CURRENT MISSION

the BEST is yet to come . . .joie de vivre. . . pa' la que sea

ABOUT ME

Grew up in Wisconsin. Slaughtered chicken to pay for school. Went to college out west. Didn't like the Seattle drizzle; escaped to study one year in Czech Republic (where I lost my heart but found delectable fried cheese). Took a job in Sun City/El Chuco. Fell in love with El Paso everything (daily bike riding without getting wet, the desert, Licon's famous asadero, the Mexican revolution, coronas on Alameda, drug war/immigration politics, limes, and Roscoe's, etc.). Went traveling to Sudamerica only to also fall in love with Colombia (again, the queso fresco, left-wing revolutions, limes, and drug war politics).

I love: pink flamingos, cheese, laughter, tea, visits with an old friend, singing terribly, and homemade beverages.

PHILOSOPHY

Do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast... a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for awhile and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: You will outlive the bastards. -Edward Abbey

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I think enlightenment is really just relishing what you have in life such as the simple things: a good laugh, a drink, a sunset, a smoke, watching baseball, etc.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Always guaranteed to meet the most incredible and inspiring people.

Interests

Bicycling, swimming, cooking, knitting, ML Baseball, walking, gardening, reading, recycling, writing, beer-brewing, wine-making, laughing, singing, dancing, playing in the rain, GBP football, motorcycling, camping, jewelry

• fish
• writing
• singing
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• cheese
• beer
• running
• walking
• drinking
• gardening
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• knitting
• cycling
• fishing
• camping
• baseball
• boxing
• soccer
• swimming
• history
• science
• language exchange
• rivers
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

The Allman Brothers Band

Fight Club

Catcher in the Rye

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Learning the meaning of hard work and compassion from slaughtering chicken with my fellow Mexican, undocumented coworkers, the salt of the earth!

Teach, Learn, Share

growing and cooking delectable food and beverages, knitting, language exchange, wellness and healthy living, enlightenment, philosophy, history, science, etc.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Colombia, Czech Republic, France, United States