CURRENT MISSION

Tonight we are in melting down blood oranges to make us some marmelada... yum

ABOUT ME

slingshots, motorcycles and nicknaming people

PHILOSOPHY

Doesn't hurt to ask.
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
Listen and love.
Long live Robin Hood!
Pour them long and tall. Let the foam sit. Then fall from your chair laughing, but don't throw a fit.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Get in it, spin it around, bring you along and walk away with the best intention to do even better next time.

Interests

intriguing images,
theatre beyond your expectations,
my 'sweet basil' vegi-grease car,
learning to fix things,
my free bike from the cambridge police (thanks!),
using the stove for experiements (recently with the kumquat),
learning language idioms like "holgon" in spanish means "lazy lover",
snowcycling and motorboarding,
and meeting the 'marvi' (the myriad of marvelous people around the world),

• motorcycles
• cycling
• emergency services

Music, Movies, and Books

Can't stop listening to Florence & the Machine.
Love Kurosawa.
'Extraordinary Pigeons' makes me giggle, well, on second thought- it may have been who I was reading it with.
Luis Bunuel movies like "The object of Desire" make me wonder about the hearts of others. And "L'age D'or" is like a twisted plesant mind fuck... if you try to wrap your head around it. Otherwise, enjoy the ride.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I finished a huge journey from Boston to Alaska and down to San Francisco on a 1976 550 Honda motorcycle. It was an amazing journey - 10,000 miles, $2,000, 10 weeks and no injuries! Sticking to 65mph the entire way was the best way to make it happen and live through it.
Check it all out: www.gretjenhelene.net

Teach, Learn, Share

Do you know what the "graveyard shift" means?...

During the black plague in Europe, many people died and were then collected in massive piles and buried. The medical analysis during those days wasn't all that sophisticated and sometimes breathing was undetectable. The analysis of a dead body was to push a needle up under the fingernail of the deceased for a reaction. With no reply they were buried. More often during the black plague people who were in a coma or just passed out would be buried alive. This was discovered by thieves who would dig up graves to steal jewelry and find angry and tortured bodies who died scratching at the inside of the caskets, etc. An inventor came up with a flagging system which was installed with the casket during the burial. If someone was still alive, a string was available underground to pull a flag up and signal a nightwatchman... hence, the graveyard shift was those who were paid to watch and rescue people buried alive... creepy,cool!huh?!

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