CURRENT MISSION

To be generous and grateful every day in small or big ways, even when I don't feel like it.

ABOUT ME

I recently moved to Portland after 1 1/2 years in LA. Unfortunately, my current living situation doesn't allow me to host, so I'm looking to meet and hang out with fellow couchsurfers.

I love to meet people from different backgrounds. I grew up in an ethnically diverse area of Chicago, so diversity is my normal. My ethnicity is 1/2 Puerto Rican and 1/2 European mix. As a result, I blend in many of the places I visit. One of my favorite compliments is when I'm in a foreign country and people speak to me in the local language. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me they know someone who looks just like me, I wouldn't have to work.

I grew up in a rough part of Chicago, and since I was a child I've longed to explore new places. Being in the military (Air Force '94-'97) gave me the opportunity to live in different places and work with a wide variety of people, and that's how I like it. I did wedding photography for a few years and I'd always ask the studio to give me the ethnic weddings because I always feel enriched after being exposed to different cultures.

I grew up eating bland, processed American food, but while visiting friends in Seattle back in '99, I had the experience of sharing a variety of Indian dishes and it changed my whole outlook on eating. Now I love lots of flavor and diversity in my food. I try to eat healthy but I'm not obnoxious/preachy about it.

PHILOSOPHY

I want to make a positive impact on every person I meet. I want to question the assumptions being promoted to me and my own assumptions in an attempt to get closer to a worldview that doesn't exclude or sacrifice anyone.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

My current living situation prevents us from hosting (sharing living arrangement), but I try to be helpful to anyone visiting the area, so feel free to ask for recommendations on what to do/see/eat/explore while you're in this area. Also, feel free to ask if I'm available to give you a ride or just hang out if you're in the Portland OR area.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've hosted 5 couchsurfers and have been hosted by 10 lovely people.

Interests

Photography, frisbee golf, floatation tanks, rollerblading, reading, road trips, karaoke, caterwauling, kayaking, hiking, haikuing, harpsichords, live music, limericks, laughing

• photography
• film making
• burningman
• vegan
• reading
• traveling
• live music
• karaoke
• hiking
• kayaking
• camping
• road trips
• cinema
• videography
• rollerblading
• bicycling
• disc golf
• healthy lifestyle
• analog photography
• foraging
• fermentation
• floatation tank

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Os Mutantes The Polyphonic Spree, Jimi Hendrix, Mucca Pazza, Man Or Astroman, Serge Gainsbourg, Al Green, Over The Rhine, The White Stripes, Beck, Boards Of Canada, Cocteau Twins, world music, pre-WWII blues, swing jazz, anything with harpsichords, theremins or hammered dulcimers, BMIR.org, Quentin Tarantino soundtracks

Movies: Amadeus, Serenity, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Baraka, Blancanieves, The Good The Bad & The Weird, Wasteland, I Heart Huckabees, Django Unchained, Spirited Away, Pan's Labrinth, Moonrise Kingdom, Minority Report, Hugo, What The Bleep Do We Know?, Shaun Of The Dead, The Horde, CQ, El Mariachi, Inglorious Basterds, Reservoir Dogs, Like Water For Chocolate, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, Time Bandits, Studio Ghibli, Coraline

TV: Better Call Saul, Black Mirror, Sherlock, The Returned (Les Revenants), Orphan Black, Breaking Bad, The Wire, Fargo, Game Of Thrones, Last Week With John Oliver, Firefly, Veronica Mars, Angel, In Living Color

Books: The Hidden Messages In Water, The Four Agreements, The 4-Hour Work Week, The Ultimate Sales Letter, The Ultimate Marketing Plan, How To Get Everything You Can Out Of All You've Got, How To Win Friends And Influence People, How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World, The Screwtape Letters, 1984, The Illustrated Man, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, A People's History Of The United States, The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My wife and I ran a business together offering sensory deprivation tanks as a therapeutic tool. Using the tank healed me from debilitating sciatic pain, and we realized that the common treatments & therapies for severe back pain often don't work well, so we thought we were on to something.

So even though we never want to medical school, we were able to help people get relief from all sorts of pain (sciatica, fibromyalgia, sports injury, arthritis). It was an amazing feeling to see people come in looking downtrodden and an hour later seeing them come out of the tank beaming!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach photography, image editing, lighting, videography, video editing, eBay/Amazon/Craigslist selling, internet promotion/SEO

What I Can Share with Hosts

I enjoy making fun and memorable images with my host(s), and I'm happy to offer tips on things that have made it possible to travel on a small budget, such as reselling on eBay/Amazon/FB.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, United States