CURRENT MISSION

Enjoying life with my girlfriend and the journey towards a piloting profession

ABOUT ME

I'm a former seasonal wilderness ranger at a national park, where I met my girlfriend. We now live in Missoula, MT. I drive a semi, delivering to convenience stores, and I got into the trucking industry to earn my way into a flying career. I have a private pilot's certificate and I'm studying for instrument now. I share food, learn, read, ride bikes, speak Russian, explore desolate places, and maintain gratitude for my luck. I can be quiet or talkative as the situation calls for. I like living frugally and I'm interested in financial independence.

The seasonal lifestyle over 5 years led me toward variety. I barbacked in a nightclub, labored in warehouses, hiked 300 miles of Yosemite trails as a ranger, worked at Mt. Baker Ski Area in Washington State for a stint, GPSed trails for a mapping consultant, helped a friend start a coffee roasting business, guarded VIP areas at a Grand Prix in Austin, TX, and was a long haul truck driver for 5 months. Check out that adventure @antontrucksamerica

PHILOSOPHY

"What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet." -Woody Allen

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

"Happiness! It is useless to seek it elsewhere than in this warmth of human relations"

Antoine de St. Exupery

I love meeting people and travelling on a budget. I haven't hosted much, sadly, because of living situations, but I hope to kindly pay forward all the generosity paid me in my lucky travels.

Intereses

Bikes. Anything that works is great! I had one in my truck cab when I drove long haul. Dancing to electronic music (house, trap, top 40), hip-hop, reggae/ska. I tend to be a vegan eater 90% of the time since living with my girlfriend. We live in Montana, where it is said that even the vegetarians like to hunt. So, I am always excited for a new vegan-eating opportunity. I've been on an aviation audiobook binge while trucking, and I organized my itinerary this spring to ride a 747 to Europe and an Airbus A380 coming back, which I am very excited for.

• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• working out
• aviation
• music
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• camping
• skiing
• swimming

Música, películas y libros

Books: A Fraction of the Whole, Desert Solitaire, A Confederacy of Dunces, The Monkey Wrench Gang, War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, In a Strange Room, Freedom: a Novel, other Franzen books, Slaughterhouse 5 (and all dystopian books), Red Weather, Clockwork Girl, Super Sad True Love Story, Absurdistan, the Kite Runner, etc.

Films: Woody Allen (Love and Death, etc.), Big Lebowski, Office Space, many foreign/indie flicks, Shawshank Redemption, Jack Nicholson films!!!! (--the Shining, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest), Bond and Bourne films (offensive but entertaining), Brat and Brat 2, Peculiarities of the National Hunt, The Irony of Fate (Ironiye Sudbi).

Music: Dispatch, Pert Near Sandstone, Trampled by Turtles, State Radio, Leningrad, Rusko, 5nizza, Gogol Bordello, MIA, Matisyahu, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, classic rock/folk a la Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Hendrix, The Doors, America, Tom Petty, CCR. Some reggaeton, salsa, goa, bhangra, klezmer, and Balkan.

Algo increíble que he hecho

I lived in the back of a converted military truck in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range in the Russian Far East with four dudes, mostly Russian. For one month straight! In winter! Amidst tigers. Tracking deer in the pursuit of knowledge.

Enseña, aprende, comparte

I am able to:
Speak Russian and talk Russia/E. Europe. I like films, books, and events related to Russia. I can teach you some words.

Ride and fix bikes--basic skills-tire/tube change, adjustments, oiling, and more serious stuff if tools are available.

Teach chess, though I'd like to learn more moves so I can conquer my dad on our next camping trip!

Advise people on hiring and skills and pathways to outdoor work or play.

Belay you on a rock climb and possibly follow you up.

Cook half-decently.

Qué puedo ofrecer a los anfitriones

I am happy to cook a meal, buy drinks, or get a meal. Learning Russian?

Países que he visitado

Argentina, Armenia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, Poland, Russian Federation, South Korea, Spain, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Países en los que he vivido

Ukraine, United States