CURRENT MISSION

make more to-do-lists to heighten my sense of accomplishment each day

ABOUT ME

Recently moved back to BC. Settled in Vancouver, I am working on an organic farm, learning from others at the moment, I intend to start something of my own in the near future.

I also intend to fully update my profile in the near future.

PHILOSOPHY

"When one man, for whatever reason, has an opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself."
-Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Currently I don't have much capacity or time to host. Previously, I really enjoyed hosting in Montreal, and had the pleasure to surf some couches in eastern europe.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Introduced to it by my brother when we were travelling around Bulgaria.

Over the past three years I have had the pleasure of hosting a variety of travelers in Montreal (when my living situation afforded me the opportunity).
I hosted a handful of surfers in Montreal and they were all fantastic guests and brought a lot of enthusiasm with them.

In additon, i've always enjoyed making the most of local CS communities. Be in Montreal, Moscow or Petrozavodsk. My favourite memories from Montreal was a four language music jam which I was lucky enough to bring along my young American couchsurfers along to and join in.

Interests

Bikes: Since moving to Montreal I have been converted to the all inclusive church of cycling. I love riding, fixing, and just talking about them. They're great. Two years ago a friend and I built a bicycle collective in the basement of a university residence and trained many students basic mechanic skills.

Bike Polo... If you play I'd be happy to bring you to some pick up games in Montreal. and if you're really keen on learning we could make that happen also.

Urban Gardening - its something that has convinced me of the possibility of building community in urban areas. Montreal has a bunch of amazing inter-generational gardening projects that I have been lucky enough to be apart of. This year, I worked on a small farm in Montreal's west-island for a downtown non-profit food security organization.

Home-brewing beer (with occasional forays into mead making)

Urban Exploring.

• dining
• beer
• gardening
• traveling
• homebrewing
• music
• cycling
• boxing
• bike polo
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC: I'm always open minded when it comes to music. However, right now I'm very excited about the Canadian indie scene (indie is always a bad label though) and ofcourse the American. I still have a soft spot for Metal because i used to be a metal head when i was younger and still love my old school punk (Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Minor Threat) because its the soundtrack of my youth.

To begin a never ending list of bands i enjoy: Pearl Jam (all-time love), Clash, Townes Van Zandt, Bruce Peninsula (small cnd band), The Burning Hell, Califone, Silver Jews, Pavement, Gogol Bordello, LENINGRAD, Devotchka, Songs Ohia, Blitzen Trapper, Camper Van Beethoven, Captain Beefheart, The Chinese Stars, Crippled Black Phoenix, Roky Erickson, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, John Frusciante, John Doe, The Kinks, The Zombies, Pixies, The Sadies, David Bowie, The Sonics, Television, Tom Waits, X, 5'Nizza .... and the list shall never end....

MOVIES: Everything is Illuminated. He died with a flafel in his hand. Dear Wendy. Any Cohen Brother film. Paradise Now. FUBAR. It's All Gone Pete Tong. Py. Those are just some close to my heart... I love a lot film, i like watching obscure films even though I don't appreciate them as much as film student.

BOOKS: Vonnegut, Borges, Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Wolfe, most of the Beats. Margaret Atwood (canadian) Timothy Findley (canadian), Stephen Leacock (canadian). Magic Realism...
I've enjoyed a long phase of Russian literature my standouts being: Dead Souls (Gogol), Heart of Dog (Bulgakov), The Idiot (Dostoevsky), Pnin (Nabokov).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

...difficult box to fill... I can't say I've climbed Mount Kilamanjaro or swam the English Channel, but I think I've had many less heroic yet incredible experiences.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am always happy to teach bicycle mechanics and share gardening tips.

I really like talking history with people. I took a lot of Canadian and Russian history in university, but its impossible not to keep diverse interests.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bulgaria, Russian Federation, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom

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