CURRENT MISSION

To explore this great big world to see what kind of magic is possible.

ABOUT ME

I make movies, write songs and poetry, hula hoop, dance, sing karaoke, play dress-up, read books... I love to ride bikes and hang out with interesting people. I am funny, silly and lively, but also serious and insightful. I do my best to walk with my head up and my heart forward with love, integrity, compassion, grace and gratitude. And, like all humans (if we can just realize it), I am a conduit of light and love for all life on this planet and any other planet to which I may travel.
This is how you get to my house: https://www.facebook.com/1754065928171622/videos/1817412111837003/

PHILOSOPHY

LOVE is Liberation from Oppression and Violence Everywhere, which on a personal level means liberation from the oppression of the mind and violence of one's thoughts.

My actions are my only true belongings.

I am a filmmaker, most recently making promos for various local businesses or music videos for local bands. I'm good at what I do, and with every project, I get better and then I get more work and then I get better and then ad infinitum, I become a better filmmaker, and it builds on itself.

Life is mysterious. I was just complaining the other day that while it would be great if for once life would just throw me a straight shot, I am getting rather good at hitting these curveballs out of the park and maybe a straight shot would be a little bit boring anyway. To more fully mix my metaphors, I have found that the most rewarding experiences I've had in my life happen when I take that leap of faith, knowing that I can do my most spectacular trapeze act and land on the other side sure-footed, all without the safety net. Everything falls into place (blah blah blah), but sometimes that falling sensation can be really fucking scary. It's terrifying and exhilarating and you never know what could happen, so just move on your life path with your head up, your heart forward and your eyes open.

2016 was a difficult, but incredibly transformative year for me. My dad died just before Christmas 2015 and that sucked, but it also gave me a completely different new shift in perspective (that I could express to you with a gesture and a vocal sound effect). Then, my feline companion for the last 19 years (and my entire adult life), Ewok Gołąbki Principessa RIP, passed away this summer - she was a really rad kitty and she was really old. I don't tell you this for your sympathy, but rather to illuminate the depth of my experience. Grief has transformative effects and now I feel in many ways like I've walked through the fire and come out stronger -- like tempered steel.

