CURRENT MISSION

To do as much as I can in my life and make as big an impact I can on everyone I meet

ABOUT ME

Oh boy, here we go. I can't describe myself in a box. I shouldn't even be IN a box. This is why I have a blog.

I'm a not so recent university graduate trying to find my place in life. Being a customer service specialist is what's paying the bills right now, but it's not what I see myself doing for my entire life. I've been an educator, a theatre technician, a writer, a fringe ticket taker, an organizer, a manager, an actor and an active listener, sometimes simultaneously. And that was just in one year...I'm really into one-off event and workshop planning right now. If you've been to a pillow fight or a party on the metro in Montreal, I was probably there or organizing it.

I've done a fair bit of long term travel. In 2001 I lived in the UK after acquiring a working holidaymaker visa, and stayed and traveled for about 15 months. In 2010 my partner traveled in together in Asia for 5 months. I've also gone to Burning Man for the last 4 years, and that experience keeps getting more and more awesome. My playa name is Radiance, for those interested.

PHILOSOPHY

Don't go home with someone on the first date if you want a second.

Doing good things is it's own reward

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm a strong believer in karma. In my travels I feel I've been fortunate to have met wonderful people who have taken me in, and I feel it's time I do more of the same. I also generally believe in doing good things for people, part of which being opening my home to people if they ask.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hosted a few people when I had the space, and was hosted by some awesome people while traveling, sometimes at the very last minute. If I'm going to be in the same city for a while I try to go a meetup or other awesome sounding event. I've gone apple picking in the Eastern Townships, had microbrews in Portland and rafted in the kayaking Olympic basin outside Beijing, all with CS people.

Interests

This box used to be a cut and paste of my LJ interests. But most people won't read through the entire thing. So I'll embelish on a few:

Roller coasters. I've been on over 100 in 6 countries, 3 Canadian provinces and 6 US states, and I look forward to more.

Theatre. I've been doing it since I was 3 or 4. I started with acting

Event planning. Usually something a bit different, like a party on the subway, or a scavenger hunt in Montreal's underground city, or helping in the local Burning Man community.

Fire spinning. I'm just starting to learn how, and it's really fun. OK, no fire yet, but I do have glow Poi.

• writing
• acting
• dining
• partying
• news
• traveling
• blogging
• kayaking
• camping
• boxing
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: I'm a big fan of Chuck Palakniuk (ask me about my inflated deer head), and Poppy Z Brite. Individual books: Catcher in the Rye, Hairstyles of the damned, The Anne Rice Beauty Trilogy, The Hannibal Lecter books, the first 2 Millenium trilogy books by Steg Larson (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest isn't readily available, and I hate paying full price for books). I've tried reading sci-fi, and I can't get into the genre. I've figured out that if I can't grasp the "rules" of the world the book takes place in, I'm not going to be interested.

1984 was really interesting to read just before visiting China for the first time, BTW.

Music: Mostly alternative, goth, hard rock. Some heavy metal. I've had a lot of favorite bands, right now my top 5 would probably be Cruxshadows, Icon of Coil, Nine Inch Nails, Megadeth and Hole. A top ten would include Tool, Abney Park, Mindless Self Indulgence, Metallica and Marilyn Manson. This is subject to change at any time.

Movies: I'm a HUGE Transformers geek (that explains the interest in cyber culture), Fight Club, UHF, PI, Clerks, Ghost World, Requiem for a dream, Monsters Inc, Kill Bill Vol 1, American Beauty. I think I need to see more movies.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

What, I'm only allowed to pick one?

Broken into Urquhart Castle near Loch Ness with a tour group in the Scottish Highlands in the middle of the night.

Threw a party on the Montreal metro on halloween night.

Decided Montreal's underground city is a great place to have a scavenger hunt. Details here
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/saturdayextra/story.html?id=a74b1bf5-6555-4c28-aac2-1847a522b7a2

Participated at Burning Man for 4 years, including being part of the set up crew for the best food gifting camp on the playa, Midnight Poutine.

Was an elephant owner for a day on my 32nd birthday in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I got to ride my elephant, wash him, feed him, play with him, it was really wonderful.

Teach, Learn, Share

Word of mouth is a valuable thing.
Go with your gut feeling.
Only bite your tongue until it's bleeding.
There are 2 kinds of people. The kind that like to see elephants, and the kind that don't.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, United Kingdom

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