it would be great to build some lasting friendships here. I feel pretty alone at this stage in my life.

English and a little bit of Spanish

Male

45 years old

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Kinda depends on who I am with. I can be the loud clownish funny and crazy guy - usually if I'm with certain people I know well. I can also be the quiet guy minding his own business sitting off to one corner and observing.

I tend to be pretty introspective, most of the time, but I love to talk if you actually let me know that you are genuinely interested in what I have to say. (I hate talking if I don't feel like the people I'm talking to are listening or interested)

I'm usually pretty calm, even-keeled, unflappable, phlegmatic. Even stoic. I've been told I should be a poker player because I'm so hard to read.

I'm a deep thinker. I've been called scholarly and philosophical and contemplative. I get along well with other smart people usually; less well sometimes if they have strong opinions about something they are wrong about.

I've had people ask me if I was goth. I'm not. But I guess I have a certain darkness in me that others pick up on.

I believe that everyone has the right to be happy and self-actualized. I try not to judge; everyone has got their own shit to deal with. We've all had our own struggles that nobody else knows about. And ultimately free will is an illusion anyway, so, it makes no sense to judge someone else for what the world has made them. I'm the sort of guy you can tell your darkest secrets to and not worry about a negative reaction.

I used to consider myself a creative type but I'm not sure if I really do anymore. Those parts of my brain seem to have largely fallen into disuse. I also used to consider myself a pretty sexual and sensual person, but, ditto. Seems to have gone away. Don't know if it will come back.

I enjoy breaking rules, thinking outside the box, defying social convention and making uptight people uncomfortable. I am not the sort to go with the flow. I'm positive I could never by hypnotized. I never do anything without first thinking about whether or not it makes sense to do it. and I'm immune to peer pressure.

I'm sensitive, empathetic, kind, generous, and I love animals.
But sometimes I come across as a prick. Maybe because I'm also extremely honest and a straight talker, and not ever worried about being politically correct.

I can be very silly and irreverent. And I like to think I'm still in touch with my inner child, even though even as a child I always was told I acted like an adult. I don't like to take anything too seriously. Most of the time. But I can get deep easily.

Haymarket

Virginia

United States

I'm unemployed. I used to think I wanted to be a writer and I sort of tried to do that for a while but it's very hard to focus since the depression got really bad. When I was still working I was lecturing at a university in Saudi Arabia, and I've worked as a teacher various places around the world. Often with kids but not always.

I don't know. Pornographer, maybe? That could be fun. Travel journalist maybe but I don't think I'm proactive enough to make a living at this. I used to really want to be a film or game critic, or a game designer, or a screen writer. Maybe some day... I think running an animal shelter or a hostel or maybe a bar/restaurant on the beach somewhere in SE Asia might be fulfilling, too.

I'm a bit of a gamer. Not as much as I used to be - once upon a time I was huge into video games - now not so much. But I still enjoy games that take brain power like Magic: the Gathering, chess, or certain board games. I love to think through a strategy to dominate my enemies, if properly stimulated by a good intense gaming session I could stay awake for 24 hours. I even used to design my own games.

I love good conversation. Topics of interest include history, religion, sex, philosophy, linguistics, travel, psychology, etc.

I'm a bit of a foodie. Love trying new stuff. Or sharing cuisine with someone else that they haven't yet tried.

I used to really love being with my car and driving it - a 1999 Dodge Viper RT/10 convertible that I owned for over 13 years and took with me everywhere. Unfortunately it was stolen by corrupt border cops in Serbia. Before it was I liked detailing it and driving fast and taking pictures of it in front of famous landmarks or beautiful landscapes.

I used to be really into music. I was a DJ back in high school. My favorite band is Nine Inch Nails aka Trent Reznor. I've seen them in concert about 30 times. The artist I've seen in concert the 2nd-most not including opening acts is "Weird Al" Yankovic. I also love Fiona Apple, Eminem, Beethoven, A Perfect Circle... my tastes are eclectic.

I'm sex-positive and don't think this is something shameful or embarrassing... but I know most people are not so, please don't expect me to be some weird pervert that will keep bringing it up. I won't unless you mention it first. But I have enjoyed group sex experiences in the past, and I also really enjoy erotic photography and videography. I think the female form is really beautiful and I like capturing it on film or SD card.

Speaking of... I also enjoy photography in general... though, like so many of my hobbies, it seems like I have not really done this in years. I don't know why.

I like Marvel movies. And Pixar/Disney. I used to host movie marathons in my dad's home theater before we sold that house.

I used to love to travel. I've been all over the world, been in 61 countries total and lived in quite a few of them. I spent years traveling full time just bouncing around place to place. I spent a long time trying to find a travel companion to do this with after I got bored of doing it alone; but failed, so I stopped. I might some day go back to that sort of lifestyle.

I love animals. I'd like to maybe volunteer at an animal shelter or something like that. I might even open my own some day.

I think human connection is important and something that most people lack. Another project that I was thinking about was creating a space funded by donations and staffed by volunteers where people could gather just to have company at any time of the day or night - for those times when you just feel lonely and don't know where to go.

I like museums.

I like road trips. Though lately just have not been motivated to go anywhere. Also, without my car, not nearly as much fun. T_T

You've probably noticed if you read all of this that a lot of these hobbies are prefaced with "I used to" - the reason for that, I think, is mainly that I've been struggling with overcoming pretty serious depression. I hope that's not too off-putting. It is what it is. Anyway it's really made me lose interest in almost everything I used to spend my time doing. It's hard to find the energy to do anything other than watch TV lately. But I'm hoping that eventually this will change. And maybe I'll go back to enjoying some of the things listed above.

Men, Women

Local friends
Friends from around the world
One or two close friends
Couple friends
Exercise friends
New BFF
Friends with pets
Start a club, e.g. book club

Isn't this already covered under hobbies and interests?

I'm fine with either/mix it up!

Work out. exercise, Go for coffees, Go to movies, Go to concerts, Start a group (books, wine, etc) , Play cards, Hang out, Meet for lunch, Travel, Go to restaurants, Other

I don't really go out. I'd like to maybe change that.

Places I've been: All over the USA, Canada, France, the UK, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, The Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Armenia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, the Vatican, San Marino, Tunisia, Northern Cyprus

Places I might like to go: Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Monaco, Namibia, Morocco, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Ghana, Mexico, New Orleans, Hawaii

A street cat I found in Riyadh named Ariel Sharon

None

Single

Usually historical non-fiction these days, if anything. I used to read a lot of fantasy and science fiction.

Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, Fiona Apple, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Tool, Beethoven, Billie Eilish, Sia, Lana del Rey, Eminem, Rammstein, TaTu, Alice in Chains, Offspring

That new and trendy place, My usual favourite restaurant

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I don't drink

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