CURRENT MISSION

Explore everything and everywhere

ABOUT ME

Tidy, relaxed, funny, smart, spontaneous, good chef... I have my own car, I play piano and guitar (not amazingly), I speak some German, I love reading and good food, architecture and historic towns/cities.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've met up with fellow CSers where I live in the UK, but I haven't hosted or surfed yet. I'm looking to meet new people around New Jersey and New York and maybe surf my way around a few further away places in the States too - I'm here until December so plenty of time to couchsurf at weekends :-).

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have met one CSer where I lived in UK (Oxfordshire) and had a couple of beers, some Thai food and a White Russian cocktail. That was a very fun evening. I have also met three CSers in the US since I arrived in August 2013. The first experience was with a Swiss-American and a Belgian, now living in Canada, to go to the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan and we stayed out for lunch and then a coffee and wandered around the city discussing politics, travel and living costs. It was an interesting day with high-brow discussion and debate - I think all three of us had different views, so the conversation flowed nicely. The second US experience was a meet for coffee and a movie with a young Estonian lady. We didn't manage to catch a movie so we just grabbed coffee and talked for hours. It was a very nice, relaxed evening and we've since met up a few more times. We caught that movie in the end!

All experiences were great, and I have kept contact with and feel that I've made a friend for life with one of them :-).

Interests

I play piano and guitar, read a lot, listen to music a lot and go to gigs and festivals. I work for an engine oil additive company as a research chemist/technologist/project leader. I love fine food, visiting new places and experiencing new customs and cultures. I watch movies fairly often and enjoy road trips, hiking and mountaineering when I have a longer period of time free.

• architecture
• beauty
• festivals
• dining
• beer
• cocktails
• coffee
• politics
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• piano
• hiking
• mountaineering
• rock climbing
• chemistry
• history
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

I could go on for a long time here, so I've just chosen a few of each that really blew me away.

Movies: The Usual Suspects, In Bruges, Pulp Fiction

Music: Black Keys, Pulp, Mumford and Sons, Phoenix, Bob Dylan

Books: To Kill a Mockingbird; The Big Sleep (although this is best enjoyed when followed by the rest of Chandler's series); Dirk Gently's Hollistic Detective Agency; All My Friends Are Superheroes is an epic achievement that makes you feel so many emotions all at once; The Invention of Everything Else is a superbly written part-fact part-fiction biography of one of the most underrated scientists of the 20th century.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most amazing thing used to be climbing the Sydney harbour bridge and looking out over the beautiful city from the top of one of Sydney's most iconic landmarks. Now it is climbing all three of the UK's highest peaks with my dad. That might seem lame, but we were never really close when I was younger so it really meant a lot to me.

Another particularly awe-inspiring thing was driving along Great Ocean Road and taking a helicopter flight out over the natural beauty of the Twelve Apostles limestone rock stacks.

Teach, Learn, Share

Every single atom of carbon and oxygen in our bodies was created in the hearts of dying stars.

Pentapeptides have not been proven to have any useful age-related skin-improving effect. In your face Olay.

Dietary advice from Gillian Mckeith, or to use her full name 'Gillian Mckeith', is useless. Fraudster bought her fake PhD certificate.

Apparently the 20th president of the United States, James Garfield, was able to write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other at the same time.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Australia, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Russian Federation, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom, United States