CURRENT MISSION

find the perfect cupcake?

ABOUT ME

I hate these boxes. I hate making an obvious plug for me, "Hey! I'm cool! You want to meet me!" I am not cool. I'm nice. I'm friendly. I like something like 98% of the human species, which I think is sort of rare. I would probably like you, and think that you are really cool, and I'd want to hear your stories and take your picture and be friends for realz - maybe keep in touch, send you postcards. If you want to know more about me, I'm on facebook, and I have a blog, and a vimeo channel. I'd be happy to hook you up with any and all of that. I have no secrets.

Just read my profile. Can I just say that I am not as, I dunno, NICE, not as hollowly sweet, not as empty and dull as this all makes me sound? I mean, I am generally a happy positive person I suppose. But I am a real person.

PHILOSOPHY

My religion? Keep an open heart.

My politics? Act in love.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm a surfer. I don't really have a place to offer right now, though I would really like to someday. But surfing has been great. I have gotten to meet some really cool people. And I think that surfers do help their hosts out too, because one of the best ways to look at your home in a fresh light is to show it to someone new. I'm about to set off on a new adventure, crossing an ocean for the first time, going to a foreign land. And I am hopeful that I'll meet many fellow couchsurfers, and that what we have in common - a desire to see the world and to get to know it's people - will make the rest seem a little less alien.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I hit the road last fall and drove up the US east coast, sometimes sleeping in my car and sometimes couchsurfing. I found couchsurfing a great way to meet new people, and to get to know a community from the inside.

I got to know Rome, GA, from the perspective of Matt Echols - where to eat and where to get shaved ice. And I was able to show him something new about his own community, as he accompanied me to a film festival he didn't even know was happening.

I saw Roanoke with Julia, learned about her job in risk analysis and her interest in fungi. I was able to meet a few of her friends, also couchsurfers, and to enjoy the great sense of community they share, which is really refreshing after some time on the road alone.

My favorite experience though was Philly. My first night there and I was already at a rec-league softball game with a bunch of residents. My last night there we had an innercity campfire at a state park. Because I was with locals, I learned how to order a real Philly cheesesteak, where to drink, and where to just hang out.

My experience with couchsurfing is that it personalizes the world in a way that a guidebook never can.

Interests

People. Places. Oceans. Rain. Bubbles. Music. Stories. Coffee. Wine. Paper. Ink. Fotos. Moments. Memories. Friends. Love. Hope.

• festivals
• wine
• coffee
• drinking
• politics
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• surfing
• softball
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

I like 90% of everything, which I have been told makes me un-discerning, because apparently that's about the percentage of everything that sucks. But I can almost always find some redeemable quality. Some great line in a terrible movie, you know? I love books and music and movies, but I have a terrible memory for names of songs, and albums, and bands, and writers, and actors, and producers. If you want to know if I know what you're talking about, you'll have to elaborate. Which is fun. Makes the conversation longer, gives it structure.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I lived in my car for six weeks, traveling the east coast alone. Happiest I've ever been. Hardest thing I've ever willingly done.

Countries I’ve Visited

United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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