PHILOSOPHY

Some key tenets:

If you think you've arrived, you're not going anywhere.

"The highest form of morality is to not feel at home in one's own home."(Theodore Adorno, German Philosopher)

CURRENT MISSION

To live my life in a way that if it were a book that only I could read, I’d be infinitely inspired or at least—very amused by it.

ABOUT ME

I'm a playwright who enjoys adventuring, laughing and exploring new facets of life.

I'm pretty driven.

In summer 2011, I took a solo megabus journey from Iowa City to the East Coast and back for $69.50. Over 30 days I stayed in 14 different homes, visited seven different cities and came out $100 ahead. From this, I took away a new life philosophy "know your options but be open to every possibility."
(http://thegreatmegabusadventure.blogspot.com/)

I was raised in an Air Force family. We settled in Austin, TX.

I graduated from the University of Iowa in 2013, lived in Minneapolis for two years through an artistic fellowship and am currently living in NYC.

In other not so distant lives, I lived in NYC as an intern for a utopian artistic home for playwrights and later as a research assistant for the Artistic Director. I've toured Ecuador. I also spent time after I graduated college in 2008, working odd jobs- everything from Duck Tour guiding to sellng ads for a magazine about weird creepy places in Pennsylvania.

I also practice an art form called micrography:
http://apashanota.deviantart.com/

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To meet other adventurers. And because people are as exciting as new places.

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

When I lived in Iowa City and had my own apartment, I hosted. I've surfed, and I attended the Twin Cities' CouchFest and the Madison Couch Crash.

My former Iowa City couchsurfing life made an appearance in the New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/16/120416fa_fact_marx?currentPage=2 (paragraphs 9 through 11).

Interests

Traveling, expanding my horizons, art, theater, strange but true facts, reveling in life, design, and lately (because of my current day job) cyber security.

• arts
• books
• traveling
• knitting
• philosophy

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite movies: Amelie (-- this movie is like hot chocolate), Benny and Joon, Labyrinth, most Charlie Kaufman films

Music: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Yann Tiersen, Eric Whitacre, The Thrills, Oasis, Aimee Mann, The Decemberists, Fairport Convention, Fleet Foxes, Guster, the Killers, The National, Rilo Kiley, Tom Petty, Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Bird, Iron & Wine, Death Cab for Cutie, the Dresden Dolls, Stars, Regina Spektor, Ingrid Michaelson.

Books:
"€œZen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig and "€œA Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius"€ by Dave Eggers. I also enjoy the essays of Malcolm Gladwell and Nicholson Baker and love Jorge Luis Borges and Philip K Dick. Currently, I'm on a Dostoyevsky and Russian novel kick.

TV: Black Mirror, Game of Thrones

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Getting behind a rental car in midtown Manhattan after not having driven for two years to drive from NYC to Iowa City was pretty amazing.

Also, I discovered during a visit to TX that if you go to Six Flags in Arlington during their Winterfest on a cold night when there are no lines, and ride the Titan three times in a row-- you will feel like you've found your inner Buddha.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: crash course on riding a unicycle. Basic cybersecurity tricks for your phone and laptop.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Travel stories. Good company.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, United States