CURRENT MISSION

Adventure Time!

ABOUT ME

I think I'm a generally non-degenerate semi-gentlemanly mixed-bag vagabond. I was born in Poland and was dragged to the U.S. when I was 9 years old. Having spent 20 of my 30 years in New York City, I like to simply think of myself as an authentic New Yorker, a self-romanticized Pole/European, and a bashful/un-anointed American.

I have been accuse of having the patience of a saint, sincere courtesy/compassion, colossal calm, and other generally gentlemanly traits forged mostly by a decade in the fires of five-star hospitality. I am often disarmingly sincere, sometimes a little shy, and never humorless. Prone to daydreaming and magical thinking; attracted to intensity & obsessiveness.

I am apparently good with people no one else wants to deal with, children (via babysitting and being a manchild), and getting people's new cats to come out from underneath the sofa (also a pitbull whisperer). Being Polish makes me a genetically superior plumber, electrician, and capable of completing any home improvement project without the use of tools or instructional materials.

PHILOSOPHY

"Easy does it" and "Do the right thing"

intended Desiderata?

Although I at one point in my life veered towards some form of Rational-Skeptic-Stoic Cynicism, I realized that it was far too easy to complicate the simplest of matters.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have worked at and managed the Front Desks of NYC hotels for over 10 years and it has molded me as a person. I am no stranger to welcoming travelers on a professional (as well as a more human) level, and sincerely doing everything I can to make sure they have a great experience. Unfortunately, this career choice/industry allowed me almost no time for personal travel, and very little time to entertain/be hospitable in the after-hours. This is why I recently took a break from hotels, decided to see more of the world, and join CS (the less formal, non-profit, global Hospitality community). I am currently traveling Europe and looking for hosts. When I return to NYC I hope to house some fellow adventurers.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

No first-hand experiences yet.

Interests

Although my attention is generally fleeting it is very broad in appeal. I am fortunately/unfortunately not one of those people who are particularly passionate about any one single thing and my general interests fall under category of awesomely ordinary; food, culture, music, literature.

• cats
• culture
• literature
• dining
• traveling
• music
• camping

Music, Movies, and Books

Rather broad and all over the place. Enjoyed recently:

Music - Radiohead, Frightened Rabbit, Joanna Newsom
, Neutral Milk Hotel, Cocteau Twins, GY!BE, Kavinsky, Boris, Death Grips, The Unicorns, Tool, Tom Waits, Vladimir Vysotsky etc.

Film - Beasts of the Southern Wild, A Snake of June, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Pom Poko, Zulawski's Possession

Books - Current trip books-in-tow are mostly Asian crime fiction: Arimasa Osawa, Miyuki Miyabe, Ryu Murakami. Also packed Graham Green's 'The Quiet American' and forever favorite; Borges' collection.

Before my Scandinavia excursion I plan on watching Troll Hunter, reading lots of Stieg Larsson, and listening to Hedningarna, Värttinä, and Burzum on the ferry over the Baltic :D Problem?

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

This one time at band camp, Gandalf and I went to Hogwarts where I used the force to save Princess Zelda from the Cylons. It was pretty great.

Teach, Learn, Share

Nothing unique comes to mind just yet.
The usual generally educational suspects:
http://www.ted.com/
http://www.intelligencesquared.com/
http://www.ocwconsortium.org/

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Finland, Japan, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Poland, United States