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Overview
About Me
Hi, my name is Heather. I'm 27, I grew up in Flint, Michigan, and I currently live in Tucson, Arizona. I've lived in a handful of other cities throughout my life, including Daytona Beach, Florida and Sacramento, California. I have always had the wandering fever, but traveling internationally is something I have yet to embark upon, though I've dreamed of it my whole life.
"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." Vaudevillian cowboy Will Rogers said that, and, in my experience, it's been true. I grew up in a rough neighborhood and used to run around on the streets a lot when I was younger, resulting in more than a few misadventures. My friends and I grew up poor, and we had to learn how to be resourceful, cooperative, compassionate and imaginative just to get by and thrive.
As I've gotten older and more experienced, these circumstances have manifested themselves into a fierce love of adventure, with the nerve and ingenuity to (usually) pull it off. I'm always going to want to take the crazy and unknown road if it presents itself to me, and I never shy from a new experience.
That said, my next most favorite thing is relaxing. I'm a simple person. I like to go "unplugged" as much as possible, and instead soak up nature and feeling its languid tranquility. An ideal day for me is sitting on the beach all day, swimming, drinking wine, smoking joints, eating oranges, and playing my guitar. Then some friends come by around sunset with more wine and joints and oranges, and we build a fire and look at the stars and we talk about life and death and love and aliens. Can you see it?
Why I’m on Couchsurfing
When I was a little kid, me and my friends would sit in a tent in the backyard and we'd write top ten lists of where we wanted to travel when we grew up. We would cut pictures of jaguars and butterflies out of our parents' old National Geographics, and you could see our breath fogging inside the cold tent while we talked about jungles and deserts and beaches. We'd giggle about all the weird food we'd eat and all the cute boys we'd meet. We were gonna see the whole world.
As we got older and fell into the working-class system we were born into, we got more jaded and more or less gave up the dream. "Traveling is only for the rich" is something I thought for many years. I still couldn't get over what my grandad called "itchy heels", though, so to satisfy that urge to wander, I relocated cities about every two years.
When I moved to Tucson, I met someone who would come to be my best friend and who would change my attitude about traveling. Someone who would make me see possibilities and become my favorite travel buddy: Marty (https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/marty142) Who introduced me to Couchsurfing!
I'm new to international travel, and South America is going to be one of the greatest adventures I've had so far. I hope to get to share part of it with you!
Interests
- poetry
- singing
- fashion
- dancing
- flowers
- hiking
- sailing
- anthropology
- art history
- astronomy
- mathematics
- ornithology
- philosophy
- psychology
- sociology
- lakes
- filmmaking
- whiskey
- astrology
- marine biology
- the ocean
- world history
- psychedelics
- tarot
- crows
- the occult
- human sexuality
- music theory
- playing the guitar
- fire
- marijuana
- aesthetics
- conspiracy theories
- witches
- absurdism
- radical politics
- ghosts
- stoicism
- gemstones
- thunderstorms
- discordianism
- animal behavior
- satanism
- u.f.o.s
- entemology
- esoteric conversations
- spirituality and religion
- counter- and sub- cultures
- tattoos/body modification
- cryptozoology
Music, Movies, and Books
M U S I C : I live for music. I play instruments, sing, dance, and I like at least something from every single genre.
{The Pixies, Talking Heads, Joy Division, Alien Sex Fiend, Bauhaus, The Damned, The Clash, The Casualties, Black Flag, Patti Smith, Le Tigre, The Cramps, The Velvet Underground, Iggy & the Stooges, T.Rex, David Bowie,The White Stripes, All Them Witches, Queens of the Stoneage, Black Sabbath, Slayer, Electric Wizard, White Zombie, Orange Goblin, The Mars Volta, Tame Impala, Of Montreal, Leonard Cohen, Elliott Smith, Meat Puppets, Pavement, Neutral Milk Hotel, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead, Lightning Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, Son House, Tom Waits, Hank Williams Sr., Janis Joplin, Lana Del Rey, Carol King, Beyonce, Eartha Kitt, Nina Simone, Missy Elliott, Dr. Dre, Childish Gambino, The Gorillaz, Wu-Tang, El Dusty, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Aphex Twin}
M O V I E S : I'm a film freak. I can talk about directors and cinematography well into the night.
