CURRENT MISSION

Figuring out a way to go to Brazil for several months

ABOUT ME

** Update 1: I want to apologize to everyone who requests my couch and that I don't respond to or decline without a response. I get close to 15 to 20 direct requests a week since I've moved to New York and can't always get to them. This never happened in Houston hahaha **

** Update 2: I really prefer 1 guest due to size of my apartment. Occassionally I will accept 2, however if you want me to respond, please include the name and if there is one a profile link to your friend in the request. Too many odd expeirences without this. **

I'm fairly new to the CouchSurfing world, but I have a friend who is very active and swears by it. By day I am an international oil and gas lawyer in New York City for a British law firm (the global love shines through I know) and by night I am out trying to explore my new home.

I love getting lost in new places and exploring without a plan. It's definitely the best way to experience local culture. Sometimes I may seem indecisive but I am truly interested in almost anything and everything. It just means I'm really flexible in my plans and up for almost anything that people suggest.

I really enjoy outdoor activities particularly hiking, nature photography, and sea kayaking. If you know of any near where you live, I'd love to know about it. I'm also a big foodie and will eat anything and everything. All the better if it's a cuisine I've never had before.

I was born and lived most of my life in New Jersey. You probably will laugh when I make words like talk, dog, water, and coffee sound like they are spelled with an "aw" in them. You can be relieved (or disappointed if you were hoping for a Jersey Shore experience) that I don't have an orange glow or a wardrobe of only Ed Hardy clothes.

I went to college in Washington DC, though with a semester spent living in Dublin. After college, I continued my southward move and landed in Houston where I worked in renewable energy development and energy trading. I'm pretty certain I'm the only person you know who has been to a manure lagoon and can tell you how its used to produce energy...it's a great conversation starter I swear. After that I was going to law school in Austin and enjoying the laid-back attitude of that great city.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have been hosting a lot of couchsurfers since I've moved to New York. When I've traveled abroad I've used CS to meet up with local tour guides.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've used Couchsurfing to meet up with locals on my trip to Thailand and Cambodia. I also hosted my first surfer in NYC who was supposed to stay for 3 days but stayed for an amazing 2 weeks and have now hosted more than 10 couch surfers since then.

Interests

Exploring, cooking, local cuisines, food trucks, science, astronomy, renewable energy, local history, comedy shows, photography, kayaking, history, chilling with a good beer outside, having good conversation while chilling with a good beer outside, live music, Barton Springs, Hamilton Pool, outdoor festivals, running, rock formations

Spontaneous travel to someplace new is a big one

• dogs
• culture
• street art
• photography
• festivals
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• coffee
• food trucks
• running
• clothing
• traveling
• billiards
• painting
• music
• live music
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• kayaking
• surfing
• swimming
• astronomy
• history
• law
• science
• tourism

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seeing the sun rise over Angkor Wat was probably the most spectacular

Kayak surfing on the west coast of Ireland during New Years

Bicycling throughout the Aran Islands

Negotiating with a street artist for a beautiful painting on the banks of the Seine

Visiting the Sedlec Ossuary outside of Prague

Swimming in Hamilton Pool

Signing away my rights to get in a tiger cage for 20 minutes in Thailand

Riding my war elephant Stampy McHugetrunk through the Thai jungle

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ireland, United States