CURRENT MISSION

I'm not necessarily mission oriented but do have bursts of great enthusiasm for things like music and fresh garden vegetables and dogs and play

ABOUT ME

I really like the physical activity and walking with my dog and playing music with other people. There is something great about finding a rhythmic groove in a group and hearing all the parts, everyone looking at each other while we play (except the singer, who is too busy trying to remember the words), communicating in different ways, with different beat accents and the like. My daughter and girlfriend got me into brewing with various gifts so now thanks to their help and the people at Cool Stuff and online I have had fun making mead, wine, and beer, and drinking and sharing it too! My friend Frank introduced me to gardening, and my girlfriend and I turned my front yard into a green patch with okra, garlic, tomatoes, basil, mustard greens, beets, horseradish, beans, and so on. Last night we put some things together, basil, lambs quarters, tomatoes, garlic, onions, and a little salami and had a delicious dinner.

PHILOSOPHY

How do I maintain a carefree attitude while taking an appreciative, careful approach to things? I seek out the more artistic arenas where it's usually OK to make mistakes, and mistakes can represent doorways rather than solid walls.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have hosted one couple on one of the coldest night of the year in 2009. It was -10F outside, and there was a windchill, and they slept in a room with a north-facing wall. I have since beefed up the insulation in the house considerably and look forward to providing a better experience to future surfers both winter and summer.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have encountered a lot of gracious hosts in my life, who have let me stay in their homes, apartments, and yards. Most of it was pre-Internet, during my high school and college.

Interests

I work as a web developer and some of my interests in that arena are programming and design. Currently I'm reading about and playing around quite a bit with Javascript, which is unexpectedly enjoyable, even beyond jQuery. Music, cooking, food, politics, cycling, reading, are some other interests.

• dogs
• design
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• exercise
• meditation
• walking
• drinking
• gardening
• politics
• reading
• music
• guitar
• cycling

Music, Movies, and Books

I like all three. Movies for me are very emotional experiences. I like to sit in a comfortable theater, maybe with a friend and a beer and watch. I like to move to music, dance, or just shake a little. There is so much good stuff out there. This morning I heard the 2Cellos on the radio and it blew me away. They were playing The Streets Have No Name, by U2. It was something. The music that really grabs me is acoustic stuff, Doc Watson, David Grisman, Chris Thile, Adam Hurt. Bela Fleck and David Lindley are two of my heroes, and all kinds of dance music I like. Usually before bed I read for pleasure. Novels, non-fiction, whatever looks interesting. One of my favorite writers is Dave Eggers, particularly his books What is the What and Zeitoun. He is a very powerful story teller, and his stories illuminate situations like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in ways that make them so real you can feel them.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I watched my daughter enter the world. Once stared into a stranger's eyes for 15 minutes straight as part of a meditation exercise. It scared me but was exhilarating too. Really feeling loved is an amazing experience. Sang a prayer with an Orthodox Jewish family before dinner. We sang with so much gusto and spirit that some tears fell. It's all one, as Dr. Bronner might say.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can show you some banjo and guitar, I'm pretty good at English, maybe some programming or simple computer tricks, help you with your garden, play with your dog, cooking, help you out with chores and whatnot.

•