CURRENT MISSION

To learn what is my own unique gift to the world, and to help others to express their own

ABOUT ME

Most people are ignorant of a lot of things. Including me. But all of us have some knowledge and or wisdom to offer other people. We can either do this through good or bad works/examples.

Fundamentally, I want my life to be a service to such things as Justice and Love. In defining these, I hope to work with others in achieving our unique contributions to the world.

I love cooking, making people laugh, dancing (even if it isn't that great), and generally putting a smile on someone's face. Of course, I'm not going to make everyone happy.. and wouldn't want to either.

One of my favorite quotations:

"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom." - Nelson Mandela

PHILOSOPHY

I think my personal philosophy can be garnered through a few of my favorite quotations.

"But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls."

- Kahlil Gibran, "The Prophet"

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"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential." - Barack Obama

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"It is the fight between tiger and elephant. If the tiger stands his ground, the elephant will crush him with its mass. But, if he conserves his mobility, he will finally vanquish the elephant, who bleeds from a multitude of cuts." - Nguyá»

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I surfed my way through Washington D.C. and the East Coast of the U.S. I have also had some great CS encounters in Vietnam.

In 2009-2010, I was occasionally able to help CS Central in the Bay Area with immigration issues. Karma is super important in the balance of things.

As I continue to surf and now have a great couch, I look forward to hosting surfers!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My CS experience began on a sour note, through a friend's unfortunate adventure... however my own CS experiences have been nothing but enlightening. I have thoroughly been blessed to meet people who have a strong sense of hope and trust in others, in this world.

Intereses

Traveling, Social justice activism, environmental design, entrepreneurship, technology and the science of small things, scholarship, writing and enlightenment, pharmacology, political economy, football, the outdoors, exercise, healthiness, cognac and now IPAs, public space, urban agriculture and journalism. Also a sucker for cooking, classical music meets hip hop or metal and extreme bouts of nerdiness.

• writing
• design
• film making
• dancing
• cooking
• exercise
• technology
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• classical music
• outdoor activities
• soccer
• agriculture
• business
• entrepreneurship
• journalism
• languages
• law
• science

Música, películas y libros

Music: I'm pretty eclectic. I listen to mostly classical, hip-hop/R&B, bhangra, rock and roll, Latin dance and catchy pop.

Books: In No Particular Order: From the Mississippi Delta, Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, Pharmako Trilogy (Pendell), The Black Jacobins, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Las Venas Abiertas de America Latina, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, A People's History Of The United States, Big Boy Rules, One Hundred Years Of Solitude, The 7 habits of Highly Effective People, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, The Prophet, Jesus of Nazareth (Gibran), Pathologies of Power, Watership Down, Heir to the Empire Trilogy, Othello, Of Mice And Men, Democracy in America (Tocqueville), The Audacity Of Hope, The Worldly Philosophers (Heilbroner), How the Mind Works, Phantoms in the Brain, The Wealth of Nations, Marx-Engels Reader, Harriet the Spy, The Green Mile, The Lost World, Robinson Crusoe, Out of Poverty, The God Of Small Things

Movies: In no particular order... The Star Wars trilogy, The Godfather Trilogy, Gladiator, LOTR trilogy, Matrix (the first one), Romeo and Julieta (Luhrmann), Fight Club, 25th hour.. anything with Edward Norton, which reminds me of "Do the Right Thing" and "Crookland" - Spike Lee kicks ass. Man Tarrantino also has knows his shit. Pulp Fiction says it all, Face Off, Snatch, Road to perdition, Gangs of NY, Pirates Trilogy, Old School, Ace Ventura, Eternal Sunshine, Go Indiana, go! Any thing with Jet Li or Chow Yun Fat or Michelle Yo, Bruce Lee, Ong Bak/the protector.. Waking Life and Hotel Rwanda (though inaccurate), Schindler's list, Y Tu mama tambien, Amores Perros, stuff by Almodovar, Diarios de la motocicleta, Abre los ojos, Habana Blues, Mar Adentro, Machuca, Ciudad de Dios, Mua Oi, L'Indochine, Amelie, Red/Blue/White

Algo increíble que he hecho

Couch Surfed for almost a year while working in the U.S. Congress in Washington D.C.

Enseña, aprende, comparte

Teach/Share:

1. Asian-fusion cuisine on a tight budget and for beginners

2. Political Economy - classical or contemporary, or I can regale you with my thoughts/limited knowledge of how the U.S. House of Representatives functions, having worked there for 9 months.

3. (some) immigration legal thoughts --not legal advice-- (mostly employment/temporary)

4. Want to know about Hollywood and the business of independent filmmaking? Have a desire to watch a movie with someone trained to dissect every shot? I'll do my best!

Learn:

1. Languages. I love learning any and relish the challenge at improving my Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin.

2. Music. If you have a djembe, Bongos, or any other African percusian and want to jam, lets do it.

3. Middle Eastern cooking - my falafel and hoummus skills can only get me so far! I need to learn more from scratch. Boxed stuff might suffice, but scratch is always from the heart.

Países que he visitado

Algeria, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, England, France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Scotland, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, Wales

Países en los que he vivido

Ecuador, United States, Viet Nam

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