I was born in Saudi Arabia to British parents, and I spent the first 12 years of my life there. I then moved to the south of England, then to the North to go to University in Sheffield, earned a degree in Software Engineering and for the last few years I've been using that degree and picking up several hobbies and passport stamps along the way. I now live in London, UK.

I go most places with my laptop but I try to stay as connected with the physical world around me as I can.

I have a glass-half-full approach to most situations but I can take a cynical look at life from time to time. I'm a bit of an optimistic nihilist.

I write folk music (with my guitar) mostly about everyday, mundane topics, and I'm quite happy performing on stage. I've done a bit of stand-up comedy, too.

I love food, but I don't eat meat (since Nov 2017) and am slowly removing animal products from my life - but this is a personal choice, I have no intention of pushing that lifestyle on anybody unless they are explicitly curious.

I love to get to know people, make friends - though I do thoroughly appreciate "me" time. Everybody needs to recharge, to varying degrees.

My favourite ways to recharge and get me time: cooking, watching films in dark movie theatres, and taking a nice relaxing shower.

That's me in a nutshell.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm on the verge of taking a big trip in North America - mostly Canada - to several cities where I know nobody. Apart from hostels, couchsurfing feels like a smart way to get to know people and places.

I am totally and utterly new to this, too, but I'd like to be given a chance as I'm a really good house guest :) I'm tidy, and I'm quite friendly and sociable, plus I'm not too fussy about where I sleep as long as it's fairly soft, not too hot and has somewhere I can clean in the morning.

Interests

I do a lot of bouldering, and sometimes I climb with ropes outdoors. That's my main physical activity. But I have other sporting interests such as SCUBA diving, hiking, snowboarding and trampolining.

Outside of sports I'm a keen guitar player and singer, and I do a lot of songwriting in my spare time. I busk a lot in London, too.

I'm a long time computer nerd too - I'm a professional software engineer and I really enjoy it! Been doing programming on and off since I was a kid. I play a few board games with friends from time to time.

• singing
• concerts
• cooking
• japanese food
• politics
• movies
• board games
• reading
• bouldering
• folk music
• guitar
• karaoke
• snowboarding
• rock climbing
• cinema
• playing guitar
• television
• stand up comedy
• programming
• korean food
• computers
• trampolining
• ceilidhs
• cooking together

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Mew, Radiohead, The Beatles, Hot Hot Heat, Frank Turner, System of a Down, Jonathan Coulton, Maximo Park, Weezer, The Lonely Island, St. Vincent, Supertramp, Childish Gambino, Courtney Barnett, Tyler, the Creator, The Beths

Movies: Jurassic Park, Star Wars, 500 Days of Summer, Big Fish, Children of Men, Spiderman: Enter the Spiderverse

Books: Girlfriend in a Coma, Ender's Game, Slaughterhouse 5, Scott Pilgrim, Maus, general Biographies, On the Road

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm a good cook. I can cook middle-eastern food, Korean food, Japanese food, and general bits and bobs.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, North Korea, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Saudi Arabia, South Korea, United Kingdom