CURRENT MISSION

Be present.

ABOUT ME

Totally nice, passionately creative guy.

Into making the world a better place (through art, humor, community, environmentalism, whatever.) Clean and sober 19 years. Burner. Gay. Volunteer a lot.

Sometimes throw people off being such a nice guy with a slightly dark sense of humor.

PHILOSOPHY

“It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how
the strong man stumbles,
or where the doer of deeds
could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man
who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust
and sweat and blood,
who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short
again and again;

because there is not effort
without error and shortcomings;

but who does actually strive to do the deed;

who knows the great enthusiasm,
the great devotion,

who spends himself in a worthy cause,
who at the best knows in the end
the triumph of high achievement
and who at the worst,
if he fails,
at least he fails while daring greatly.

So that his place shall never be
with those cold and timid souls
who know neither victory nor defeat.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I can't wait to give travelers a special tour of the Mission District. I love this city, but I love my neighborhood even more. Give me an afternoon, I will show you the most authentic bohemian in this part of the world.

We'll get a world famous Mission burrito, a slice of Mission Pie, unbelievable coffee - brewed one cup at a time, the pirate supply store, our famous murals, funky quirky shops, vintage shops. Damn. I love my 'hood.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

None yet. It's time to take a trip!

Interests

A day without my bike is a day without sunshine.
Slow Food. Locally grown and seasonal.
Keepin it green.

• arts
• dining
• coffee
• shopping
• cycling
• camping
• scuba diving
• swimming
• volunteering
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Documentaries are my favorite.
Pandora.com for music (I just type in Rufus Wainwright, The Killers, Imogen Heap - anything)
I'm reading "The River of Doubt." But one of my favorites was "Devil in the White City."

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- Swimming in (glowing) phosphorescent Bay at night in the Caribbean.
- Swimming to Water Island, eating wild lemons and cliff diving.
- Exploring an abandoned resort hotel on Hassel Island.
- Mountain biking through Old Growth rain forest in Puerto Rico.
- Founded the GLBT student group at my university in rural Texas in 1991. It's still there. I went to speak there just last year.
- Owned a bike shop near the beach in Puerto Rico.
- I rode my bike from Minnesota to Chicago (500+ miles in 6 days).
- I won Silver for the US of A in an international mountain biking competition in Sydney, Australia.
- I founded a clean and sober Burning Man theme camp (which is where 50+ people have lived for a week in the Black Rock Desert).
- Raced for an all bike messenger racing team.
- Got bike lanes striped in "Boystown", Chicago.

Oops. I just noticed this is supposed to be ONE amazing thing. Does that sound braggy?

Teach, Learn, Share

When you visit, I will share historical context about my city and the Mission District.

And I can teach you to hula hoop too.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Netherlands, United States, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

Puerto Rico, United States, Virgin Islands, U.S.