CURRENT MISSION

Getting here. Getting there. Getting nowhere is sometimes good, too.

Doing it all somewhere between Indonesia and the Netherlands seems like a fun way to get! May 2016

ABOUT ME

What can I say about myself? The references below know me better than I do, or at least, they can put it into language easier.

I love to cycle, but I'm no Merckx. I like artistic things, but I'm no van Gogh. The list goes on!

What can I really tell you about myself that you can understand without meeting me? Like a good portion of the people that participate on this website, I have a passion for many of the things that life entails. This passion encompasses everything from traveling to music to food. I am interested in agriculture, architecture, baking, books, cultivating social value, cycling, designing landscapes, transportation, etc. Let's discuss it more over tea!

I'm also interested in what you have to teach me about yourself. I want you to share your perspective.

I have many moods, and if I completely changed this portion of my profile tomorrow, it would say something completely different than it did today or yesterday.

Meet me!

PHILOSOPHY

My philosophy is a hodge-podge of quotations and witticisms.

"Pleasure is a priority. When you let pleasure control
your life, rather than letting life control your
pleasure, you will find great passion. Eat. See. Live.
To hell with everything else."
KEVINCGUNDERSON - pioneer CSer

"Wise people know how to use time and space perfectly; they lead free and harmonious lives. Fools are enslaved by time and space; they are busy running around all day, fretting over the passing minutes. Wise or foolish, the differences in peace of mind and depth of wisdom are obvious."
Xingyun, Hsing Yun, Amy Lam

"OM Aha . . . The city that starts with a mantra and ends in enlightenment" ॐ

"We are all such fragile little souls. We're all doing our best. I wanna hug the world sometimes and say ' I understand'" - Vanessa Sun Beam - pioneer CSer

"Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts." - Pre

"I have long believed, as have many before me, that peaceful relations between nations requires understanding and mutual respect between individuals." - President Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Babushka! It’s spring! It is so good to be alive on this earth, for all good people and even for such as I. Nature, the air, everything is drenched in hope, future, a wonderful future. … When I think about it more soberly, I know perfectly well I am nothing but an old frozen potato, rotten, cooked and served up with a tasteless sauce full of lumps, but the springtime has such a powerful effect on me that I sometimes catch myself imagining I am a plant that has just opened and spread its leaves among all the other plants and is going to grow up simply, peacefully and joyfully on the good Lord’s earth. … Make way for this wonderful plant that is filling out its buds and growing in the spring.” Leo Tolstoy in a letter to his aunt-grandmother, Alexandra Tolstoy, April 1858

[Autumn is] a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
―Albert Camus, Caligula and Three Other Plays. 104-105.
http://goo.gl/ZC7Dwg

"Are the days of winter sunshine just as sad for you, too? When it is misty, in the evenings, and I am out walking by myself, it seems to me that the rain is falling through my heart and causing it to crumble into ruins.”
Gustave Flaubert, "November: Fragments in a Nondescript Style"

Who speaks, sows; Who listens, reaps. - Argentine Proverb

Two quotes that just about sum up what I am about.

"I always wanted to be somebody... If I've made it, it's half because I was game to take a wicked amount of punishment along the way and half because there were an awful lot of people who cared enough to help me." - Althea Gibson, "I Always Wanted to Be Somebody" (1958)

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'" - Emma Bombeck

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I was once obsessed with CS when the real chat was still here! When they did away with that, the REAL CouchSurfing lost a part of itself. I think the goal to make it to "1,000,000 members" was stupid. Sure, we can grow as a community, but why advertise ourselves? Why can't we keep it a secret? You know, between us. It's more special that way.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have never hosted via CouchSurfing. I live across the river from Omaha, Nebraska, and all the cool people go there to stay the night. I have hosted people outside of CS, though. I once had a couple Brits cycling from the east coast to the west coast. We had a great time, and I cycled a few days west with them on short notice. Great experience!

I have slept on a lot of couches in my (few) days.

I have participated in chat, meeting people that I will consider my friends for the rest of my life.

I have met CSers from all walks of life. Some like to hitchhike. Some like to cycle. Lots of them like to walk. A few take the train. All seemed to be great people!

兴趣

I like to read. I really do. Buuuuuuuut, I haven't read a lot of the books that are considered classics. I know that one day, I will get to those. I recently got a Kindle that I love. I prefer books in the physical sense, but I really enjoy that my Kindle can allow me to carry more than one book easily. I tend to switch from one to another often while I take time to process and appreciate what I've read.

I like random things. Tell me something you're passionate about, I bet I can find something that interests me about it.

I once went to a cake party in Montpellier, France. The people there were random. The games they played were random. Then, I randomly went hiking in the mountains with a few of them during my last four days in Europe!

I love bicycles. The role that they play in mental, physical, social, and spiritual health fascinates me.

“When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.”
-Emo Philips

I love trying new foods.

October 2009, I adapted a vegetarian lifestyle. In the (almost) year to follow, I have only eaten meat three times. It has been an interesting year.

I started eating meat again in August 2010, I started on my way back to Europe. I first flew to Iceland where you can't not eat meat! It was all delicious, and I loved it. Europe is a meaty place. I wouldn't change that for anything.

• culture
• humanities
• books
• architecture
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• baking
• vegetarian
• running
• walking
• partying
• drinking
• flowers
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• skydiving
• agriculture
• history
• mountains

音乐、电影和书籍

Boondock Saints, Reservoir Dogs, Shawshank Redemption, Gladiator, Road to Perdition, The Dark Knight, Waking Life!

Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner (Dean Karnazes), The Happy Isles of Oceania (Paul Theroux), Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel (Rolf Potts), The One-Straw Revolution (Masanobu Fukuoka), Harry Potter series, Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

The Roman Colosseum! It may be a big tourist attraction (and I'm not attracted to most of them), but this is one of those attractions for a reason. It's big and beautiful. It has a history that even the experts are still trying to figure out. It is just fantastic.

Also, as stated above, I went hiking in the mountains in France during my last few days in Europe 2009 with people that I had only recently met. It was one of the most interesting experiences I have had. I hope to have more just like it!

教，学，和分享

I really don't know if I could teach the world anything. I will tell you what I know, or what I think I know, and you may take what you want from that!

Things I would like to learn: where the good bookshops are! Dansk, Deutsch, Français, Italiano, Latina, Polski, Sicilianu, Русский, فارسی, 汉语/漢語, हिन्दी, Türkçe, and MORE, the places only locals know about, how and where to rock climb, skydive, hike, cycle, drink the best drink/cup of coffee/local drink, eat the food, cook the food, bake the food, learn the dance, listening to the music, talking to the people. I want to learn what you've learned.

Things I can share: my music, my culture, a safe place to stay, some drinks.

我游览过的国家

Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain

我居住过的国家

Netherlands, Turkey, United States

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