I live in Pittsburgh, I read a lot of books and hike in the woods around here. I'm a carpenter by trade, and make a tiny living by researching abandoned property and doing demolition/renovation work and building dry stack stone walls. I'm currently headed to Kansas for an archeology dig, June 2-17.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm wandering this year, and am hoping to meet interesting people in the places I visit. Eventually I'd like to return the favor and offer a place to stay for people passing through my city. Having a home base in a new place is really important!

Interests

Woodworking, open-source hardware, engineering; architecture, old and abandoned buildings, cheap DIY buildings; geology, agriculture/forestry/permaculture, food waste, waste of all kinds; batteries, chemistry; quilting, globes, small boats, collage art, postcards; books!

• arts
• books
• architecture
• diy
• dining
• gardening
• drawing
• woodworking
• hiking
• agriculture
• archeology
• chemistry
• engineering
• forestry
• geology
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Lately I've been reading things by Ursula K. LeGuin, Stan Grof, Tove Jansson (the Moomin books!), Vernor Vinge. Lot of science fiction this past year or two. Sometimes I go back to "Tampopo", "Paper Moon", Bill Mollison's "Global Gardener", Miyazaki's movies and books, and other things from my past.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I lived in Hawaii (Big Island) for a summer years ago, and my best friend visited for a week. We circled the island, explored a bunch of caves, bamboo forests, black sand beaches. At one point we were jogging across the lava fields towards the molten zone at night -- my friend and I stopped eachother just as we were about to accidentally plant our feet into the furnace. Walked away with some hot shoes... that was pretty great. :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

The simplest thing I can offer is my carpentry skill. If you need something fixed or built in your home or garden, I can at least help you figure it out, draw it, and estimate the time and cost to do it, and often times it would be easy enough to get the job done right then and there.

I'm a researcher, copyeditor, fluent speaker of the English language -- if any of those things are useful to you -- and I know how to wash dishes!

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States