CURRENT MISSION

to pursue life outside of a cubicle/office

ABOUT ME

After spending the last 2.5 years exploring the southwest corner of the US, discovering so many parts of the country that were new to me, I came back east and recently settled near my childhood home in St. Pete, FL. Prior to that long and wonderful road-trip I was privileged to live for 11 years in the vibrant city of Washington, DC and hold rewarding jobs in international and domestic education.

As much as I enjoyed those jobs in DC and other places, I yearned to have more control of my own life and spend more time being physically active outdoors. Now that I'm building a new life in St. Pete I'm making a concerted effort to earn income without getting a "job." So far I'm renting out a room in my house and doing some Ebay selling. Once my garden is established I hope to sell the produce and flowers I grow. I'm also open to other possibilities and continually read about side-hustle ideas and flex my creative, daydream, and entrepreneur muscles noodling over all of the options.....

PHILOSOPHY

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” ― George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman

practice gratitude

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I started Couchsurfing while I traveled out west. I stayed with numerous wonderful hosts, benefiting greatly from their hospitality, generosity, local knowledge, and friendship. I look forward to doing the same (when I can) for CSers coming to Tampa Bay.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I love connecting with people and almost always prefer to stay with friends (or friends of friends) than staying in a hotel when I travel. I'm much more likely to remember a shared dinner and stimulating conversation with a new friend at their apartment than I am the specifics about a hotel room in which I stayed.

Over the years I've crashed with numerous old and new friends in various countries across Europe and in the U.S. as well. I have used sites like hospitalityclub.org or been put in contact with others by my friends. One unforgettable couchsurf experience was when I showed up on the doorstep of a Polish Mariachi player (Tomek) living in Guadalajara at the recommendation of a good mutual friend of his from back in Poland, who hadn't had direct contact with him in quite some time. This was before the internet and email use were widespread and Tomek had no idea that I was on the way (let alone who I was). When I showed up at his door Tomek had been living in Mexico for at least five years and it took him a while to catch on that I was speaking Polish to him through the door. Eventually, he did open the door and I was able to explain everything. I crashed on his couch for a month and had a great time in Guadalajara.

I have also enjoyed hosting numerous friends, family, and friends of friends over the years at my place whenever I was living somewhere I could accommodate them.

Interests

travel, languages, edible gardening, exercise, yoga, Paleo/Primal lifestyle, books, movies, hiking, house-sitting, sharing economy, permaculture, kombucha brewing, fermenting

• books
• education
• cooking
• exercise
• yoga
• gardening
• movies
• traveling
• investing
• hiking
• teaching
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Music - Manaam, Joss Stone, Eddie Vedder, Frank Sinatra, James Taylor, Corinne Bailey Rae, India Arie

Books - On the Road, Americanah, Beautiful Ruins, Count of Monte Cristo, The 4 Hour Work Week, The Man Who Quit Money

Movies - Little Miss Sunshine, Into the Wild

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

As I write this, I am in Moab, Utah for the first time. This area is so much more amazing than I ever realized having lived mostly on the east coast and not heard too much about all the region offers. I'm in awe every day I walk out the door and take in the stunning red rock and blue skies that surround me.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can share:
permaculture/edible gardening
Paleo cooking
how to use house-sitting and work exchange websites to plan future vacations

I would love to learn:
alternative building skills
advanced permaculture skills
alternative/slow investing

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Lithuania, Malawi, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Virgin Islands, British

Countries I’ve Lived In

Poland, Spain, United States