CURRENT MISSION

I chose not to accept my mission. What happens now?

ABOUT ME

A trained former pastry chef-turned creative IT geek. I'm a very friendly, open-minded, laidback, big furry bear of a guy. Many labels can be applied: world traveller, homebrewer, cyclist, burner, gay man, computer geek - but I don't fit into any of the stereotypes that might go with them. My self-identity comes from within, grown over the many years and experiences I've been through.
There's more info and photos on my web site.

PHILOSOPHY

A balanced life is a joyous life all by itself, through all the daily ups and downs. Seek that balance within, and share it with-out.

I have no 'favorites' in the regular sense - everything depends on context, everythings interconnected.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

For starters, I'll participate by occasionally sharing this cool little house I occupy across the bridge from San Francisco. Its a great way to repay the amazing hospitality I've been offered as I've travelled around the world, both near and far. When its time to travel again, I'll be looking for couches :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

There have been several experiences, long before the advent of the Web as we know it. Like the Dutch fellow I met on the plane from Bangkok to Zurich who invited me to stay with him and his small family in Almere, Netherlands. Or the guy in Boise Idaho who let me stay with him after backpacking for 2 weeks in the wilderness. Then there was the family in Katoomba, Australia who took me in for a few days, and sent me to their son's house in Sydney after that... and .. and...

Interests

In no special order: travel, cooking for others, backpacking & being in the mountains, computers, beer and homebrewing, single malt scotch whisky, bicycle touring, meeting people and making friends.
I'm much more of a pub-goer than a partier/club type, and I'm quite as happy to hang at home as go out. I guess thats my rural upbringing reinforced by my time in New Zealand. My favorite pub (30 taps, good food) is 75 meters away from my front door, and I have 3 taps of homebrew in my house.

• design
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• baking
• walking
• clubbing
• pub crawls
• traveling
• socializing
• homebrewing
• backpacking
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Just about anything good, and some that isn't so good! But I have to be in the right mood for heavy drama or depressing films, no matter how good they are. I'm somewhat biased towards Pixar movies. Though I don't watch tons of movies when I'm alone, I do have a modest collection of dvd's & blu-rays to share, and I finally broke down and traded in my projector for a big flat-screen tv - the picture quality is a thousand times better! I don't watch broadcast TV though, so no cable or rabbit-ears here.
Musically I like a very eclectic mix: everything from Bach to the Boards of Canada, from Aesop Rock to the Beatles to Pink Martini to Edith Piaf. From Gregorian chant to IDM and Dub. I generally avoid heavy, agressive, dark, or angry music since I'm none of those (ok, maybe I'm a little heavy...) I'm also content with, and sometimes prefer, just the ambient sounds around me.
Books - hmm, mostly non-fiction (I'm a computer nerd, after all) but very good fiction is wonderful too. Some things currently on my small bookshelf: The Name of the Rose, Dante's Divine Comedy, Ishmael, The Nag Hammadi Library, the complete Dune series, the Definitive Biography of PDQ Bach, The Essential Rumi, Peoples History of the US, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, The Omnivores Dilemma, and lots of cookbooks. Oh - I read Wikipedia for fun. :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Experienced living on this earth with everyone else. Fortunately I'm still doing it and every day brings more amazement.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm told I can be helpful with cooking & baking, Macintosh & Unix technical stuff, database design, home networking, making beer, and a few other things. My coworkers have called me a walking encyclopedia.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand, United States

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