CURRENT MISSION

Work Is Love Made Visible

ABOUT ME

I grew up in NYC, lived most of my adult life on the West Coast, and am currently THRILLED to be LIVING in Awestin, TX! I am hoping that Austin will be the right place to live my 2nd life (besides NYC or LA:-(, and that I will make MANY friends with whom to join forces in one or more purposeful, productive and joyful endeavors. (Probably related to film-making and/or "The Sorcerers' Revolution".)

PHILOSOPHY

I enjoy motorcycling, biking, swimming, running, sleeping, dreaming, eating, cooking (and washing the dishes!); I enjoy animals, children, air, sea, sun, HOT SPRINGS and Jacuzzis; I like good (but affordable) wine, laughing out loud, the occasional good cigar, intimacy and wild storms!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

By telling everyone who will listen that the wealth of decency and simple kindness I've experienced while Couchsurfing can renew anyone's faith in humanity because SIMPLE HUMAN TRUST IS ALIVE AND WELL. (In spite of the many voices of fear and distrust which surround us, some of which belong to well-intentioned family or friends who think we’ve gone mad to invite complete strangers into the sanctuary of our home, or visa-versa, to entrust one's safety - and luggage - to a previously unseen and unknown host who may have a penchant for Fava beans, Chianti and organ meat;-)

Seriously, I think it is no small responsibility that we keep this precious flame of trust alive, and I look forward to honoring the generosity of others with whatever comforts my humble home may have to offer, wherever it may be.

Many Happy Trails!!!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have traveled perhaps a quarter of the planet: most recently in Southern India, and extensively through the Americas. While I usually stay in inexpensive, comfortable and secure hotels (thank you LP!), oftentimes for $2-10 a night (sometimes with breakfast, cable and AC!), this level of economy cannot be had in the so-called first world (I have LOTS of first-hand info on European Hostels). Besides which I've grown weary of traveling as a stranger in strange lands, and while ever hopeful of meeting hospitable people in my travels, CS & HC not only ensure this but afford entree to places & cultures which money CANNOT buy:-)

My approach to being a good guest is simple: CS is the OPPOSITE of what the 'Hospitality' industry presupposes; i.e. as a guest it is *your* responsibility to accommodate any host who is both decent and kind enough to offer you hospitality.

Interests

I am interested in most everything, particularly subjects about which I have little or no knowledge. I enjoy traveling primarily for the sake of meeting people, seeing how they live and what they think (as opposed to marveling at whatever edifices their ancestors have constructed).

• animals
• cooking
• breakfast
• wine
• running
• traveling
• socializing
• cycling
• scuba diving
• swimming
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

While in principle I dislike disco (it heralded the death of Rock and Roll and everything the 60’s had promised…), I like the best of all musical genres (preferring content to form and passion to mathematics), and consider Leonard Cohen to be the greatest living song-writer of our time. As regards the visual media, I am likewise open-minded and inclined, and while proudly owning over 700 of the finest films and TV episodes ever produced, I am partial to La Dolce Vida, Les Enfants du Paradis, Babette’s Feast, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, as well as Fantasia, The Red Shoes and Blade Runner. I am fairly “well-read” (though still working on the classics); my tastes range from Gibran to Asimov and Steinbeck.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Macchu Picchu, the Grand Canyon, Foz de Iguazu, the bowels of hell in Potosi; sky-diving, hang-gliding over RIO, ballooning over Sonoma, scuba-diving in Honduras... AND: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the darkness at Tan Hauser Gate." Not really, but I've seen stuff that was truly wilder;~D

Teach, Learn, Share

I am a teacher, but I have learned that nothing can be taught, only remembered. Toward that end I am always interested in learning what others think, and always willing to share my thoughts, experiences and skills.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am sorry that I currently do not *have* a couch (though I do have several very nice chairs;) and a carpeted living room floor for one sane chill intelligent (preferably female) guest for a brief time. (There is a Nice Hostel nearby:) I'll be glad to share my (too) extant knowledge of California, the West Coast, and most of North America. (From sea to shining sea;~)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Mexico, United States

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