CURRENT MISSION

see cool places, meet interesting people, learn new stuff

ABOUT ME

I'm from the USA but have been living in Britain since 1997. I'm pretty much a subtlety-free zone; let me know what's on your mind and don't worry about giving offense. I'd rather know than not know, and if I do know, I can adapt. I have a seriously warped sense of humor; the only way to keep me from making puns is to make me speak an unfamiliar language. My idea of a great party has lots of good food and interesting people to talk to in one room and a dance floor in the other; since I am naturally strange, I have no alcohol-soluble inhibitions. I'm not sure where life is taking me at the moment, but I'm hoping to learn how to enjoy the trip!

PHILOSOPHY

The only constant in life is change. You can either glory in it or be swamped by it; you can't avoid it. In the final analysis, all we know for sure is that we're here. Since we're here, we should do things so we don't get bored. As long as what we do to avoid boredom doesn't hurt anyone, we're doing OK.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm looking for a house right now so I can invite cool people to stay again!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I was stranded in Portland, OR after flying up from Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots in 1992. I ended up sleeping at the house of my best friend's new girlfriend, whom he had only been dating for about 2 months and who had never met me, or even heard of me. I had called my friend when I knew I was going to be stuck and he called her and arranged for her to come get me from the airport, where 2 of her friends had just flown in from San Francisco. I met her friends and instantly clicked with them, to the point where I eventually ended up being housemates with them. It worked out quite well!

Interests

anthropology, bathroom graffiti, brain chemistry, consciousness, dance, foreign languages, history, marine biology, music, reading (lots!), rubber chickens, science fiction, scuba diving (want to learn!), self-improvement, shamanism, spirituality, snorkelling, surfing, swimming, trauma and recovery, travel, twisted humor, walking

• chickens
• dancing
• dining
• walking
• partying
• flying
• boating
• reading
• traveling
• music
• surfing
• scuba diving
• sports
• swimming
• anthropology
• biology
• chemistry
• history
• languages
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: alternative with punk and metal influences, some trance/ambient, folk/world music, classical

books: lots of science fiction, history, historical fiction, travel writing, science writing...

movies: Contact, You Can't Take it With You, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've sat in a boat in the Georgia Straits on the longest day of the year listening to killer whales all around me talking to each other. Have also drunk a whole lot of ayahuasca in the Peruvian Amazon.

Teach, Learn, Share

I've spent large chunks of the last few years studying with a Peruvian shaman in the Amazon rainforest. Ask me about ayahuasca. I used to be a neuroscientist. Ask me about serotonin and traumatic stress. I'm a repository of marginally useful information on a variety of topics. Just don't ask me about sports. :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Hungary, Netherlands, Peru, Spain, Tunisia, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom, United States

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