{The Thing, Alien, Event Horizon, Cube, Hellraiser, The Fly (Cronenberg), Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead, House of 1000 Corpses, The Crow, American Psycho, The Shining, Rosemary's Baby, Suspiria, Silence of the Lambs, Poltergeist, Dead Alive, Videodrome, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski, Grandma's Boy, Friday, Dazed and Confused, My Cousin Vinny, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Cecil B. Demented, Crybaby, Sister Act, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Cabin Boy, Lethal Weapon, Speed, Top Gun, Terminator, The Fifth Element, Con Air, Fight Club, Blow, Kung Fu, Legend of Drunken Master, Natural Born Killers, Inglorious Bastards, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs, Boyz N Tha Hood, Scarface, Goodfellas, The Departed, Serpico, Devil's Advocate, The Usual Suspects, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Coffee and Cigarettes, Harold and Maud, Mask, Easy Rider, The Wall, Dances with Wolves, The Witches of Eastwick, The Fountain, Freaks, The Wrestler, Into the Void}
B O O K S: Reading is a cornerstone of my experiece. Here's a few of my favorites:
{One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey, The Sandman Series and American Gods - Neil Gaiman, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Rum Diaries - Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, Call of the Wild - Jack London, Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury, American Psycho and Rules of Engagement - Bret Easton Ellis, Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie, The Southern Reach Trilogy - Jeff VanDerMeer, The Collector - John Fowles, The Satanic Bible - Anton LaVey, the Preacher series - Garth Ennis, Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes, Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain, Tortilla Flat - John Steinbeck, Factotum - Charles Bukowski}
One Amazing Thing I’ve Done
I've led a pretty gonzo life, all things considered. But the thing that really sticks in my mind as being one of the more intense days of my life was last June, when I was involved in a massive protest on the capitol grounds of Sacramento, California:
http://www.vice.com/read/racists-california-knife-stab-neo-nazi-white-nationalist-rally
A friend and I helped shield one of our comrades who had gotten stabbed as he almost bled out. He was someone we stood with in the blazing sun as we waited for the white nationalists to surface on our streets. It was way more violent than I expected, though nothing much happened to me other than some pepper spray.
I had always been involved in minor or solitary protests in my youth, but this was far and away the most intense one I'd participated in. In these times, in the country I live in, I predict it's only going to become more commonplace. I hope I get to see the same thing I saw that week in June: people joining together, protecting each other, fiercely responding to the hatred and bigotry that was attempting to be spread in their neighborhood. I hope I don't see the blood and the violence that I saw that day. But that event, as well as a few other significant ones I can think of, just proves that when it happens, hopefully we'll be ready.
Teach, Learn, Share
Every moment is an opportunity to learn, and every creature you encounter is a teacher. I hope that I can learn as many things as I can from as many people as I can while I'm walking this earth. I hope to exchange ideas and "vibes" as much as possible, to trade inspiration as much as I can.
What I Can Share with Hosts
I play the guitar and sing. I can teach you some beginner tricks and songs. I can build a strong fire, and point out several constellations. I can fish and hunt small game, and I'm a decent cook. I can teach basic self-defense, and how to figure out what your best colors are and how to dress for your body type. I am a certified tuxedo fitter, and can take your measurements for you. I read tarot, and will gladly provide readings for you. I've been told I'm an excellent listener, and can read people well. Many of my friends ask me for advice, and tell me I've helped them figure their shit out. Maybe a few drinks and a free amateur counseling session. I also give excellent hand massages ;)
Countries I’ve Visited
Canada, Mexico