CURRENT MISSION

Enjoying Scotland...

ABOUT ME

I'm a 35-year-old white guy, a bachelor, straight (but not homophobic, so if you're GLBT it isn't a problem), personable though perhaps a bit pretentious. I've worked in the corporate world for the last eight years, but I've had my fill and am in the process of getting rid of most of my stuff and intend to set off as a digital-vagabond writer/political activist in September of this year (2008). I'll be starting off in Europe, for about a year and a half at least; after which I'll probably be heading off for Asia where I suspect I'm more marketable. But the whole idea is to leave myself open to whatever opportunities that I find (or create), so it is impossible to say how things will work out.

PHILOSOPHY

I'm an enthusiastic empirical Atheist that firmly believes that this life is all there is on an individual level, so it is important to get as much out of it as you can.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Until September 2008, I hosted in Denver but now that I'm traveling, surfing. I also like to pop in on CS group events when I happen to be in the right place at the right time.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

As of 15 June 2011, I've hosted several times in Denver and in Scotland and surfed in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Italy and Romania. Otherwise, I have attended many CS events in different places to meet people and have fun.

Interests

Extremely eclectic, though it leans more toward the intellectual.

POLITICS: I'm a passionate democratic socialist, actively involved in the local anti-war and pro-Palestinian movements; as well as other related movements to a lesser degree: Fair Trade, pro-immigrant, anti-racist, &c.

NIGHTLIFE: Clubbing (Psy/Goa trance, trance, breakbeat, Afrobeat, world, & gothic); Electronic music festivals, new music shows (synthpop, industrial, breakcore, dubstep, experimental, &c.); the occasional art opening, opera, ballet or punk rock show. Or drinking almost anywhere :)

INTELLECTUAL: The Israel/Palestine conflict, South African history, ancient Roman history, macroeconomics and theory, U.S. militarism/imperialism, and so on.

• arts
• writing
• music festivals
• festivals
• ballet dancing
• working out
• nightlife
• drinking
• clubbing
• politics
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• electronic music
• opera
• surfing
• atheism
• freelancing
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Just a small sampling:

Movies: The City of Lost Children, Richard III (with Ian McKellen), Brazil, Wild At Heart, Titus Andronicus (with Anthony Hopkins), Fire Walk With Me, True Romance, The Professional, Elizabeth (w/ Cate Blanchett), 12 Monkeys, THX-1138, Blue Velvet, The Life of Brian, Last Exit to Brooklyn, ...

Music: Incredibly eclectic, I could go on and on here... Just about everything except hip-hop, country, and Dixieland Jazz. I have some 40 gigs of music I travel with, so if you want something, let me know.

Books: Again extremely eclectic, though as far as fiction is concerned I have a penchant for historical fiction and short story anthologies. However, don't let that mislead you, I read a lot, both fiction and non-fiction.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm not sure what to put here, but I do know my topics reasonably well (see "Interests" above). On the practical side, I know a bit about website construction and maintenance (HTML, PHP, Java, &c.), printing, writing (in English), and other odds and ends. By the way, I am also a certified TEFL and freelance writer, so if you have any language/grammar questions I can probably help.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Ireland, Romania, United Kingdom, United States

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