CURRENT MISSION

Eating and drinking well above my social station.

ABOUT ME

Living in Angouleme, France this year, working as an English teacher before we (Natalie & me) move to New York City next year.

I wish that was still true. Moved from Angouleme to Budapest and wound up in Newark, NJ. I work in Manhattan, though, at a coffee bar called Ninth Street Espresso.

PHILOSOPHY

There are too many funny things on the internet to worry too much.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Meeting people. Never had a bad time out with the folks from couchsurfing, whether a quick cup of coffee in a cafe in their home city, to a weekend on my couch.

We're trying to adjust to being back in America. In the New Year, we're going to travel more in the US.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Not enough. Moar please!

Interests

Finding, learning about, cooking, and eating all the foods of the world. Mostly world-class coffees, cheeses, and wines. Those are the things that get most of my last nickels.

• cooking
• wine
• coffee
• drinking
• traveling
• socializing
• cycling
• snorkeling
• swimming
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

I'll read anything, and with any sort of luck, eventually I'll get close.

My shortlist
Roddy Doyle
Roberto Bolano
John Fante
Louis-Ferdinand Celine
David Foster Wallace
Cormac McCarthy
and so forth...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Swimming in the mating grounds of the leopard sharks in San Diego during their mating season in late August. Surrounded by a thousand sharks, snorkeling and floating in the waves with them. If you ever have the chance, don't miss it.

Teach, Learn, Share

I recently returned from a cycling trip in the rariefied airs of Medoc country, home of the most prestigeux Bordeaux wines. I learned the following expressions:

Castel Pif: any cheap bottle of wine can be called this, essentially meaning "Chateau Whatever"
Chateau L'Pompe: a bottle of tap water
a deck-chair summer: when life is good and easy