I'm an atheist who was raised Hindu and baptized Catholic ("just in case"), but I do know: what's the best way to make God laugh? Want to tell God a joke and give him/her/it a really good belly-roll chuckle? Make plans! I had a whole plan. When a trip to Europe, my love life, my work plans and my entire idea of what I was going to be doing for the remainder of 2016 came tumbling down and thrown out the window, I found myself with a ticket to go any where in the world that my heart desires (or actually wherever American Airlines flies) AND the time and space (if not a whole lot of money) to travel. My mom lives in India and I needed my mama big time. So, I decided maybe to go West as far as possible until I get home. I can see this as an opportunity to go on an even bigger, more amazing adventure than I ever thought possible.
So, last year was a doozy! Holy shit! When my dad died, the shift in my perspective was an audible click, my tolerance for any BS went straight out the window and toxic relationships ended. It was a hard time.
and then an upswing where everything was freaking amazing. I was swept off my feet... and then dropped... from a very high place. Everything fell apart again (oh, plans... sigh), but I ended up in India!
but then Donald fucking Trump was elected fucking president and I don't know when we're gonna stop living in a horrific surreal cartoon, but it really makes me want to cuss.
So, 2016 was really just a series of cycles of getting rolled. It was arguably one of the worst years of my life, but also one of the best as it laid the foundation for ultimate transformation and in many ways has me feeling very blessed. I mean, I'm in India, and now I'm going to spend as much time as I can afford in Europe on my way back home to New Mexico.
The story is that I had this ticket to anywhere that American Airlines flies because I was going to go to Holland and a week before I was leaving, Dutch boyfriend said, "I don't want to do it." The next day the video gig that I had lined up for my return to New Mexico fell through. So, I was suddenly boyfriendless and jobless with nothing but time and a plane ticket.
And, I wanted my mama something fierce. She has been living in India for a few years now and I hadn't seen her since long before my dad died. It was time to visit mom.
Because the ticket that I had couldn't get me all the way to Delhi, but it could get me to Hong Kong or Sydney or... my original plan was to go to Australia, visit a really great old friend and then buy a cheap ticket from Perth to India. Then, fly home from Delhi through Hong Kong using the remainder of my American Airlines ticket for the last leg.
During this time, when I'm arranging visas and such, I ran into an old friend of mine, Pedro, who was super involved in the Native American Church, very spiritually inclined -- somewhat of an intuitive, empathic, clairvoyant type person who fancied himself a shaman, but walked his talk for the most part. He was a pretty cool guy.
We chatted for a bit. I said my line about plans, and he said in his thick Spanish accent (he was from Mexico), "I don't know why am telling you this or where this is coming from, but I think you need to go to Spain."
I was like,🙄 "Oh, really? 😏Spain? Where in Spain?🤔"
Then, he replied with great gusto, "Málaga!"
"Is that a place?" I asked while grabbing the atlas.
So, I decided to go to Spain, and then if I can afford it, travel around Europe a bit to visit family in Belgium, friends in Germany, and maybe do a Scandinavian tour on my way home.
Here's a funny (weird, not haha) addendum to that story: my friend, Pedro, fucking died while I was in Australia. So, now I feel like he's another one along with my father, my grandparents, a few other friends who recently died, and Princess Leia, George Michael, Prince and Bowie all watching out for me on my travels.
I want to spend a lot of time in Barcelona and then maybe go to Andalucìa for a few and then back to Barcelona before heading north. I've been taking this time (or at least trying to) to work on three different feature screenplays that have been percolating in my head for the past few years, and I so look forward to going and parking my ass in Parc Güell or wherever with my work. Also, I know that Barcelona is home to a number of decent public pools. I love to swim laps, and the swimming is lacking in India. So, I've been dying to have a swim every other day or as often as possible while I'm there.
The only way I'm thinking I'm going to be able to tromp around Europe for as long as I'm hoping is by using the CouchSurfing community. It's pretty amazing. It worked out really well in Australia.
I first joined Couchsurfing to become a host and I hosted a few people, but then I moved and didn't have a guest bedroom anymore. Anyhow, I stayed with a few different people in Sydney and in Melbourne, and it was awesome. I met people who I'm sure I will keep as lifelong friends. Truly, a series wonderful experiences. So, I'm hoping that works out for my European travels, as well. I'm hesitant to ask to stay in any one place for longer than 3 to 5 days, because, I think I will start to feel like an imposition, whether it's a friend's place or through CouchSurfer.
I am quite grateful that I have this opportunity to travel, because, many people between the time they're born and when they die never ever have an opportunity like the one with which I have been blessed.
I don't have a kid. I don't have a cat. I don't have a mortgage. I don't have a marriage. I am as free as I may ever be. And I have just enough money, I hope, to maybe actually pull this off.
So, yes, financial considerations are certainly a part of why I am utilizing the couchsurfing community, because, I do think I can pull this off, but really just barely. Also, it's definitely a better way to get to know a place. I feel like I may end up being kind of lonely after a while just staying in hotels by myself. This is an awesome way to meet locals and to get an insider's perspective.
So, I'm setting my sails to the wind, and other than that I'm landing in Barcelona on May 8 with some far-off plan to try to be home in America (oh golly gee! oh boy!) by early-ish July, I have no other plans. I have no idea where I'm going to land, or what. I figure, when a shaman tells you to go to Spain, why not? So, Málaga, here I come. But, with so many other places in between and after.
My grandmother once told me her secret to longevity: always keep your friends around you and never stop making new friends. It seemed to work for her. She died at the nicely elderly age of 94 with a huge community of friends and family around her.
I'm excited about meeting new people and making new friends! We can commiserate on the damage being done to my "democracy" and our world by the vulgar talking Cheeto-in-Chief and his cronies. But, there is so much good happening in this world, too. And, those discussing these things are such better conversations.
I recently reread a fake Einstein quotation:
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.”
I like it. While I understand the argument against a false dichotomy presented in a statement like that (which Einstein did not say), still miracles happen every day. It's all about what you look for, anyway. If you look for the horrible in people, you will definitely find it. But if you look for the good, you'll usually find that more easily. Synchronicity happens, friends. All the time. My orthodox Atheist friend, Tobias, would say that miracles don't exist, nevertheless, mathematically there is still a 1 in 300 billion chance that any of us exist at all, so… Miracles? Coincidence? Luck? Who cares!

So, here's to every day miracles! Hopefully, I'll see you soon.

P.S. If you actually read this whole (ridiculously long) introduction, then let me know by using a sentence with the phrase '300 billion'.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have both hosted a few people and been graciously hosted, as well. I love it! I have met super cool people whose friendship continues to enrich my life.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've met a variety of interesting people; from my European younglings to the NY poet and my new friends in Oz, everyone has been lovely and interesting.

Interests

"To understand just one life, you have to swallow the whole world." Salman Rushdie, "Midnight's Children"

• arts
• books
• poetry
• singing
• dancing
• movies
• karaoke
• philosophy
• religion
• tai chi

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

TWO of the many amazing things… I created a religion at Burning Man -- The Onamish Church. I slept on the luggage rack of a third class train from Gorakpur to Varnasi when I was 13-years-old.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Smiling and laughter are contagious 💖

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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