CURRENT MISSION

Making the most of being a weekend warrior in one of the greatest playgrounds on the planet. (Southwestern BC)

ABOUT ME

If you asked my best friends about me...

They would say that I´m never home because I am always off having adventures, either traveling or living in far away places. I believe you should work to live rather than live to work. So I typically try to spend as much time having fun and as little time working as possible.

PHILOSOPHY

I try to live my life in such a way that if I was to die tomorrow. I would do so completely satisfied with the life I have led. I think life is more or less meaningless so we need to have as much fun and create as much joy as possible in the world before we go. I am also a pretty impatient person for this reason and hate delaying fun or the enjoyment of life with arduous tasks such as working... it's a delicate balance.

Life is short, eat dessert first. -Anonymous

This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time. -Chuck Palanhiuck via Tyler Durden

You're a long time dead. -Barry McEwen 1940-2005

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I used couchsurfing a little bit in Canada before I really discovered its potential in Brazil, where it enabled me to meet a ton of cool people and become active in groups that I would have never otherwise have found. My experience there would not have been nearly as culturally enriching were it not for the people I met on CS.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

To me, couchsurfing is a tool for intimate social interaction and learning. Getting to know people and places and establishing direct connections that don't occur through our typical commercial exchange relationships. It's about going some place new and already having a good friend be excited to see you.

Interests

Any physical activity that gets me outdoors, away from the cities and into the mountains, hills, lakes, rivers, forests, plains, oceans, islands and all of the other wonderful natural phenomena, big and small, that the earth has to offer.

This includes but is not limited to: skiing, hiking, backpacking, climbing, surfing, mountain biking, camping, canoeing, kayaking, swimming in the sea, etc.

• boating
• traveling
• guitar
• piano
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• canoeing
• kayaking
• camping
• mountaineering
• surfing
• skiing
• rock climbing
• swimming
• economics
• lakes
• rivers
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I am especially fond of Movies and Music. Books take a long time and I don´t always have the attention span for them.
Music, including but not limited to:
The Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, The Barenaked Ladies, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, The Band, 54-40, Matthew Good, Coeur de Pirate, and other similarly awesome Canadian artists. As well as the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the early Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Tom Waits etc. etc. etc. As well as too many Soul and Rythm and Blues artists to mention.

Movies: Mostly Hollywood as well as some documentaries. I´m a sucker for the big directors like Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, James Cameron, Riddley Scott, Christopher Nolan etc.

Books: I´m a fan of the classics. Dickens, Tolstoy, Hemingway, etc. Because if you´re going to invest the hours and hours it takes to read a book, you´d better make sure it´s going to be worth your while. Life is short!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Of course there are far too many to mention. Recent examples include:

Seeing the Monte Fitz Roy Massif in Argentina
Seeing the Southern Icefields in Torres del Paine Chile

A couple of my favourite "awestruck" moments are from home sweet home, the West coast of Canada:

Once I was on a friend's boat off the coast of Campbell River on Vancouver Island BC and we happened to bump into a pod of Orcas! We followed them for almost an hour (keeping our distance of course) just watching them cruise down the Salish Sea (Straight of Georgia).

Another one is ANYTIME I see the northern lights (aurora borealis) which has happened exactly 3 times in my life. Once in the aforementioned Campbell River, once in Squamish BC, on a climbing trip and once in Invermere, BC.

P.S. If you need a guarantee of awestruck-ness head just north of the aforementioned Squamish BC along the Sea-to-Sky highway (itself very awesome) to Garibaldi Provincial park. Check out Panorama Ridge and the Black Tusk. If anyone ever surfs with me in Vancouver in summer, I insist we go!

Teach, Learn, Share

Economics, anyone? ... No takers? ... Really? Okay wanna learn to belay? Practice French? Or take care of your bicycle?

I taught English as a second language for 6 months in Brazil so I can also teach anyone English.

Other things I have experience with and would love to show someone how to do:
-Speak english
-Ski
-Climb/belay
-Basic Bicycle maintenance

Things I would love to have someone teach me:
-Speak/write in French
-Ski-tour/ski-mountaineer
-Alpine climb
-Advanced bicycle maintenance
-Play guitar/piano

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Chile, France, Morocco, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, Canada, New Zealand

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