CURRENT MISSION

Get some new stories to tell.

ABOUT ME

Insomniac. Average height. Large vocabulary. Loquacious when intoxicated. Extrovert. Relatively congenial. One of seven brothers (middle in age, middle in height, second from bottom in coolness). One sister. Strange sense of humour. Good singing voice.

Powers: dissembling, charm, ankle tattoos, fluent swearing.

Weaknesses: girls with short hair, hypochondria, kryptonite (the cocktail AND the fragments of a dead planet).

PHILOSOPHY

"A little civility. A little kindness in a cold oul' world. It's the most we can hope for. The best we can do."
"You think?"
"I do."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

So far my CS participation is embarrassingly one-sided: I've been taking advantage of people's generosity all across the United States! When I get home and move into my own place in London I hope to start evening the score.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Thunderstorms and tattoos in NYC. Good food, ice hockey and book ideas in DC. Weird beers and air-basketball in Baltimore. Hikes and hammocks and hippies in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Warm days and long nights in Savannah. Rock climbing with supermodels in Birmingham, Alabama. Gigs, guitars and Greek food in Nashville. Speed running Legend of Zelda in Austin. Windfarms and blazing suns. Bridges and BBQs and getting burnt in Frisco. Ridiculous all-night bike rides in Portland. Getting stranded in Seattle, enjoying every second. Sunset on the Brooklyn Bridge on Independence Day. Everyone I met is welcome wherever I am. And I got the girl in the end. CS saved my life.

Interests

Reading, writing, meeting new people/ finding I get on better with the old people than previously thought, trying to be interesting on my blog, trying to be interesting generally, naked flames, poetry, films with explosions in, ultimate frisbee, running, science that isn't too complicated, dance music/raves, eating at the roadside, listening to people get enthused, video games, my enormous family, sleeping during the day.

• writing
• books
• poetry
• singing
• tattoos
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• cocktails
• running
• partying
• raves
• movies
• video games
• reading
• blogging
• music
• dance music
• cycling
• hiking
• basketball
• rock climbing
• hockey
• languages
• science
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

McCarthy, Steinbeck, Sebald. Faulks. Westerns, 'Cold Mountain,' 'American Gods' and TKAM. 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.' James Salter. Gumshoe fiction. 'Y: The Last Man.' Movies with lots of flynning, 'The Empire Strikes Back,' 'True Romance,' 'Serenity,' 'O Brother Where Art Thou.' I like breakbeat, dubstep, disco and filthy electro to dance to, and Imogen Heap, Jamie T and Barenaked Ladies to sit around to.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I dived the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior (the Greenpeace ship that the French secret service sank) off Matuari Bay in New Zealand. There was a big ol' lionfish in one of the corridors.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can read palms, I'm a pretty good cook (I've worked in kitchens my whole life), I'm good at remembering stories (especially myths), I take good photos and I'm either an incredible or a terrible dancer (I'll let you decide). I like finding out new urban legends (the ones about funny parties and embarrassing sexcapades, not the ones about murdered teenagers), learning new esoteric words in English and other languages (especially slang), and borrowing people's experiences wholesale to put in my own writing (I ask permission, mostly).

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Croatia, France, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Serbia, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom

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