CURRENT MISSION

To gain great stories and eat good food.

ABOUT ME

I have extremely serious theories about completely trivial things. None of them are scientific, and most are patently ridiculous, but I'll tell you about them anyway.

Many of these theories concern food. I'm pretty obsessed with food, and will wax rhapsodic about a taco I just ate (or more likely, a taco I had last November), the Indian food I'm eating next week, or the muffin I devoured a week after my 18th birthday that haunts me to this day (I'd do unspeakable things for another one).

I was a music journalist for 7 years, and had 20,000 unique CDs cross my desk over the course of that time. You would be amazed at how much horrible music exists that no one has ever heard (and for good reason), and how much amazing music is ignored every day.

PHILOSOPHY

I just want a good story to tell. And a taco.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

My main focus for the next year or so will be traveling, experiencing what the world has to offer and hoping to gain a new outlook on life.

I really enjoy spending good chunks of time in places, trying to get to know cities and cultures from more than a tourist's perspective (am I successful at that....maybe?). So if you can point me in the direction of an out-of-the-way park, restaurant, or people-watching spot, I'll be a happy camper, and will gladly do the same when you are on my home turf.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've had friends that have done CouchSurfing, and I've attended an event (with more to come), but I'm a relative newbie looking to gain experience quickly.

As for more informal couch surfing, I've stayed on floors and couches of various friends and relatives across the US and had some great times, like finding the bar in Brooklyn (The Alligator Bar) that served a free pizza with every drink you order, discovering at 3am the best pasta sauce I've ever tasted (death row meal, that will be), stumbling in late (or early) from festivals only to do it all over again the next day.

I guess my CouchSurfing philosophy boils down to this: Doing stuff is good. Finding other people to do stuff with is even better.

Interests

Surfing - Wow, I'm bad at this. You wouldn't think so, since I'm from Southern California, but I am. That doesn't mean I don't love it, though.

Music - Every time I get to a new city, I queue up LCD Soundsystem's "Yr City's a Sucker" on my iPod. It's perfect for those first few moments.

Food - Since I've mentioned it everywhere, this should be self explanatory.

Books - Do you have books you are tired of? Because I've probably finished mine, and would love to read something new. Wanna swap?

Public transportation: Seriously, I'm a nerd about this. It's not just subways, trains and buses--it's anything that moves people. I love elevators, escalators, and I get ridiculously excited at the airport when I get to go on the people mover. If your city has halfway-decent public transit, I will love it (and probably you) more.

Karaoke - Let's do it. I have a deep voice, a great falsetto, and very little sense of shame.

• books
• festivals
• dining
• cooking
• indian food
• drinking
• traveling
• billiards
• music
• karaoke
• camping
• surfing
• journalism

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Snatch. In the Loop. Wes Anderson's oeuvre. Really bad Romantic Comedies. The subtle difference between "based on a true story" and "inspired by a true story" (hint - the difference is not subtle at all). I can't help but watch football movies. I've never seen the beginning of The Breakfast Club - as far as I know, the film begins in detention.

Music: Pavement. Built to Spill. Early Elton John and late Beach Boys. Serge Gainsbourg. The Walkmen. The National. Cheesy pop music. Old Jazz and Old Country. Boot Camp Clik, Mos Def. Mashups. That 30 minute-long Justin Bieber song. No other Justin Bieber songs.

Books: Salman Rushdie. Anything (seriously, A-NY-THING) by Haruki Murakami. I judge books by their covers.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Drove an RV from Northern Pennsylvania to Southern California in four and a half days, never going above 55 miles an hour. Listened to/sang along with Phantom Planet's "California" each time we crossed into a new state.

Teach, Learn, Share

Here's the best way to make fried eggs:

1. Get a small frying pan and heat it up

2. Tilt the handle up towards you, at about a 10-15 degree angle.

3. Butter the pan - just the portion you plan on cooking the eggs in. The butter will pool down to the tilted section

4. Crack the eggs into the bowl, and then pour the bowl into the pan.

5. Add a dash of salt (this makes all the difference in the world).

6. Continue tilting the pan until the whites start to go opaque. Then you can set the pan down, secure in the knowledge that your eggs will stay in the half-moon formation you started them in.

7. Cook them to the consistency you want (I'm still trying to master this part).

8. Eat.

Countries I’ve Visited

France

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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