CURRENT MISSION

To enjoy life, meet new people, and enjoy everything that Thailand has to offer, for as long as we stay here (it's been over 6 years!!)

ABOUT ME

Um - childhood introvert turned extrovert, ex-conservative turned more liberal with time, I've still got the soul of a geek (I do a lot of programming for money, soo...). I'm lazy when doing things I'm not exicted about, and I get excited about new things, new people, places... hmm.. I like good discussions - I'm opinionated, non-religious, generous and usually fun, I think (hmmm).

UPDATE: I've moved back to the United States, after almost 9 great years in Thailand (and about 4 months in Australia in there as well). I'm now ensconced in a great house near Portland, with my wife and my new son, so we won't be couch-surfing or hosting for awhile.

PHILOSOPHY

This is a damn good question to ask (kudos to whoever thought this up!). I'm not religious, although I was raised Christian. So my personal philosphy is part "do unto others", part "don't intentionally hurt people", and part hedonistic "if it feels good, and isn't hurting others than do it if you like".

I live my life for the new experiences, sights, people, and places that make up the journey. I'm not trying to get into Heavan - but I do feel some obligation to make the world a better place, even if it's just trying to feed some hungry kid in Kathmandu.

I genuinely feel that if everybody worried more about living their own life by their own principles and leading by example, rather than shoving their narrow interpretation of whichever writings they deem holy, we'd all be better off. Oh - and I think Humans should cooperate to explore and settle space.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

hmmm... I couch-surfed in Nepal, in 1999, when I met a local Nepalese (named Hari), in the town of Pokhara. He was leaving to travel to a small town in the terrai to visit his wife, and offered to take me along. We spent a night on the way at his parents farm, where they gave me a cot, and a meal of 'dal baat' (if you've ever been to India or Nepal, you know what that is, lol). His parents were so incredibly nice, and I had to stop them from continually apologizing for what they thought was "below" my standards or something. I enjoy meeting people who are not rich, actually, they're nicer. Update: We've had 5 people from this site stay on our couch (or guest room now), and they were all completely nice, and sort of reinforced our belief that most people are pretty nice!

Interests

Wow - trekking, travelling, other cultures, other cuisines (yum), yakking, books, politics, computers/technology/gadgets, diving (scuba), chilling with a beer.

• books
• make up
• beer
• politics
• technology
• traveling
• socializing
• surfing
• scuba diving

Music, Movies, and Books

Just read "The Trigger" (Arthur C. Clarke). We (Yui & I) both liked the LOTR trilogy (I've read the books also). I like dumb Adam Sandler movies, and even the sappy "Love Actually" was good. I should the classics but....

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Bermuda, Cambodia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Peru, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Thailand, United States