CURRENT MISSION

constructing a superlative existence!

ABOUT ME

I'm an idea nut, I will absolutely gab all night about exciting things (Derrida, the ideal foccacia, the science of bad puns) with you over nibbles. Moved to Bangkok in September 2009 for ~1 year - couchsurfed around for two months - lived in an AMAAAAZING house with similarly incredible people - and now find myself living in MADRID, SPAIN in as an English Teaching Assistant!

Grew up in Mesa, Arizona, with two doting parents and a brother who will always be my best partner in crime. Went to Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where I learned how to get onto various roofs and improvise aloo gobi in the Mighty Midwest.

I worked a spell as an editing intern for Look East Magazine, which means I got to go around Bangkok and eat crepes and drink beer and get massages and write about it.

I'm an INTP, but the I is secret (shhhhhh).

I have a year's experience playing various instruments in a Javanese gamelan ensemble.

I'm experimenting with wearing a different earring on each ear.

I love quests and scavenger hunts of all durations and proportions.

PHILOSOPHY

wild, savage production,
creation of the beautifully satisfying,
the aesthetically gratifying.
that which touches on what-we-cannot-name,
or that-which-once-named-is-no-longer.
(((the dao that can be named is not the dao)))

dynamicism.
reaching for brushes when we sense hot energies seething through the air.
seeking soulmates and sharing --chaotic visions--.
artistic ecstasy as design mechanism,
adding flourished curls to the angles of our consciousness,
of our table legs.
setting spirits free to frantic frolic in their own language,
giddy among their own alien flowers and fruit,
and consuming only that which fuels the journey.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I stayed with several hosts during my first two months in Bangkok and had extraordinarily positive experiences. It´s astounding how kind people are the world over. Similarly spectacular hosts in el Pais Vasco and Granada this past year.

When I got my own place set up in BKK, we collectively hosted a wide variety of surfers from all over the place. I think at one point we almost had more surfers than residents! One highlight involved a surfer turning up at midnight during a raucous party and immediately getting out his cello, which brought the party to a screaming halt and transformed it into a sublime private concert. You just never know with CS.

Interests

Masks, cameras, image-making and -destroying, branding, the Other.

Scuba diving and extensive knowledge of fish species identification and behavior.

Coffeecoffeecoffee.

Puns and shitty jokes, advertising, linguistics.

Lifting heavy things.

Branding, Lady Gaga sunglasses, leggings, clutches.

Chilaquiles, cumin, wine.

Creative writing, proofreading, blogging, anti-grammar-nazi-ism.

Dalí, lucid dreaming, internet, music videos, moviemaking.

Flashmobs, wall murals.

Conversation, what-ifs, possibilities, connections.

• fish
• writing
• design
• concerts
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• walking
• partying
• drinking
• flowers
• blogging
• music
• fishing
• scuba diving
• science
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

A smattering of movies: Sunshine, Young Frankenstein, 12 Angry Men, Dazed and Confused, El Crimen Ferpecto, Lola Rennt, The Jerk, There Will Be Blood, Mr. Nobody

A schmear of music: Sigur Rós, Explosions in the Sky, Beck, Rilo Kiley, Ratatat, the Blue Scholars, Neko Case, Miike Snow, Caribou, Mumford and Sons, Bonobo

A soupçon of authors: David Foster Wallace, Margaret Atwood, Dave Eggers, Milan Kundera, Michael Pollan, Miguel de Unamuno, Robert M. Pirsig

And a smidge of idiot box: Dexter, Lie to Me, Weeds, Arrested Development, Samurai Champloo, Pants Off Dance Off

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My second week on the Camino de Santiago, on the way in to Ponferrada, I remember getting absolutely drenched by torrential rains in the mountains at the highest point on the Camino, reaching the summit in dizzy ecstasy, casting my face to the grayed out sky and seeing an ultra-cyan sliver in the clouds gaze back at me, and feeling God or something like it. And not caring about Ponferrada, or Santiago, or graduation, or "what's next." And walking. And walking. And walking.

Teach, Learn, Share

cooking - I am a food fiend, and always learning. Teach me your kitchen and I'll teach you mine.

English language lessons, and basic Spanish as well - words are all we have to bridge the gaps from person to person. Nothing is ever translatable; nothing is ever untranslatable. Let's play in the space between, let's cavort with words.

dancing - I've been told that I dance like no one else. I've never seen a video so I don't know that that's true, but I will bring fiery movement to the dance floor, and probably wear something absurd too.

editing - I'm a whiz.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Belize, Costa Rica, France, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Spain, Thailand, Turks and Caicos Islands, Virgin Islands, British

Countries I’ve Lived In

Spain, Thailand, United States