• Sniffs pages of book * Mmm yeah, that's the stuff. Oh! Ahem...I didn't see you there.

Welcome! Pull up a seat, because what I've written is rather long, so I hope you've cleared your diary for the next four hours.

I'm looking for friends (yes, a man on the internet actually just looking for friends). I'm not against anything more, but I'd like to establish a connection and not have any pressure or expectations. If something happens, then cool. But I'm not expecting it.

You know that great feeling when your phone lights up with a message from someone you like, someone you vibe with? That's the feeling I want to give someone. My phone is effectively just a fancy paperweight, but I want someone to blow it up. But as I said, I'm not expecting it. I'd like to find a human connection. I suspect you might be the same if you're also looking on Reddit for someone. However, I'd like to qualify the above statement. I take it seriously; this isn't a joke for me. But I'm not desperate.

It's hard to encapsulate who I am in a post like this, but I'll do my best. I'm an introvert and a homebody (I do actually go outside from time to time!), which probably accounts for my main interests being reading and watching films. I love books, and reading is such a relaxing hobby for me. I'm a big history nerd, so I read a lot of historical non-fiction. But I read fiction as well! I use Goodreads and I recently started using Storygraph too. I'm currently reading Castles of Steel by Robert K. Massie, but haven't decided what fiction book to start reading. I recently finished reading Station Eleven. My TBR pile is wildly out of control. A beast that will not die...probably because I keep feeding it.

As mentioned, I also love watching films, and I enjoy going to the cinema. I recently saw Robert Egger's Nosferatu. My list of favourite films is long and I'd probably give different answers each time I'm asked. I'm a big fan of The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. I also have a soft-spot for 90s Star Trek, The Simpsons, and Futurama.

Music wise, I listen to rock and blues. Classic rock, mostly. I love guitarists. My favourites are Buddy Guy and Joe Bonamassa. I have a list of artists/groups that I intend on listening to. It includes everything from ZZ Top to Taylor Swift. I'm currently sat here listening to someone called Calvin Russell. I go to music gigs sometimes. I recently saw Alice Cooper, and also The Struts.

I'm left-wing in my political views. If you're into the MBTI thing then I'm an INFJ (if that counts for anything). I'm quite introspective and I think a lot about things going on in the world.

I value kindness, humour, intelligence, and communication. I'm 5'6, slender, completely single, have a job, live alone, financially secure, don't really drink (by which I mean, only on birthday/Christmas), I don't smoke, don't do drugs. I like to cook, but I do eat meat (no problems with non-meat eaters and I can certainly eat dishes without meat). I don't have kids and don't want them.

The one thing I'm not interested in is sportsball. Also, I'm not averse to gaming; I was actually playing Fallout 4 last night. But I game so infrequently, and can count on one hand the games I occasionally play.

Now, a word on ghosting...I fully admit that I have ghosted people in the past. Not as many as you might think, but it has happened, and I apologise for it. I have also been ghosted myself. It's quite disrespectful and disheartening, so if we do talk I will let you know if I'm not feeling it. Hopefully you will do the same!

I'm not going to write out a long restrictive list of the kind of person I'm looking for. My only caveat is that I'll ignore any message that just says 'Hi'. I've made an effort writing this and you should try and do the same. Maybe you'll like talking to me, or maybe you won't. At the end of the day, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I have made a couple of posts previously, and it can often feel like skydiving with a concrete parachute.

But I refuse to allow my heart to become hardened, and to give into cynicism and hopelessness.

F. Scott Fitzgerald said, 'Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.'

If you've got this far, then congratulations you've reached the end. Either the Reddit app has crashed or there's a possibility you're interested. If you are, then feel free to drop me a message. If not, then I wish you all the best in your search.

P.S. If you message me, please send a pic to verify, and I'll do the same.