CURRENT MISSION

To live life in every word to the extent that it is absurd.

ABOUT ME

Born and raised in Northern California. Graduated from a Master's program at 23, moved to Portland, and am working as a therapist for a mental health clinic. :]

I love to fill my time by swimming and learning how to cook. I'm especially fond of cooking italian and Asian dishes. Exercising, blues dancing, swing dancing, bicycle riding, reading, writing, and building homes with habitat for humanity tend to fill up the rest of my time.

I'm drawn to optimism and enthusiasm. A bit of a sap, although I can appreciate logic and pure rationalism.

Saroyan said it best: "Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.”

PHILOSOPHY

Personal growth is my ultimate goal. I just want to experience as many things as life has to offer, and even if I won't get to everything, I want to accumulate as much as I can with the time that I have.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've been hosted before my move out to Portland Oregon, and spent New Years Eve watching fireworks over the city with them. I've hosted people in Portland as well now that I've settled!

Interests

I also read a lot of fiction/philosophy. I'm big on self improvement, and so I try to be as active as I can. For me, anything that involves people never feels like a waste of time. I enjoy cooking, especially if it's for others. I've recently taken up swing/blues dancing, and rock climbing and love it! Traveling alone is probably one of the most invaluable experiences I've had.

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: http://www.last.fm/user/CloserToGrey
Top favorites include J Dilla, M83, Minus The Bear, Daedelus, Colleen. American Football

Books: Franny and Zooey, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Siddartha, Life of Pi, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Candide, Welcome to the Monkey House, Nichomachean Ethics, Sophie's World, Brave New World, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Plague, The Stranger, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Brief interviews with Hideous Men, Broom of the System, The History of Love, The Secret Lives of People in Love, and...The Dot & The Line: A romance in Lower Mathematics. Currently reading: House of Leaves.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In May 2014, I volunteered and stayed with an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. I prepped food, bathed, and swam with elephants saved from trekking/logging camps along the Kawai River in Thailand. Those two weeks in Thailand got me back in touch with family, back in touch with my roots, and it was the first time traveling abroad on my own. Over Thanksgiving I got my Open Water Scuba Dive Certification in Honduras!

Teach, Learn, Share

I love people that are passionate about their lives, and can encourage your own passions. I love people that are prone to non-jugdement. People that laugh loudly and often. People willing to teach, people willing to try something new, that don't mind getting heavy in an instant, but can tell a good story.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can cook you some amazing pad thai, teach you how to dance, and show you the parts of Portland you want to see as well as the parts you didn't know existed.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Honduras, Italy, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States