CURRENT MISSION

My current mission is to start a Random Acts of Kindness group that plans kind things to do for others (I guess it'd be more of a "determined" acts of kindness club if there are plans involved), to plaster my walls in artwork made out of recycled objects, and advocate for an end to oppression of humans and non-human animals.

ABOUT ME

I am curious above all else. I love learning and exploring. You can always find me randomly bursting into song! I'd like to put together a flash mob and have everyone sing and dance at a large train station. I've tried to do it on my own, but that wasn't as effective.

I can have endless conversations about whether or not tables exist and about the love lives of robots.

I am a strange person, I think, but I am friendly. I like people and I believe strongly in not hurting others.

I was teaching English in Japan through the JET Program, just finished my Masters in Philosophy, and now I am going to teach English in France. I like scribbling in my journal, taking long bike rides to nowhere in particular, any and every occasion to act, talking about philosophy, being goofy, climbing things, art, and long walks on the beach... I sort of feel like I am writing an online dating profile. "PLEASE LIKE ME SO THAT I AM NOT ALONE!" That's the kind of thing to say that makes people like you and trust you, right?

See? I am likeable and trustworthy. Like a basset hound. Everyone likes basset hounds.

Actually, if I were an animal, I'd probably be a raccoon. They're crafty, good at adapting, and they steal your garbage... Hmmm...

Obviously, I just have a really bizarre sense of humor and I like to compare myself to various animals.

I like to people watch too. I always imagine the beautiful inner-workings of people's minds and it makes me smile. It's bittersweet, because there are all these beautiful, complex strangers walking around in the world and I will never know them all.

PHILOSOPHY

My personal philosophy is kindness. I think we ought to be kind and loving to each other above all else. I believe that logic and compassion are not mutually exclusive and that, in fact, one informs that other. It is because of this belief that I am a vegan and an animal rights and human rights activist.

I am a hard determinist (I don't believe in "Free will," in fact, I think it's a contradiction of terms, however, I do believe we makes choices. I just think those choices are not free, because we are never free of our biology and our social conditioning).

I don't really believe in personal identity.

I believe that if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, then it does not make a sound, because sound is the experience of sound waves. Thus, there will be waves, but with no one to experience the waves, there cannot, definitionally, be a sound.

I believe it's important to ask difficult questions.

I believe it's important to feel things and to think things.

I believe we never just are--- that we are constantly in a state of becoming.

I believe robots can become sentient.

I believe animals are sentient and that we abuse them greatly because we can. This is called "Might makes right." We do something terrible, because we can.

I believe that skipping is a tragically underused and underappreciated form of transportation.

Что привело меня на Couchsurfing

I love meeting new people and traveling, so this seems like quite the right website for people who love those things!

Интересы

Philosophy, art, theatre, spelunking, animal rights, rock climbing, hugs, science, food, writing, robots, propane

...and more hugs

• animals
• dogs
• arts
• writing
• singing
• dancing
• ethics
• dining
• walking
• clubbing
• cycling
• spelunking
• bungee jumping
• rock climbing
• biology
• logic
• science
• beaches
• mountains

Музыка, кино и книги

Books: Never Let Me Go, Frankenstein, Harry Potter, The Giver, Plato's Republic, The Book Thief, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, To Kill a Mockingbird, Slaughter-house five, I am the cheese, Cloud Atlas,

Music: The Pixies, Radiohead, Screaming Females, TOGETHER Pangaea, Mitski, AJJ, Joy Division, The Decemberists, Elliott Smith, The Smiths, Johnny Cash, The Clash, The Beatles, Asobi Seksu, Palomar, Muse, Nirvana, REM, Musicals/Showtunes

Movies: Pan's Labyrinth, A.I., The Lives of Others, American Beauty, Little miss sunshine, 12 Angry Men, Juno, The Dark Knight, Amelie, Bye Bye Birdie, Troll 2, The Shawshank Redemption, Bicycle Thieves, Paranoia Agent, Grave of the Fireflies, Spirited Away, Memento, The Silence of the Lambs

Классная вещь, которую я сделал(-а)

I've climbed all three sacred mountains of Japan, Mt. Fuji, Hakusan, and Tateyama.

I've bungee jumped on the border between Nepal and Tibet.

I've been an exchange student in Thailand and helped a monk take care of stray dogs.

I've assisted with surgery at a hospital.

I've sang and danced in Public.

I've hiked in the Rainforest alone at night

I've loved other people

I've managed to not die... yet

Где я побывал(-а)

Cambodia, China, Israel, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan

Где я жил(-а)

Japan, Thailand, United States