CURRENT MISSION

To relax a little.

ABOUT ME

You know that moment when you are walking along a path, and you see a coffee cup on the ground, and most people acknowledge it as a piece of litter, and most all of them will keep walking with a shrug? I am trying to be the person who picks it up and puts it in a waste bin. Metaphorically, but also literally.

I would consider myself to be very open-minded and open-hearted. I do not take life so seriously that it closes me off to the possibility of seeing interesting, weird, or strange things. On the contrary, I would pretty much try anything, talk about anything, listen to anything.

I feel that we are on this planet for such a brief period of time that living closed off to new experiences or ideas can really hamper one's quality of life. Well, mine anyway.

Someone recently told me that I speak from the heart, and that I should never lose that. Truthfully, the comment made me teary, and that sums me up pretty well.

PHILOSOPHY

I once flew to London for less than 24 hours just to see a concert, all by myself. I think, however possible, life should be like that.

Never pass up a good opportunity.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love to meet new people, explore new places, and see what others love about the place they live.

Interests

I am interested in architecture, urbanism, design, and most other things that fall along these lines. I have been a runner since I was about 10 years old, and am getting a bit more serious about it now. I play the guitar, and I used to play the drums, as well as the violin (for a very brief period of time).

There was a time when I really did not enjoy doing social things or meeting new people, but that has completely changed, and now I look forward to new experiences which might encompass unfamiliar people and places.

I also love to travel, and when I travel, I walk as much as possible.

And I love to cook.

• architecture
• design
• concerts
• cooking
• coffee
• walking
• traveling
• guitar
• violin
• drums

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies:

There Will Be Blood, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Legend of Billie Jean, Lost Highway, Annie Hall, Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Music:

Seriously... seriously, almost anything. I don't particularly like chamber music, but otherwise... Ryan Adams, The XX, Dirty Projectors, Doom, Madvillain, Rachmaninov, it is too hard to summarize the 10000 songs in my iTunes library.

Books:

Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Tom Robbins, Richard Dawkins, Oliver Sacks, Timothy Findley, Robertson Davies

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

A few years back, I donated bone marrow to someone I had never met who had non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. He is healthy and happy now, as a result of our transplant. This experience has left me very thankful that I was fortunate enough to help another person continue to enjoy life. It also reminds me daily to be healthy and happy and not take any aspect of life for granted.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am a bit of a nerd about architecture, and I am always happy to talk about that. I also really love cooking, and I would be happy to share that by cooking a meal with or for my host.

Countries I’ve Visited

Germany, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Spain, United States

•