CURRENT MISSION

Spreading radical compassion, trying to live with as much kindness and honesty as I can.

ABOUT ME

After getting laid off from an admin support job at a law firm in Pittsburgh, PA, I took the opportunity to sell everything I owned and move across the country to the amazing, radical, troubled, beautiful San Francisco Bay area. I live in the East Bay, in Oakland, CA, a place that the whole world looks to for an example of people who care strongly about their activism. It's the place where people marched for Trayvon, the birthplace of the Earthlings protest, the place where police attacked Occupy protesters. It feels like the center of the Earth for radical thought. It's amazing. I love it here.

Once I arrived, instead of rotting away in an office, I got work cooking in a gourmet veg*n restaurant and caring for a disabled woman. I've been active with peace movements, most notable the animal rights movement here.

PHILOSOPHY

Don't do a disservice to the complexity of life by trying to insist that complicated things be simple. The truth is complicated and detailed. It's better to accept and take in all the various elements of reality, rather than ignoring the parts that do not fit into your worldview. This is how you acheive intellectual honesty.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I cannot host where I live right now because my housemate is not very comfortable with guests, but I would be happy to meet up with people who want to visit the East Bay and see what's good.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

When I drove across the country to move to Oakland, I stayed with couchsurfing.org folks. It was an overwhelmingly positive experience.

Interests

I'm serious about sustainable and peaceful living and, as such, am a vegan. I also have had type 1 diabetes for 23 years and that has made my health a primary concern. It's awesome when people want to talk about the down and dirty philosophical questions and aren't afraid to be honest and won't become defensive or insulting with each other.

I spend my time cooking, writing, reading, watching documentaries, going to my friends' comedy or music shows, petting random animals I meet, and having bizarrely emotional reactions to inadvertantly poignant graffiti.

• animals
• writing
• performing arts
• documentaries
• cooking
• cheese
• vegan
• reading
• music
• emergency services
• law

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
-Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
-Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
-The Unnatural History of the Sea by Callum Roberts
-Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá
-The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
-This is How by Augusten Burroughs
-Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
-Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
-We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families by Philip Gourevitch
...and many, many more.

Music:
-All the Elephant 6 Recording Collective stuff (Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Apples in Stereo, Circulatory System, and more)
-Elliott Smith
-Sharon Van Etten
-Rihanna
-60's British Invasion (The Kinks, The Zombies, The Hollies, and more)
-Lots more stuff: Animal Collective, The Dodos, Kurt Vile, Kanye West, Joanna Newsom, Judee Sill, Quasi, Sleater-Kinney, blah blah lots more...

Movies:
-Ghost World
-Rosemary's Baby
-After Innocence
-You and Me and Everyone We Know
-All About Eve
-The Boys of Baraka
-A Face in the Crowd
-The Great Dictator
-American Movie
-The End of the Line
-Harlan County, USA
-They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
-Forks Over Knives
-Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst
-Bowfinger
...and many, many more

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Here are some sort-of amazing things, I guess:
--I saw Elliott Smith perform live 5 times. I love Elliott Smith.
--I was my best friend's birth partner for her natural childbirth, which was incredible.
--I make a living doing all kinds of part-time and odd jobs, which is really great and I think it's kind of amazing.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can show you how to make a mean scrambled tofu with whatever you've got on hand.

Also, I'll tell you how to test your own fasting glucose so that you can see if you're in danger of developing type 2 diabetes.

I can tell you how to make really good non-dairy cheese out of raw cashews.

I'll wash and reseason your cast iron skillet.

Nothing would thrill me more than to really explain to you what type 1 diabetes is and how it is treated. You will actually understand after I'm done.

Countries I’ve Visited

United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States