CURRENT MISSION

To live, to learn, to eat more chocolate than is proper

ABOUT ME

Always happy to meet new people, see old people, and re-meet people I met before but totally forgot their name.

Things I like: coffee, cafes, tofu, crepes, vegetarian chili, crusty bread, uncrusty bread, bourbon, cayenne pepper, enchiladas, rice pudding, things simmered in honey, chewing gum.

Hmmm. I just realized those things are all food.

Things I like that are not food: cities, dingy bars, long and detailed books that tell you a story about history, books with footnotes to pick apart, travel literature, basketball, football, music, French things, non-French things, Romantic and Baroque symphonies, House music, Louis Armstrong, Clifford Brown, Woody Allen, Django Reinhardt, trumpet, dark shades of green. And A$AP Rocky. Ohh A$AP Rocky.

Things I don't like: waking up to loud construction noises, mosquitos.

I'm vegetarian, so spend a lot of time thinking about ways to make interesting and delicious things that don't involve meat!

Feel free to ask me anything.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that most people in the world are kind, interesting, empathetic, and generally a pleasure to be around. The problem is that most of the time if you walk up and say hello, they assume that you are insane.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I... couchsurf, and people couchsurf with me?

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've had some folks stay with me which is always nice to change my routine a little. In late 2012, I couchsurfed through Northern Europe.

To say one thing for sure: when something like couchsurfing is an option, you never, ever regret the price of the ticket to visit where you're going, and the experiences you have when you visit are so much richer with actual people who live there than if you are bumbling around with a guidebook. And don't get me wrong - I've done my share of bumbling - but there's nothing like couchsurfing.

Interests

Going to a new city is about getting lost. I don't like walking around with maps or even knowing where I'm going. That's kind of the point. Instead, I just wander around for miles (I can't do km) until I find something interesting. That said, if you end up in D.C., I'm happy to take you around!

Blind exploration is amazing - just as long as you accept the fact that yes, you're going to get sunburned, and yes, it's going to be horrible.

Bonus points if you can convince me to do yoga.

• books
• literature
• dining
• chocolate
• wine
• white wine
• coffee
• vegetarian
• yoga
• walking
• boating
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• trumpet
• basketball
• soccer
• cartography
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

I like to sit at a cafe and read Hemingway, like I imagine he used to almost a century ago. Then, after finishing his book, I look into the distance and think about how many people who personally knew him must have thought that Hemingway was a jerk.

I will always watch Kung Fu.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Man, a lot of choices, so I'll choose the most recent. In June, I piloted a boat for the first time in Delaware Bay (at 50 knots!)

After leaving the harbor and driving for a bit, I looked into the sun and saw three dolphins, jumping in and out of the water, right next to my boat, like a movie.

So that was pretty cool.

Teach, Learn, Share

Here is a recipe for a really delicious and cooling summer fruit soup:

1 Cantaloupe
1 Lime
2 Cups Orange Juice
Cinnamon
Fresh mint
Plain Greek Yogurt
Chilled White Wine (if you want to get fancy)

Halve and seed the cantaloupe, then blend it with the orange juice. Stir in the lime juice (along with some zest), the cinnamon, and the wine. Chill for at least an hour, then serve garnished with the yogurt and mint. Nothing like it.

Countries I’ve Visited

Croatia, France, Israel, Italy, Slovenia, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, United States