I'm a Denver-based software engineer, educator, and musician. I live with my wife in a little apartment in Capitol Hill, just outside of downtown.

I fill my days writing, baking bread, and playing music. I play the banjo, ukulele, and guitar. If it's a nice day, you'll probably find me outside riding my bike, running, hiking, or just laying in the park with a notebook or a ukulele.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Because the best part of travelling is the people you meet along the way. To really know a place, you have to get to know the people that live there.

My travels have been enriched time and time again by the locals that I've met. I want to meet more people, and I want to give folks passing through my city the best experience that I can.

Interests

I'm a very active person. I love to run, swim, hike. Whatever. As long as it's outdoors and in the sunshine, I'll try it!

I'm also a musician and singer-songwriter. I travel with an ukulele and I'll play just about anything, but more recently I've fallen in love with jazz standards. If you like to sing, we'll be good friends.

• books
• singing
• theater
• dancing
• running
• movies
• live music
• folk music
• hiking
• backpacking
• trail running
• teaching
• travel
• ukulele
• storytelling
• museums
• songwriting
• banjo
• paddleboarding
• bad jokes

Music, Movies, and Books

Folk music, bluegrass, swanky jazz from the 1950s. I also really like electro-swing, but only if it's done tastefully: I need a little bit more than Louis Armstrong's "It's a Wonderful World" with a techno beat laid over it.

For movies: I'm a sucker for a good action movie, but I'll watch and enjoy just about anything.

Books: I read mostly non-fiction. I love reading about history, and natural sciences.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 2017, my wife Kate and I quit our jobs, sold everything that we owned, and bought one-way tickets to New Zealand. We crossed the South Island by foot on the Te Araroa trail. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, and it made me the person that I am today.

Highlights from the trip include:
- Surviving on lentils and couscous for three months
- Understanding what it *actually* means to be filthy
- Getting stranded in a hut the size of a woodshed for four days because of flash flooding with only each other and a crazed Dutchman for company
- Experiencing a kind of quiet like nothing I'd ever known before

Oh, and once I was on a reality TV dating show. It's a good story 😁

Teach, Learn, Share

I've been teaching on and off for years. Mostly Math and English, but I've done private music lessons too. I've also taught a bunch of people how to write software, both little kids and adults.

I can also teach you how to cook, how to bake bread, how to use a map + compass, or coach you on running.

I can also teach you a freaky amount about whales.

What I Can Share with Hosts

- Help with chores around the house
- A joke, a story, or some live music on demand
- A home-cooked meal or a loaf of fresh bread

Countries I’ve Visited

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Canada, Dominican Republic, England, France, Israel, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States