CURRENT MISSION

To live, laugh and grow as much as possible while meeting amazing people and making this world a better place.

ABOUT ME

My day isn't complete without a good laugh, a good conversation, and a meal that includes sriracha (hot) sauce.

I'm sort of a hippie in the sense that I'm a big believer in peace, love rock and roll and social justice. Don't worry, I'm also a big believer in taking showers.

I am a realistic idealist.

I would rather be listening to live music than doing pretty much anything. I've gone to my favorite music festival, Coachella, four times and am sure that I will be attending this year as well.

Growing up, my mom always told me that whenever I felt sad I should smile because when you smile, people smile back at you and you feel better. It's true, smile and the world smiles with you.

I don't let people delete photos from my digital camera because the horrible ones are the most hilarious ones later on.

I'm not an overly competitive person but board games are the exception the prove the rule.

My friends call me "a bridger," someone that makes friends from all walks of life, has a party and brings people together.

I can pretty much have a conversation with anyone about anything but I know in my heart my very best friends are the ones I can sit with in comfortable silence.

I love everyday luxuries like amazing smelling shampoo, a bottle of good Malbec or high thread count sheets.

I'm trying to figure out a way to be able to live anywhere I want and do positive things for people and the world with my law background. I JUST WANT TO LIVE LIFE, LOVE PEOPLE and EXPLORE the WORLD!

PHILOSOPHY

My golden rule: Don't be an a**hole. Additionally:

A good traveler has no fixed plans
and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.

Thus the Master is available to all people
and doesn't reject anyone.
He is ready to use all situations
and doesn't waste anything.
This is called embodying the light.

What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?
What is a bad man but a good man's job?
If you don't understand this, you will get lost,
however intelligent you are.
It is the great secret.
-Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching 27

"What do we live for if not to make life less difficult for each other?"
-George Eliot

"I've learned that people will forget what you said and people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelou

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm still discovering couchsurfing. And while I've had friends of friends crash with me and me with them, formal couchsurfing seems a lot more organized. I'm trying to make a trip to Kona, Hawaii in October (I'm surprising my bf with a ticket too). If you are a cool guy/gal that has space for us, I'd love to hear from you.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm new to CouchSurfing although I am not new to the concept of meeting people while traveling and really establishing meaningful connections. My last big trip was 5 weeks in Argentina and am glad to say that I have a group of amazing friends there that I know I will always be in contact with.

After we sat for the bar exam, my roommate and I packed up our house and decided to get out of the country. Argentina was a destination we had previously discussed going to so we hopped on a flight. He didn't feel comfortable with trying CouchSurfing so we decided we could go to a hostel and luckily, we chose Tango Backpackers in Palermo.

The hostel wasn't overly crowded the first few nights and so I was able to not only make close friends with the people staying there but most of the staff and their friends that dropped by to hang out. At first, I thought that maybe all people in South America were just that friendly. However, after a couple days it became readily apparent we shared a special connection with certain staffers and their friends. Joaquin, Nacho, Roasario, Nata, Antonella, Piero, Scott and Nico: you guys will always be a part of my life!

While we traveled to other parts of Argentina, our friends at the hostel let us leave our big packs with them and really had our back. Whenever we were in town, they took us out to different events downtown Buenos Aires and really invited us into their lives. We got a true porteno experience: restaurants, bars, underground venues, jazz/reggae clubs and tango shows that were local haunts and completely void of tourists. When my money was stolen, they let me crash a couple of nights for free. They taught me the songs they had grown up listening to, especially their deep love for the music of Bob Marley and we bonded over our mutual love of rage against the machine. I cooked them different meals and introduced them to the wonders of guacamole while they showed me what real milanesa, parilla and empanadas taste like. Over the course of just 5 short weeks, I spent so much time with these native Argentinians, I went from knowing zero Spanish to having basic (albeit badly pronounced) conversations. Most importantly, I have grown and learned so much by loving these people and the place they call home. I cannot wait to see them again!

Interests

travel. being outdoors, going to music festivals, cooking tasty experiments, hiking, going on unexpected adventures, snowboarding, reading a good book, seeing museums, making art, enjoying time with my dog at the dog park, exploring the world, doing everything and nothing with friends, volunteering my time to helping people out, meeting new people. pretty much willing to try anything at least once!

• dogs
• arts
• books
• music festivals
• coachella
• festivals
• tango
• cooking
• partying
• clubbing
• board games
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• live music
• jazz
• piano
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• snowboarding
• swimming
• teaching
• law
• science
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The 5th Element, Indiana Jones Trilogy, Forest Gump, Zatoichi, Amelie.

Music: Bands- we must leave something to talk about when we meet! ;)

I love everything from classical to reggae but I probably listen to underground hip hop, french electronica and ambient the most. My 3 least favorite genres are screamo, hair metal and country pop.

Books: Finally having more time to pleasure read is amazing. Currently reading The Bell Jar, A Confederacy of Dunces and Asimov's Chronology of the World. I'm always open to suggestions.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The last truly amazing thing I saw were the Iguazu Waterfalls in Argentina (and Brazil although I didn't see that side) If you're ever in that part of the world, you must go and see this incredible sight!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls

It may not be amazing to other people but I am pretty proud of myself for graduating from law school and passing the CA bar on my first shot. =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm3eZamdVnw

Teach, Learn, Share

Skills that I would love to teach you:

-How to cook most kinds of cuisine: Thai, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, French, Spanish and what I like to call California Fusion.
-How to speak Japanese.
-How to swim/ ride a bike/ play piano/ whistle.
- How to construct a logical and cohesive argument.

TEACH ME ANYTHING! I LOVE TO LEARN!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, United States

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