Debatably:

-An aspiring polymath
-A sampler
-A trooper
-A bonne vivante
-On a quest to figure out what "medium gear" feels like
-Full of it [whatever "it" is]
-A believer that self-description should be taken with a grain of salt—at least. Probably more like a bowlful. ;D

De Jure:

Eclectic work history includes backcountry trail worker, research assistant at NASA, freelance model, ski instructor, stable hand, heavy machinery operator, freelance writer, golf cart mechanic, massage therapist, general laborer, and so on.

De Facto:

The previous paragraph is useless because the only people who can be defined by their jobs are those who let their jobs define them. Mine just provide conditioning. Also funding.

So, the story is that I was on my way to being an academic but somehow made a detour that so far doesn't appear to be redirecting to my original course, and I don't have all that much of a plan. And I like it that way.

PHILOSOPHY

In a world where things tend to be subjective, arbitrarily constructed, changeable, and impossible to hold onto too long or depend on too much, the two important things to remember are "I'm always right" "I'm always wrong". 8P

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Connecting with locals sure beats trying to travel in a vacuum! And on the rare occasions when *I'm* in one place, the influx of excited and exciting people makes whatever town I'm in look ever brighter, since I kind of get to see it through new eyes again and again. But isn't that more or less why any of us are on here? 8]

Interests

-Getting lost
-Finding things
-Etc.

I'm easily pleased and have a rather self-sustaining supply of energy. Generically, I just like trying new things, meeting new people, and learning stuff.

Okay...my attempt at a real list.
-Primary current obsession: Martial arts [background in northern shaolin kung fu and muay thai]
-Outdoor sports [e.g., snowsports, rock climbing, backpacking, kayaking, scuba diving, etc....] and yoga
-Languages/linguistics...can talk about this forever, all the time.
-Gourmet and unusual foods
-Artsy dilettantism. Photography, writing [I freelance for Vice and others, but my heart belongs to more literary writing], drawing, music. I've built several large-scale art projects for Burning Man and other burns/festivals as a carpenter, pyrotechnician, and roustabout.
-Reading [bookstores are more dangerous to my wallet and carrying capacity than anywhere else], podcasts, learning about everything I know nothing about! Fringe history, obscure zoology, etc., etc....
-Exploring. Excavating. Exhaling. Exploding. Exacerbating. Excreting? Er.

• arts
• writing
• books
• poetry
• singing
• ballet dancing
• chocolate
• wine
• cheese
• beer
• yoga
• instructor
• modeling
• partying
• movies
• board games
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• backpacking
• camping
• scuba diving
• skydiving
• skiing
• sports
• rock climbing
• golf
• extreme sports
• freelancing
• history
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Long list. We can find overlapping favorites in person, if you're inclined.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I consider myself to be extremely lucky, and could never single out which of my experiences have been the best.

2018 was bookended with full-time martial arts training: kung fu in rural northeastern China and muay thai in Thailand. Over the spring I went on work tour in the US [midwest/east coast], where I randomly wound up doing a screen test for Vice [interviewing a fake Dennis Rodman], and galloping through the NYC Puerto Rican Day Parade past about half a million people dressed more-or-less as a giant foam pizza. In the summer I traveled around Europe, the highlight being a couple weeks spent living on a pontoon boat with a great view of London's Tower Bridge and even greater friends, getting up to shenanigans and encountering a very bizarre, random slew of notorious persons [like Brock Pierce, whom I'd never heard of till after drinking with him in SoHo]. And so on.

A review of 2017:
—Had a chance encounter with Amanda Palmer in Havana, Cuba. Wound up in her music video in an old palace-of-sorts [with resident bats] the next day alongside a cast of dancers, models, and drag queens, then learned to play backgammon on a catamaran.
—Canoed the Everglades with my sister, equipped with water and wine, where we had close encounters with alligators and a mother-and-baby manatee pair.
—Stayed at a one-man wonderland of cement domes and hand-dug caves and silicone up in the mountains of Puerto Rico [which CS lists as a "country" I've visited although it's part of the USA], where I also jumped off bridges, climbed towers, squatted in an artist's warehouse, created art, and snorkeled.
—Explored the remote Karoo Desert of South Africa, and the juxtaposition of Cape Town.
—Set up giant pyrotechnics effects for an event in Spain, and was dubbed The Profiterole [Diviner of Fun Facts] by a bunch of wacky Londoners.
—Was hired to camp out on a farm by myself to chase off bears with a shotgun at night [just to scare them], and spent the afternoons swimming in a crystal-blue river and talking to old miners.
—Worked as the glitter-covered-disco-ball server of a 70's party many months in the making.

Teach, Learn, Share

I crave novelty and learning new things! Interested in knowing anything you know, trying anything you do, or dipping my toes in any subculture you're involved in.

Nothing is too nerdy; nothing is too taboo [caveat: that's not an invitation for unsolicited/unwarranted creepiness, haha]. I'm pretty gung-ho, whether your thing is board games or dungeon party suspension rituals, making chain mail or going to poetry slams, skydiving or foreign films or jerryrigged pyrotechnics or live ballet or farting the alphabet.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Take note: I actually love washing dishes. *wink*

Ha.

Beyond that, I do lots of stuff.

Lately, my main obsessions have been linguistics and martial arts—but my obsessions are sort of a revolving-door circuit.

If you're into extreme sports, I do several of those [and can teach beginners] and I can fix broken bodies afterwards [Thai massage therapist]. If you're into music and want to jam, I sing and can tinker around a bit instrumentally. Etc. I can cook something, or I'd love the opportunity to learn about local cooking styles and dishes. Up for random adventures and mischief, or geeking out over books, travel destinations, industrial art, wine, life, the universe, and everything.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Laos, Netherlands, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam, Wales

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