ABOUT ME

I love reading, discussing (and sometimes arguing about) almost anything, traveling, and people with open minds and big ideas. My sense of humor tends towards the goofy and the absurd, and I always appreciate a good story.

I neither smoke nor do drugs, but I enjoy sharing an occasional drink with friends, whether new or old.

PHILOSOPHY

"The spark of life is not gain. Nor is it luxury. The spark of life is movement. Color. Love. And furthermore, if you really want to enjoy life, you must work quietly and humbly to realize your delusions of grandeur."
-A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin

“If the road isn’t getting steeper every minute, watch out, because you’ve already started to head downhill.”

"Neither look for nor expect gratitude but rather get whatever comfort you can out of the belief that your effort is constructive in purpose."
-Winston Churchill

"The difference between classes of men is that the vast majority remember youth as their glory, and the tiniest fraction, in escaping a life of drudgery and increasing difficulty, finds something even better."
-A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin

"I'm just telling you that the intellect is of no use unless it's disciplined by the mortification of the flesh, so that it may serve the soul."
-A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Once I get settled, I'd love to host people!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

None so far, but have spent lots of time living with families and in hostels in Russia!

Interests

Everything Russian, finance, everything outdoors, traveling, geology, news, etc.

• coloring
• drinking
• news
• reading
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• geology
• military science

Music, Movies, and Books

Crime and Punishment, Gattaca, Big Fish, Brazil, Zardoz (lol), books by Mark Helprin, Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and let me think of some more :).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Going to a stream fed village banya in Russia's Mari El republic and sharing a traditional holiday meal with a local family.