CURRENT MISSION

To live a good life, and have lots of fun along the way.

ABOUT ME

I am 45, and married to Martin. We are what is sometimes called a "blended family" - his kids, my kids, and our kids (which are non-human - Honey the 12 year old Labrador, and Mitzi the cat)

My kids are both at University and living away from home, and his are at high school and come to stay with us every second weekend.

We both work full-time, but are at a stage in our lives when we can start to do a little travel and reap some rewards of our hard work. Neither of us did a big OE when we were young, and this is something I regret. So I'm doing my best to make up for it now!

We are brand new couch surfers,and couch surfing seems a great idea to me - a creative use of technology to facilitate meeting people you would never otherwise do so. We hope to experience some member's couches while travelling in June and July 2008, and in the meantime, to experience the concept as hosts.

PHILOSOPHY

Althought not a Christian myself, I think the do unto others as you would like others to do to you, is a great motto to live by.
I think relationships and people are what give life meaning, so I try to put a lot of my energy there.
I detest violence, racism, and intolerance, but I also think there are very few truly bad people in the world, but there is a lot of suffering, that if I think too much about, I will go mad with grief, so I try to wear blinkers a bit, and do what I can in a small way to make a difference.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Able to host, and looking to be hosted in the future. As a brand new member, I'm still working out what else I might be able and interested in doing.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Nil yet. Hopefully having two sets of surfers to stay this weekend. It didn't take long to start happening!

I have not travelled a great deal in my life, certainly not the couch-surfing way. Our best trip so far was 3 weeks or so in Vietnam in 2006. We did an Intrepid Tour. We are just getting to the point where we might go somewhere without booking everything, and see what turns up!

Interests

Friends and socialising. Music (David Bowie, Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, Santana, Van Morrison - to name a few) I also enjoy reading, have just taken up quilting, an occasional tramper, and addicted to golf, which takes up a lot of my leisure time nowadays.

Love movies too. Very keen to travel and see more of the world, especially to non-Western cultures.

• cats
• fish
• make up
• cooking
• working out
• drinking
• boating
• technology
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• fishing
• surfing
• golf

Music, Movies, and Books

See interests. I really enjoyed a book called "We need to talk about Kevin" Can't remember who wrote it. The Life of Pi was great too - a great present from my teenage son. Also "A fine balance" - about India. My children are part-Indian, and I am fascinated by that country and its cultures.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Spent the night on a boat in Halong Bay, Vietnam, drinking very potent local spirits and eating fish caught over the side by the Vietnamese crew, and trying to break through the language barriers - very funny when a little pissed!

Teach, Learn, Share

Gosh - this is getting deep!

I'm a good cook. I guess I understand and have a lot of compassion for people.

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