CURRENT MISSION

Re-settling into life in Durham. Working. Fixing up my new house.

ABOUT ME

Yeesh, how much space is there? Would like to most of these things each day: grow, help (not hurt), laugh, hug, learn, listen, share, and other stuff.

My blog-of-the-last-five-years:

http://archerpelican.typepad.com

Lotsa pix! And far too many of my own followup comments.

As for career things: I am happily self-employed as a marketing consultant and publisher. I enjoy working for money but leave plenty of time to be a professional volunteer and fun-haver, too.

PHILOSOPHY

Do good. Have fun. Listen for messages from a God I hope is actually there.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I drove around the US for four months in 2008, and had the pleasure of CouchSurfing in Ohio, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico and Texas.

I've just bought a new (to me) home and am looking forward to hosting my first Couchsurfer here soon!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My few couchsurfing.com stays have been GREAT. (Oh, and my one "neutral" review was probably supposed to be a positive, seeing how the reviewer wrote "five stars!" in her commentary :-))

Before that?

Like Ani DiFranco, I once spent an unscheduled night in a study room at the University of Chicago. Unlike Ani DiFranco, I did not "rock the house" the following night with unreal guitar and fantabulous singing.

I've had years of hosting from when I owned a too-big house and had lots of fellow-twenty-something and thirty-something friends who traveled lots. One pal used to come by a lot when she was working on her doctoral dissertation. She loved my kind of hosting: "there's a spare key on the front porch. If I'm up when you get home, let's yap and have a snack and/or beer. If not, sleep well." For this, I got a line in her dissertation's acknowledgment section. Viva the Academy!

Interests

Finding ways to sustain body and soul alive and well in community. Working as a consultant to help values-led business leaders. Hanging with friends and family. Working on a book about incorporating spiritual practice into every day business activities.

• books
• singing
• beer
• blogging
• guitar
• piano
• business
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Some faves --

Movies: Calle 54, Young Frankenstein, Driving Miss Daisy.

Music: Calle 54, Nanci Griffith, Ani's "Living in Clip".

Books: Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish, Blue Highways, any of James Herriot's first veterinary books, Anything Can Happen.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seen: dusk at Dieng Plateau in central Java.

Done: learned to speak my mind even when I was scared.

Teach, Learn, Share

Practical/esoteric skills:
I can teach you how to tie a bowtie and/or learn the basics of a piano accordion.

Work/career skills:
I can help you convince yourself that your work is supposed to make you happy, and I can probably help you find a few new examples of how people who do what you like doing can make a career out of it. For the budding entrepreneurs, I can explain to you what a business plan is and what a marketing plan is. And why you probably don't need/want/merit outside investment right now.

Share. I will gladly share a recipe or two if time and kitchen permit.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom, United States

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