CURRENT MISSION

Finish the semester so I can focus on traveling!

PHILOSOPHY

I am a Christian. I believe that religion is the opiate of the masses, but that Jesus is the redeemer of the masses. I believe that one should live as they profess to live, whatever that may be. I believe that one need not accept as truth the beliefs of others nor agree with what they have to say in order to be tolerant of them. I believe that we should all be tolerant of one another. I believe one can be an intellectual and a thinker without being a "liberal." I believe we all have a responsibility to protect and preserve nature and the environment. I believe that every man-made system of thought, system of government, and system of religion is broken and ultimately will show that we can not solve our own problems nor successfully govern ourselves; God is the only perfect problem-solver and governor. I believe Jesus will return to govern, to heal, to restore, and to judge.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Well, I have yet to host anyone since I just joined this community within the last month. I do have a guest room available in my "studentenwohnheim" (student apartment) that would serve Couch Surfers IF I know enough in advance that you're coming, so that I can reserve the room for you. Additionally, if you just want to come for a day, I can definitely take people out to coffee, dinner, the park, a dark alley...you name it! I'm sure we could have a grand old time!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My CouchSurfing experience is ever-expanding. I'm adding new countries and places every month. So far, every experience except for my first one has been an unmitigated success. My first experience was with someone who ended up attacking my beliefs and political views. I know that I may have different views than the majority of CouchSurfers, but please, at least respect me and what I believe. That's all I ask. All right, now that the serious stuff is out of the way...

My other Couch Surfing experience includes and is entirely limited to the creation of this profile. Oh, and I've talked about Couch Surfing with friends. And I once saw a dude literally couch surfing on a sofa tied to a pick-up truck, driving through an empty parking lot.

Interests

• environment
• coffee
• traveling
• surfing
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (the ONLY Star Wars Trilogy), The Lord of the Rings, Remember the Titans, Inception, Book of Eli, Three Amigos, The Sandlot, Galaxy Quest, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Gladiator, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Gettysburg, Glory, any episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Patton, U-571, The "Toy Story" Trilogy, School of Rock, Enchanted, the list goes on...

Music: (note: "+" denotes genre, "-" denotes individual artist within genre)

+ Classic Rock
- The Beatles
- Led Zeppelin
- The Who
- The Beach Boys
- Bob Dylan
- Jethro Tull
- Tom Petty
- Roy Orbison
- Elvis
- Grateful Dead
- The Byrds
- Simon & Garfunkel
- The Yardbirds
- Johnny Cash
- Paul McCartney & Wings
- The Traveling Wilburys

+ Alternative Rock
- The Raveonettes
- MuteMath
- U2
- Coldplay
- Shiny Toy Guns
- Lifehouse
- Devo
- Ratatat
- Linkin Park ("Hybrid Theory" and "Meteora")
- Five Iron Frenzy
- Newsboys
- Jars of Clay
- Switchfoot
- Delirious?
- dc Talk

+ Techno/House
- Moby
- Benny Benassi
- David Guetta
- The Bloody Beetroots
- The Chemical Brothers
- The Crystal Method
- Daft Punk
- Dirty Vegas
- Fatboy Slim

+ Classical (Unless otherwise noted, Composers are listed)
- Ravel
- Debussy
- Mozart
- Beethoven
- Haydn
- Mahler
- Shostakovich
- Eric Whitacre
- Copland
- Strauss
- Brahms
- Schubert
- Philip Glass
- Satie
- Jonas Kaufmann (Artist)
- Anonymous 4 (Artists)
- Chanticleer (Artists)

+ Jazz/Blues
- Miles Davis
- Bill Evans
- Wynton Marsalis
- The Allman Brothers
- Mahalia Jackson
- Steve Houghton
- Gershwin
- Wes Montgomery

+ Other
- Kid Cudi
- Jay-Z
- Pretty Lights
- Seal
- Enya
- Justin Timberlake ("FutureSex / LoveSounds" and after)
- Orchestral Soundtracks in general
- Tuvan Throat Singing

Books:

Currently Reading: "The Culture of Defeat: On National Trauma, Mourning, and Recovery," by Wolfgang Schivelbusch; "A Year with C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works," by C.S. Lewis; "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt," by Edmund Morris.

A Small Selection of Other Favorites: "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy, "An Army at Dawn," "The Day of Battle," "Peace Like a River," "Berlin Noir" and the other Bernie Gunther novels, "City of Thieves," "Six Frigates," "Ghost Soldiers," "Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West."

Teach, Learn, Share

Never pee into a head wind. Or uphill.

Also, never set something important in your lap when you are sitting somewhere for an extended period of time. You will invariably forget about it and when you stand up, it will go straight to the floor.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, France, Germany, Nicaragua, Peru, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, United States

•