If you are on a quest for FUN, then please keep reading. I think I might be able to help. Because you see, I'm on a quest for fun too.

I'm good at cooking comfort food and giving foot massages (not an offer haha). I like to joke around about almost everything. I have been told I can be intense and intimidating, but I've also been told that I am mellow and nurturing. Both are probably true.

Other things I'm interested in: hiking, camping, mountain biking, white water rafting, running, disc golf, street food, hole in the wall restaurants, museums (love archaeology), and frequent coffee breaks.

I come from Portland, Oregon. As a result, I am accepting of a variety of social and political beliefs.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm on CS to meet random new people I never would have crossed paths with otherwise. I seek immersion. I want to see what it is like to live in the places I go, not just what it's like to watch places from a hotel balcony. I want to share time with my hosts, to experience the city through their eyes, and to allow them a chance to experience their city again through the eyes of someone who has never been there. I want to go to the sort of places you go to everyday, or to the places you would like to go to but don't make time for. Honestly, even a trip to the grocery store is a cultural adventure for me.

CS is the best way to meet up with people from a variety of backgrounds that I've found. So far I've had some fantastic evenings and some great conversations . Way better than Meetups or Internations networking events. I've made some close friends and learned a lot, and I am always glad to return the favor.

Interests

Law. Philosophy. The outdoors. Yoga and meditation. Kirtan.

I have been interested in matters of spirit my entire life. I have studied and worshiped in multiple traditions (and have some stories to tell), but I have never been persuaded by any one path. I am more of a Joseph Campbell-inspired comparative theologian. I think myths provide road maps for the hero's journey every person takes between birth and death. As Campbell said, "the danger lies in mistaking poetry for prose."

When it comes down to it, I'm a "hardcore agnostic" in that I SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW.

• culture
• poetry
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• yoga
• running
• coach
• meditation
• pub crawls
• reading
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• golf
• business
• cartography
• teaching
• law

Music, Movies, and Books

This could be a gigantic list if I really put some thought into it, but I'll try to paint with broad strokes.

Books...I have hundreds and hundreds of books. They are my favorite way to decorate a room (you should see my office). Some of the ones that changed the way I see the world:

Everything ever written by Kurt Vonnegut. He had the ability to translate profound existential concepts into vocabulary accessible to a fourth grader.

Anything written by Tom Robbins

"Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse

"Neuromancer" by William Gibson

"Dune" by Frank Herbert

"Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder

"Metaphors We Live By" by Lakoff & Johnson

"The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas Kuhn

"Archaeology of Knowledge" by Michel Foucault

"The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell

"Awakening the Buddha Within" by Llama Surya Das

"The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollen

"Let My People Go Surfing" by Yvon Chouinard

"The Chomsky Reader" by Noam Chomsky

"Rules for Radicals" by Saul Alinsky

Shows...Dexter, Rome, Weeds, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, Carnivale, Queer as Folk, Sopranos, The Wire, Being Human. Pretty much any series put out by HBO or Showtime, actually. Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Daily Show and Colbert Report, Boston Legal, Arrested Development, Flight of the Conchords, Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law, Futurama, Simpsons, South Park, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica.

Movies...I think The Matrix and Dogma are 20th century spiritual texts. I love Coen brothers films, especially the Big Lebowski and O Brother. David Lynch was a huge favorite in college, especially Dune and Twin Peaks (movie and TV series). Office Space, of course. I loved James Spader in Secretary.

Food...I eat a lot of Indian, Thai, Japanese, and Mexican. I eat mostly vegetarian, sometimes vegan, but I also love barbecue (both eastern and western style).

Music...I love bratty aggressive music like NOFX, Bad Religion, Sublime, and Nomeansno. I listen to Elliott Smith a lot. I'm listening to Metric often lately.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Moved from the United States to Qatar to pursue a dream job, having never left my home country before (although I've traveled 48 out of 50 of the States). You couldn't get much more of a culture shock than moving from the USA to the Gulf Coast in the Middle East.

I also started an organic popsicle company in Portland while I was practicing law there. We started out selling out of a bike at farmer's markets and before I left to teach in another city we were in 40 grocery stores. That was a trip.

Teach, Learn, Share

I've taught yoga and meditation for the past ten years. I've been chanting and leading kirtan for almost as long. I'm a Reiki Master-Teacher and can give attunements.

Like I said above, I'm interested in matters of spirit. But I'm not very New Age. I'm a skeptic and a pragmatist. I'm a lawyer, after all. I was a debater and a debate coach growing up. I'm like the epitome of a devil's advocate. If anything, I'm more like Mulder in the X-Files. I want to believe.

Until I receive my "epiphany," I continue to explore everything from a meditative and experiential perspective, with the humblest heart a guy with my kind of ego can muster.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can cook you some comfort food. I can walk you through a bunch of ways to meditate. I can give you Reiki and/or a Reiki attunement. I can warm the seat across from you at a pub. I can give you high fives when you say something funny.

I'm also good at business planning. If you need some advice about how to set up your business for funding, I'm happy to help.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Ireland, Italy, Northern Ireland, Qatar, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Qatar, United States