CURRENT MISSION

Plans for France and the Netherlands

ABOUT ME

Chris and Laurie Ann met through Internet personals when he was in Alberta, Canada and she in Southern California, USA in 1998. They will celebrate their 9th Wedding Anniversary on Valentine's Day 2008. He has been a teacher of elementary through secondary level students in Australia. He has been a teacher of Peace Corps volunteers in Fiji, where he also was an on-air performer and producer for the local radio. Upon emigration to Canada with his wife, he became a journalist and a sales rep for a duplicating machine firm. They had three sons who now live on Vancouver Island off the British Columbia coast. Laurie Ann is his fifth wife and Chris is her third husband. She is a member of Screen Actors Guild and has yet to become rich and famous in Hollywood. So she's throwing her lot in with Chris to go tramping about Europe and seeing some British relatives. Laurie Ann is also a graphic artist. They both have studied public speaking in Toastmasters International and both sing. Chris plays the guitar and Laurie Ann has played the piano, trumpet and French horn. She also enjoyed singing barbershop harmony.

PHILOSOPHY

I really resonate with these words of Marianne Williamson:
"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God; your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
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and:
"From my own limited experience I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes. Cultivating a close, warm- hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. This helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the ultimate source of success in life."
--His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I wish to make connections and share any expertise I have (mostly about touring and using the Internet for research).

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Have met several kind hosts in Ireland and England but have no experience as hosts (only informally so far) until we become established, but have served as housesitters.

Interests

We're both interested in Photography. Laurie Ann: I like to create websites and use the photos to dress up the pages. I also have a lot of experience with Internet research which really came in handy to plan this trip. I even thought of becoming a referring Travel Agent. We both have done acting and Laurie Ann has been a supersize model in magazines and on the runway with queen-size fashions. Chris is the honorary town crier for Hinton, Alberta, Canada and hopes to meet other town criers in UK and the Continent. Chris has achieved Toastmaster Advanced - Bronze and Laurie Ann has attained Advanced - Silver level. It is an organization for public speaking and leadership training.

• singing
• photography
• acting
• dancing
• modeling
• traveling
• guitar
• piano
• trumpet
• surfing
• teaching
• journalism

Music, Movies, and Books

Maroon 5
Steely Dan
Jimi Hendrix
Carpenters
Weird Al
Michael Jackson
Eric Clapton
Mariah Carey
Alan Parsons Project
Dave Brubeck
Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim
Jane Child

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What's Up, Doc?
The Odd Couple
Gone with the Wind
Real Genius
A Few Good Men
Witness
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More into TV than books:
House, MD
Grey's Anatomy
Bones
Monk
Jeopardy
Scrubs
American Idol
Twilight Zone
Get Smart

Chris loves Dick Francis books.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Laurie Ann: stage dancer and model for Tool (alternative heavy metal)
Chris: was atmosphere performer directed in scene by Stephen Spielberg with Tom Cruise: "War of the Worlds"

Teach, Learn, Share

Storytelling, Internet surfing and PC operations, public speaking
Chris has lived in England, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji Islands, Canada, USA
has visited Portugal, Mexico
Laurie Ann has lived in USA
has visited Mexico, Canada, Japan

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States

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