CURRENT MISSION

Find a place to stay Tue - Thur at Sundance

ABOUT ME

I'd love to fill out this more when I get back. I went to a UGA music entertainment law lecture last week and ran into a musician friend, Adam Kline who told me about couch surfing in Europe this summer. I told him I needed a place to stay as I was coming out to Sundance for the film festival. I'll be travelling with Erich Lochner, a friend from Semester at Sea who helped produce a movie this summer.

PHILOSOPHY

Work your tail off and treat people right. Give more than you take and don't be too proud to pick up someone else's trash.

It takes less energy to act than to re-act.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

My brother and I are two of the only people in town that actively still pick up hitch hikers. Thank god for our time out west where everyone still does it. Friends of friends have stayed with me in New York, Los Angeles, and Vail when I lived in those places. I put good people together all over the country and at times abroad as well. I've been fortunate enough to not get burned yet (knock on wood) so I'm glad to be a part of something I've been doing for years. Hope it helps us land a spot to get warm from the cold in Utah! When we get back, we have several homes here in Athens if anyone is coming through!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The absolute best receipt was in Prague when we couldn't find a hostel and ended up in the middle of some college campus. Tired and Depressed I said, "PJ, we've got to smile or no one will want to talk with us." Literally five minutes later we were laughing with some students who said they too were flying out to NYC the next day, we could drop our packs in thier room and catch a taxi in the morning. We stayed up all night at the local student bar and I got bumped to first class on my flight the next day.

The best giving is meeting at a coffee shop here in Athens, GA, Rain, Soul, Elbow, and Astro-Boy, hikers on their way through Athens. I ended up giving them a place to stay for a week, and filled up their packs with food from the catering company when they left.

Best placement. A friend in LA said his girlfriend and another girl were going to New York for a modeling gig. They were broke and needed a place to stay. I called my college roomate who worked in the bar at the SoHo Grand Hotel. "Manny, I'm sending two girls to stay with you, take care of them and make sure they're safe." They showed up at the hotel a little scared and ended up having a great time on all accounts.

Interests

More on this later.

• books
• festivals
• dining
• coffee
• modeling
• flying
• shopping
• traveling
• music
• surfing
• law

Music, Movies, and Books

The Sundance brochure and movie list. Whatever music is playing this week. My movie, THE HILL. Also, my cousin's band DEAD CONFEDERATE, is # 1 on Syrius, Left of Center and my best friend's band, THE CONSTELLATIONS are starting their first shows. DC is opening for REM at South By Southwest and The C was invited by ASCAP to play as well. We'll be out there as well, is there a couch surfer's cafe??? Hint hint, flinch flinch, wink wink, nudge nudge.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Semester at Sea, that trip comes up in my mind at least once a day. Circumnavigating the globe by it's surface feels great.

A rough day was watching the towers go down in NYC from the roof of the building where I worked.

But great nights when I lived in LA and would walk up the street in Laurel Canyon to feed the goats and look out at the lights.

Teach, Learn, Share

Highlight and write in your books. Use post-its and flags. Books are meant to be engaged in and with. Tear apart magazines and send articles to your friends. Write at least one hand written note a day. It doesn't have to say much. Use blue ink on black text. Say nice things to people in passing. Give compliments. Respond with humor and grace. If you use PC, learn microsoft outlook. If you're mac, you're cooler than me. If you're living in one place for a while, buy a water cooler with the hot water button, you'll be healthier and so will anyone staying with you. Also, it means no wait for tea. Keep a pocket notebook on you and write interesting things down. Let that process evolve, but stick with it. You'll figure out what kind of things you want to hold on to.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belize, Canada, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Switzerland, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States