CURRENT MISSION

I'm always working on a project; I'm always thinking about food.

ABOUT ME

I am a librarian-bike mechanic-writer-gardener-explorer-dumpster diver-collager et cetera--I have too many interests to watch TV. I'm constantly looking for new--new people new places new adventures. My latest is skateboarding, which is fun and difficult adn a good way to explore the alleys and streets because it is slower than a bicycle).
I laugh a lot and I talk a lot except for when I am being quiet.
I love sharing meals and evenings with people. Bike rides, with friend or alone, especially at night, in the snow and in the summer. Walks in the dark, tag in the dark.
I'm in a band/choir called Best Friends which is basically my friends and my friends' friends sitting around singing songs mostly from the 80s. I'm trying to convince them to do slow versions of Ramones songs right now.
I try to be aware of how I live--which means I share a lot and volunteer a lot and try to have a lower impact on the environment while still living in the city. I also try to stay aware of the politics around me--poverty, food security and access to food, sustainability. Last year I started a guerrilla garden with a group of friends in an abandoned lot, and it has really taken off--it encouraged people to make their own space in the lot and spend time there. There was even a bathtub over a fire for hot baths in the fall, and the newest edition is a brick oven. It is a better version of the broken window rule--if you put energy and intention into something, others will join you, and there is no telling what will come out of it or who you will meet.

PHILOSOPHY

Nothing is permanent. If it scares you, you should do it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My experience has been informal--tends to be friends-of-friends.

Interests

Cyclist, bike mechanic, librarian, amateur seamstress, writer, draw-er, zinester, bookbinder, knitter, letter writer, reader, collager, sit-and-do-nothing-er, (guerrilla) gardener. I like creating things, and love it when more than one of my passions collide.

• writing
• singing
• dancing
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• yoga
• gardening
• politics
• tv
• traveling
• dumpster diving
• knitting
• drawing
• cycling
• scuba diving
• skateboarding
• mathematics
• physics
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: yes! I prefer them well written, but other than that, I'll read it. Some favourites include Johnathan Letham, Bulgakov and Dostoevsky, although I should really try Tolstoy soon. Cormac McCarthy, Carson McCullers, young adult SciFi and Fantasy (it's my fluff reading), Jeannette Winterson, Eden Robinson, Anna Akhmatova...

I also like magazines (Harpers and the Walrus, kind of a Canadian version of Harper's--and, no, I don't mean Harper's Bazaar).

Movies: I prefer older stuff, from the 30s up to the early 70s, but I really don't make time to watch TV.

Music! I love live music, and things that surprise me please me the most. I also get bored quickly, so am often looking for something new.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Biked and farmed across France. Working with organic farmers really opened my eyes to just how difficult farming is--I loved it and I learned a good deal of French, and learned to appreciate the French approach to life. I spent a month in Kyrgyzstan (so. much. fun). I worked in Glasgow for a while, dragged myself across China and Russia. Most of my travel has been solo, both to challenge myself and to get to know myself better.

Teach, Learn, Share

I teach bike mechanics, and have informally taught a lot of things: I taught my roommate English, my mother how to use the internet; dance, knitting, yoga, sewing, cooking. If I know how to do it and you want to learn, I'll pass it on to you. I love to learn about math and physics, because I know so little about it.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belize, China, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Guatemala, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Mexico, Russian Federation, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, France

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