CURRENT MISSION

mine like mycelium/transmogrify trash

ABOUT ME

I've been described on more than one occasion as "goofy." I'm kind of socially awkward, sometimes cool as a cucumber, depends on the situation. Spent one summer cycling solo from Portland, ME to Portland, OR and then seven months cycling around North America with my best buddy and life mate Lana (www.couchsurfing.com/people/lanasgna). I recently made a profile on bewelcome because it's still free: https://www.bewelcome.org/members/dimprint. Home is St. Andrew's, Newfoundland. Lana and I run an eco-hostel called Bert Bark Inn. See more about it in the "My Home" section.

PHILOSOPHY

I generally look at the world through an accepting and usually comedic lens and choose to immerse myself in it full force more often than not. There's a lot of wisdom to be absorbed from experiencing other beings and moments as intimately as possible and I've discovered that for me personally doing so with a light heart not taking myself too seriously is a surefire path to damn fine living. Sharing a life with others is important too, something I am understanding better each day. I learned to "get over" myself and tone down expectations at a pretty young age and I think that's why smiling and laughing and basking in serenity are my default behaviours.

That said, infinite elements of modern society like factory farms, trade injustices, hyperconsumerism, land dispossessions, bigotry, false advertising, american hegemony, etc. really make me want to get off my countercultural ass and stir up the friggin pot. It's most certainly in all of our best interest to maximize our happiness while simultaneously educating ourselves constantly about what's happening around us in spite of our own low consumption lifestyles. And to do something about it. And we can start by talking about it!

Mission #2: To reinstate "whence" (and thence, whither, thitherto, etc.) into the vernacular. In fact, I encourage heightened efforts towards economy of language (excluding emoticons) to anyone of linguistic capacity. "Voice: the breath's tooth. Thought: the brain's bone. Birdsong: an extension of the beak. Speech: the antler of the mind."~Robert Bringhurst

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've hosted wherever I've lived, and now I'm in rural southwest Newfoundland. So come on over and we'll have some fun nearly as far from St. John's as you can go within Newfoundland.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I surfed over a hundred couches and hosted when possible while travelling for four years after university and it always made for a grand time. Hosting has also been marvelous. Thank you, couchsurfing.

Interests

Exploring, growing, preparing, and sharing food. Fungi. Good tea and coffee. Passing time with animals. Gallivanting on rocks. Meditating, merrymaking, dancing, observing, reading, writing, whistling, being engulfed in music. Crazy, unpredictable, episodic parties. Camping. Skinny dipping. Athletics. Collectives. Organizing stuff in spreadsheets. Social and environmental movements. Agrarian movements. Language revitalization movements. Food sovereignty. Direct democracy and horizontal leadership. Ecopsychology. Ecolinguistics. Local customs and folklore. Oral traditions. Riding my bike. Removing hair from brushes gives me an overwhelming sense of satisfaction, so please hand me your hirsute hairbrush. I find I'm most carefree and happy when in "survival mode", fending for myself in an unknown land with little or no money. Regrettably I think living in this euphoric state is akin to the "animals" whom the Talking Heads disparage in their song of the same title.I know a little of a lot of languages. Of all those I've been exposed to, Polish gets my vote as the most pleasing to the ear. In fact, Poland gets my vote as the most pleasing lots of things.

• animals
• arts
• writing
• folklore
• dancing
• dining
• coffee
• walking
• partying
• boating
• reading
• traveling
• crochet
• survival
• music
• cycling
• camping
• languages
• hitchhiking

Music, Movies, and Books

Anything regarding folklore, ecopsychology, anarchism, activism, history, economies, ethics, linguistics, folklore, or any compelling subject really. Our library is also brimming with world literature and I'm having fun going through the continents. A few favourite books I've read in the last couple years are The Storyteller (El hablador) by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, Those Who Do Not Grieve by Samoan writer Sia Figiel, and God's Bits of Wood (Les bouts de bois de Dieu) by Senegalese writer Ousmane Sembène. I love music in general and lately I've been listening to mostly ethnic folk/jazz especially West African folk, raag, bluegrass, dub, punk, grunge, and show tunes. Movies! I've gotten hooked ever since we started screening films for "Foreign film Friday" and go to different countries each week. My newest obsession is 1950s Japanese jidaigeki films like Ugetsu Monogatari and Rashomon. Some all-time favourites include Le Roi et l'Oiseau, La Strada, Noviembre, My Cousin Vinny, La Meglio Gioventù, all those Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals especially Carousel, and Stop Making Sense- best concert movie ever by the amazing Talking Heads. I also love David Lynch's style and Twin Peaks is the only TV series I've completed from start to finish. Oh and the worst movie I've ever seen is probably Planet of the Apes 4: Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Observing otters doing flips for an hour; they must be the most playful animals in the world.

Passing quality time with squirrels every day in Central Park.

Living on an incredible organic farm in Iceland among the northern lights and stark nature, then hitchhiking in a circle around the beautiful mysterious country, straight onto a boat heading for Norway. I can never stop thinking about that place, the smells, the energy...(I left my favorite shoes there on purpose so I shall go retrieve them one of these days)

Going to Indonesia and finding I had no money at all, then meeting a man who bought me a coffee, took me to hıs home for 2 weeks, and got me a job, so I ended up living in Bandung for 5 months and those were some of the best months of my life.

Hitchhiking from Denmark to Albania in 3 weeks, spending a grand total of 35 euros and being in bliss mode the whole time.

Cycling across the United States alone with a road bike, two small panniers, tent, little budget, and no agenda.

Moving to St. John's and becoming acquainted with an extraordinary bunch of social beings.

Crossing paths and growing with my life mate/better half, Lana

And just being, every day.

Teach, Learn, Share

Try alternative modes of transporting yourself, i.e. without fossil fuels. I've recently entered into the realm of cycling and that is pretty much out of this world awesome. Before that I was walking and hitchhiking everywhere, which was extremely gratifying with all the interesting places and characters I encountered, allowing me to catch meaningful glimpses into their worlds during rides lasting from a couple minutes to several days.Try seeing material entities around you in elemental terms; this is difficult at first, but with some time and probing, you may stop taking all those "objects" for granted, and start making more conscious choices about what you and others choose to exploit and how there are healthier means to achieving all ends.All said and done, I'd like to learn to be more resourceful by working to produce creative and functional art. For instance, please teach me to crochet sweaters! Also, I'd really like to learn how to play a musical instrument, preferably a small one that can be crafted with local materials.

What I Can Share with Hosts

We can offer a glimpse into rural life in Newfoundland. This area is mountainous and gorgeous, most people love spending time outdoors, and a strong sense of community is very important to most of the area's inhabitants. There are lots of local potlucks, dances, open mics, etc., darts is huge so you can definitely expect to play darts here if you desire.

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Vatican City State, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Albania, Canada, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Indonesia, Italy, Norway, United States

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