CURRENT MISSION

Improve the health and welfare of my human family; enjoy the beauty the world has to offer.

ABOUT ME

I love learning new things and meeting new people. I'm very friendly. I’m an artist, writer, Burner…I work in mental health technology. I'm always up for a new adventure. I care a lot about people and try to make the world a better place (professionally, personally, etc.). I'm always looking out for the hidden things in the world, and I love to drop into an unknown place and see what I discover.

PHILOSOPHY

Advaita Vedanta. Reality is both too simple and too ornate for us to comprehend, so we struggle. But it’s so beautiful to be alive, I think we should enjoy and make the most of it. Try to connect with the deepest reality and find peace there.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm somewhat new to CouchSurfing, but I've surfed in Poland, hung out with groups in San Diego, and met up with people in Italy.

Interests

My favorite thing is to be surprised or have a new or rare experience. Sometimes that means finding a place that few people see (or somewhere I'm not supposed to go), sometimes it means creating something through art, sometimes it's meeting someone awesome. I'm never satisfied with the status quo. I love going out and drinking and hanging out, meeting new people, all that good stuff, whether it's "going out" or being with a small group in a more private environment (though I think I lean towards the latter). I also love history and learning the character of a place. Going out/meeting people and learning about a place are complementary and that's why I'm on CS. There's only so much you can get out of traveling by seeing the same stuff that everyone else sees or reading. I'm a big fan of natural beauty and getting to know my environment (human and natural) so I can love it all the more. I love drawing and painting, hearing live music, vegetarian food (and the "weirder" the better), different parties and social gatherings, night hikes, books, science, learning and trying as much as I can. I rarely meet an experience I don't like.

• arts
• books
• singing
• folklore
• beauty
• environment
• dining
• beer
• vegetarian
• running
• partying
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• painting
• drawing
• music
• live music
• guitar
• hiking
• history
• public administration
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite books: The Razor's Edge (Somerset Maugham), Les Miserables, The Bhagavad Gita, the works of Aristotle and other ancient thinkers, Physics of the Future (Kaku), and more; Music: pretty damn eclectic; Movies: anything that makes you laugh or think.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One was definitely being in Guatemala in rainforests and ancient ruins, and seeing lightning bugs lighting up everywhere. It seemed to me that the stars were twinkling in the jungle. It was especially amazing because I'd spent the previous week at a field hospital doing dental work and watching surgeries from three feet away, neither of which are really "my thing." There were too many amazing moments in Guatemala to fit here. Another was being in Slovenia; sitting at the lakeside enjoying the absolute beauty of Bled, and how awesome Ljubljana was artistically and in scientific and other tradition. I didn't know anything about Slovenia before hopping on a train and meeting people and deciding to go there, and it was one of my most pleasant surprises. Another was in Croatia, sitting on a patio with two guys from Paris, a married couple--one from Turkey and the other from Bosnia--and the Croatian hostess, and talking about life over a $2 L of beer (Muslims excluded from the beer of course). It was something magical to hear horrifying stories from the Bosnian conflict, yet see the happy couple and pictures of their lovely baby, while listening to wonderful guitar/singing from the Parisians, hearing the hostess's thoughts on life and God, and coming together over the goodness in the world.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Happy to treat you to dinner or drinks, can do dishes and generally be a great guest.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bahamas, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom, United States

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