CURRENT MISSION

takemealiveblog.wordpress.com

It's either leave only footprints or divide and conquer. I'm not sure. Maybe both.

I'm particularly interested in staying off the beaten path, so if you're a host in some small, out of the way, picturesque village, I'd love to meet you.

ABOUT ME

They have been sworn to secrecy (and besides I know where they buried the bodies). One of the beauties of life (as long as you choose to look at it this way) is that you never know what someone else will say or do. I kinda like it that way.

PHILOSOPHY

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds" - Emerson
"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one should remain silent." - Wittgenstein

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

2018 Update: I know I'm a bit old and creaky for CS, but I'm looking forward to meeting you anyway. Maybe I'll crash on your couch, or just meet for a coffee (well, I don't drink coffee, but I could buy you one), or a walk in your town, village, hamlet, favorite hike, etc.

I have a shiny, new (to me) 2006 BMW F650GS motorcycle waiting for me in Berlin. I start heading South in mid-April, will travel through the Balkans, all the way down to Albania, possibly dip my toe in Greece, then up Through Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Poland, and then head West (this is a very loose plan, subject to "a hundred visions and revisions"). Eventually to The UK & Ireland in July & August. Then I'll make my way back to Germany, sell my bike (you looking for a bike?), and fly home in October (or not :).

Maybe you'd like a ride on the back for an hour, a day, a week.

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HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Just starting out. I'm looking forward to seeing what becomes of it.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Haven't done any via couchsurfing.com, but I have done a bit of Servas, and lots of crashing with friends. Mostly during a 2 year bicycle journey in Western Europe where I frequently met people while traveling and then went and visited them somewhere down the road.

Interests

Is this where I rave about how many things I'm interested in, giving myself subtle compliments right and left? Oh, OK: I'm interested in seeing the way our government works changed. Perhaps even to the point that some day we can do away with representative democracy and have direct democracy. Wouldn't that be great? In the meantime, hopefully we can move toward abolishing the electoral college, institute some kind of ranked choice voting, and fight disenfranchisement!

• traveling
• live music
• guitar
• hiking
• skiing
• bicycling
• motorcycle touring

Music, Movies, and Books

Recently went on a book journey: "God Is Not Great," "The God Delusion," and am reading "Who Wrote The Bible." Not too much fiction in my life lately - even movie-wise I am trending more and more towards documentaries.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

It's all amazing. It's all open to interpretation. I saw a neighbor girl carrying the trash to the community dumpster this afternoon, with her young brother in tow. He helped unload, and then climbed into the wheelbarrow for a ride home...

Teach, Learn, Share

I like to teach what I know. I've been known to give guitar lessons, skiing lessons, English lessons, and whatever else lessons (OK - computer lessons).

Had a blast the Summer of 2016, volunteering in 2 English language immersion programs - in Spain and in Poland. Would love to do that again. 2018 update: I will do it again in Romania May 20-25.

What I Can Share with Hosts

2018: I've gone and done it! Bought a motorbike in Berlin. I'll be there in April to pick it up from my friend, Sonja, who helped with the logistics. Then heading South. I can share any of my interests, teaching, making music, English conversation/writing/tutoring, rides somewhere on the back of my motorbike (an F650GS)...

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States