CURRENT MISSION

Looking to gain a greater understanding of myself and human existence, through as many new friendships and deeply shared experiences of joy, compassion, sorrow, and laughter as I can find.

ABOUT ME

I am a 25 y/o male homosexual homo sapien, from the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. I have a wide variety of passions and interests, and I have close friends from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. I tend to be an idealistic dreamer balanced out by a healthy dose of wit and sardonicism in looking at the world. The older I get and the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know and how important it is to explore the full realm of human experience. I am very friendly and extroverted; I actively seek excitement and make new and meaningful friendships with ease. That being said, I am also respectful, empathetic, and polite, quiet when I need to be :). am equally comfortable relaxing at home with a few friends amidst a philosophical debate as I am staying out all night bar hopping, dancing, and adventuring. Growing up as a gay man in a conservative, Christian home was a markedly difficult, yet immensely enlightening experience. It has presented to me a unique understanding of the world we live in, and cultivated a particular and essential appreciation of what it means to be alive. I've learned to value joy and sorrow as vital components of our existence. I'm a great cook and love to make nice dinners for my friends. I am a gracious, respectful and low-maintainence guest.

PHILOSOPHY

I value humor, intelligence, and compassion as among the most important of personality traits and strive to continually increase my acquisition of these qualities; through reading, research, seeking new and novel experiences, and enjoying both meaningful and light hearted interactions with friends old and new. Empathy, love, and openness with a sense of adventure and purpose drive my existence.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

New to the website, so I am aiming to participate as much and as fully as I can! Love the exchange of ideas, experiences, new friends, crazy nights,

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have couch surfed with friends and friends of friends quite a bit in the past, mostly in various parts of the US. I have also had a fair amount of people crash at my apartment over the last 3 years I have lived in Oakland and Berkeley. Many new people I have met out and about have been invited to stay on my couch when they needed a place :)

Interests

conversing, debating, ruminating, procrastinating. History, Philosophy, theology. Other people. Playing the clarinet. Camping, cooking, urban hiking. Making people laugh, taking people outside their comfort zones, being taken outside of mine. Beer, Wine, Whiskey.

• books
• dancing
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• reading
• hiking
• camping
• divinity
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: "Devil in the White City", "The NoonDay Demon", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "Beautiful Boy", "Guns, Germs, and Steel", "English and How It Got That Way", "1491", "Dry".

Music: Anything and everything from Baroque to Britney Spears.

Movies: Anything but horrendous, pandering rom-coms and Nicholas Sparks adaptations etc... Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, Mud, The Kids are All Right, Running with Scissors, Philomena, Kill Bill, Lola Rennt, Europa Europa, Good Will Hunting.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Watching my entire Mormon family -that had previously been religious, conservative and homophobic -march in support of equality at the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade in 2013. The overwhelming love and emotion I felt that day I will never forget.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to play the clarinet and saxophone, but more importantly, I can teach you how to YODEL, which I myself learned from watching youtube videos while in college in 2008.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Slovakia, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States