First and foremost, I am moving to Margaret River for work; specifically pruning grapevines (at Leeuwin Estates) for at least the next three months. More broadly, I opted out of the rat race, and Perth life, and have been in Donnybrook harvesting fruit since March.

I am looking to arrive in Margaret River, by bus, tomorrow (Thursday, 26th May 2022); but not arriving until 5:15 pm. I realise that's not much of a heads up, but let's see…

The plan is to hit the pavement and rent a car, so that I can view as many of the rooms that I've shortlisted as I can, as quickly as I can; with the goal being to have a more permanent home locked in by the end of the weekend (as I will also need to go back to Donnybrook to pick up a bunch more of my stuff). At $59/day to rent a car, I'm highly motivated to not dilly-dally.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

This is my first ever go at couch surfing, but I am hoping that this path might lead to a more “authentic” Margaret River experience; or at least, I figure that the kinds of people who open their homes up and let random people sleep on their couches for free (for a few days), are, on average, more interesting than the average person I might meet at a for-profit accommodation option.

I'm also not thrilled at the prospect of having to pay for a whole week’s accommodation - the minimum at YHA, for example - when I'm only really looking for a couple of nights.

Interests

• reading
• hiking
• astronomy
• philosophy
• stargazing

Music, Movies, and Books

Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and Lila, by Robert Pirsig.

For a long time my favourite science fiction series of all time was the Red Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. However that has been overtaken in recent years by Terra Ignota, by Ada Palmer.

Comedy: Silicon Valley, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, South Park, Peep Show...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I climbed to the top of Mt Kinabalu in Borneo. That was pretty cool!

Turns out, I do not have some random genetic mutation that, somehow, makes me indifferent to the effects of altitude. That last bit was a slog! But I made it!

Teach, Learn, Share

When I'm not “working” working (to pay the bills), I'm usually working on my business; specifically, Phase 1 of my Secret Master Plan for World Elevation - i.e. Blingshots (which will hopefully finance the rest of it). Phase 2, in case you were wondering, will be a Fringe Festival show. There is a perfectly logical, rational explanation for this, by the way ;).

In short, over a decade ago, I wrote a comedy parody of the all-time classic, Bohemian Rhapsody, entitled Poohemian Crapsody. Also, originally, my plan was to start selling them out the front of the Alexander library in Northbridge. At first, I was just thinking that I should be ready to "launch" by summer, then "Oh yeah, I reckon I'll do well here during Fringe Festival Season", but then I realise that Blingshots would pretty much be an ideal Guerrilla Marketing thingamajig for a show, if only I were associated with a show…

I've never started business, or written a musical before, but I reckon I nailed my Elevator Pitch, in a recent online workshop, for what that's worth:

“I sell Blingshots - which work best at night, and in a wide open space (which is also good for stargazing) - in order to remind the world to Ponder Up Yonder, and to inspire young people to have hope for Earth, but to also dream about going to Mars; and of studying STEAM subjects (STEM + Art) in order to get there.”

I'm still figuring out the best way to go about doing all of that but, in the meantime, I love sharing these excellent science themed YouTube channels with people: Kurzgestat, which is German for “In a Nutshell”) (especially “We WILL Fix Climate Change!” (link below), Veritasium, Freethink, TED Talks, etc…

"Education is Not the Filling of a Pail, but the Lighting of a Fire"

https://youtu.be/LxgMdjyw8uw

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm not really sure what I should be putting here, but I'm more than happy to give you a handful of Blingshots in exchange for a few nights on your couch.

I can also show you how to make Nut Flambé, which I invented (and therefore get to name it whatever I want ; ). Basically, it's Peanut Butter on toast, but with a generous sprinkling of Stevia on top, then blasted with one of those kitchen flamethrowers).

I can also show you the rest of Poohemian Crapsody:

think im in real strife
is that a fart i did
or did a landslide
just escape my rear cavity
check my backside
if stained try and hide or flee
i just pooped my pants, think ive got dysentery
cos ive got the runs, down below
not a high viscous flow

Just prey a strong wind blows, airborne faecal matter away, from me

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, England, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Northern Ireland, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Singapore, United States