aSteve - Improbably yours...

Hi, I'm Steve – 'a Steve' – one of many, for – it transpires – my parents lacked originality when naming me, setting me up for a lifetime of quasi anonymous individualism. Having just turned 35, or as I mentioned to friends - tongue in cheek - “halfway”... I decided to write a mini-biography here – mostly for fun, not expecting an practical consequences.
My worst habit is thinking, an addiction of sorts – but, having tried it, banality never promises any allure. My background is technical, scientific and analytical – which, I think, has significantly coloured my personality... though, I'm no bearded nerd. To me, the purpose of clever detail is romance – though not the kind embodied by commercial valentines, cheesy films or mainstream shallow appearances. My spirits are lifted by the gratuitous and preposterous; by elegance and irrelevance; by the surreal and unfashionable – by the original and improbable.
I've a passion about asking 'why' – backed by an amateur interest in philosophy, religion and politics – though without affiliation to any particular dogma. I see myself as irreverent and relish intelligent argument (not to be confused with ad hominem) and am always on the look out for formidable opponents. I'm as happy trying to convey an idea when I feel I've something to say, as absorbing what others have to say when I haven't. I feel I've broad interests, with wildly differing levels of background knowledge... for example, I'm clueless about music – but despise most sport... both for participation and, especially, as a spectator occupation. To my mind, sports have no redeeming qualities and subject victims to crushing tedium – which, anecdotally, at least, renders fans intellectually moribund.
Physically, I'm ordinary... taller than average – unsurprisingly, not athletic – but not a complete couch potato either. My exercise of choice is sauntering – which is like 'walking' but where the focus is in your surroundings rather than on regimentation or macho milestones. My hair is medium short and messy; only seen in public wearing glasses (laser surgery poses unacceptable risks, in my opinion, and a knobbly eyeball precludes contact lenses...) My fashion sense, besides these choices, is for casual clothes without logos or slogans... I prefer to actively chose what statements to make – I want my clothes to be a blank canvas as far as possible.
I'm not sure what I'm looking for – I used to think I knew: an intelligent woman – preferably of feminine near-eastern appearance – long slightly curly dark hair, no body art or piercings; a non-smoker – and definitely someone single (i.e. no children or other partners – human or pets.) That's what I lived for when I was 25, at least. I find the same traits attractive today – but it's far from a specification. Being single would remain a sticking point – establishing a long term relationship would be hard enough with an individual, I could neither cope with a pre-made family, nor sharing a partner to whom my life would be dedicated. I still don't find piercings attractive – I don't see the appeal in the augmentation – nose rings, for example, aren't even practical for tethering. In recent years, I've found ear-rings less of a turn-off... sometimes they're elegant, but naked ears are significantly sexier - more tactile, less fragile, I guess.
My life is somewhat 'up in the air' at the moment – career wise, I'm at a significant junction – my path from here could take me in many directions. I'm expecting significant interviews in the near future... and this is, partly at least, why I've chosen privacy with no photo (my love life, or lack thereof, is no business of potential employers.) Other reasons include my personal dislike of photographs of people – and that I doubt my appearance would overshadow my personality for anyone I'd like to know. I live in Bath at the moment, but have no ties here – Britain (or England, as Scots corrected me years ago) has some hold over me – mainly because I lack proficiency with foreign languages... I think communication is the essence of life and I'm reluctant to give up subtle insights into linguistic nuance that is tricky enough without the further complications of a new vocabulary.
I don't expect anything to come of this, though I'm open to possibility of a chance encounter with someone interesting and communicative. I don't have much faith in online dating – but, I suppose, time will tell... do bright single women consider this sort of thing enjoyable?

Time for an update? I no-longer live in the South West; I've had to move to the 'big smoke' - and I'm now living South of Greenwich, near Black Heath - and commuting into the centre of London each day for work. It's not a final resting place - just somewhere to stay for the next year while I re-adjust to the South East. It's quite a culture shock - in every imaginable way. I'm not sure I'm enjoying the experience, but I'm not sure I'm hating it either - it simply defies comparison with other things I've done. One thing I have noticed is that the old adage seems true - you can only really be lonely in a crowd - and crowds seem to be something London is good at.

My time so-far has been rather manic and tiring - so I've not found time to do much outside work... in public people seem even more insular than on the West coast - I can't help but wonder if women feel as lonely here as men must. Do people go on dates in London, or - like in the West country, is this something everyone assumes other people do?