CURRENT MISSION
several:

Minimalize my life to only what I can carry
Find my passion(s) and make a living working with them
Improve (self others environment)
Travel from Austin, Texas across the world for at least a year with very little pre-planning

ABOUT ME

Wanderer/Thinker/Traveller/Friend/Eccentric/Frodo lookalike/Trivia buff/Linguist/former Assistant English Teacher/Gourmand/Improv comedian/Minimalist/On-the-edge-liver/Housesitter/Cat lover

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Since I started globe-hopping in 2006-2007, I always look to CouchSurfing first when I am travelling to a new place and need a place to sleep. There's really no other choice if you want to save money, meet awesome people, and discover a city. Meeting more and more people, you may even learn more about yourself. I only come to the website when it's traveling time, (and have hosted a couple times) but I am always happy with the results.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Brussels with Sven Feb 2007
Strasbourg with Philippe May 2007
The MoBus with Jane Patton Austin TX summer 2011
Hosted in New Orleans and Rennes
Met numerous friends' CouchSurfers in and around Paris
Had a great experience surfing in Ireland hosted by two different people
Made some great friends during my time in Rennes thanks to CS

Interests

New Orleans, trivia, smells, getting off the beaten path, etymology, redheads, languages, punctuation, fonts,Mexican food, Japan, travel, live music, video games, improv comedy,stand-up comedy, accent marks, myths, travel, names of people and things,minimalism,decluttering,organization

• cats
• environment
• dining
• mexican food
• trivia
• video games
• traveling
• minimalism
• music
• live music
• outdoor activities
• surfing
• teaching
• etymology
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Movie: In Bruges, Fight Club, Office Space, anything from Japan, any documentary or comedy, anything I can learn something from or watch for free on the Internet

Music: my favorite band is Mobley from Austin, TX www.mobleytheband.com
hip-hop, folk, rock, pop, hardcore...
Other favorites
.Moneen., Fun.,
Radiohead, Gatsbys American Dream, The Mountain Goats, The Decemberists, Mew, Aesop Rock, Doomtree, HORSE the Band, Imogen Heap, any a cappella (Pentatonix),

Book: I don't read as much as I want to or should. But I like atlases, any dictionary or encyclopedia, anything in the linguistics section, any travelogue or nonfiction about language, sociology, travel, psychology

I once took a 3-week road trip with my best friend Jane, reading "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon out loud as our spirit guide for the journey. I recommend it, as it gave birth to two travel rules I adhere to as much as possible:

1) no hotels
2) no interstate highways - "Life doesn't happen along interstates. It's against the law."

Backpacking: Latin America start Austin, end Peru via Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, stopovers in Costa Rica, Fort Lauderdale, Tulsa, New Orleans, Baton Rouge , Brazil
Visited the triple border meeting point of Colombia, Peru and Brazil (Leticia/Tapatinga)
Ayahuasca ceremonies (4) in Tamshiyacu, Peru
Sept 2015 - May 2016

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Winter 2008 - Sitting in a covered outdoor onsen (hot spring bath) at the Ichiniboh hotel in Sakunami, Miyagi-ken, Japan, while snow fell in the lake just a few feet from us. Unreal.

Teach, Learn, Share

On The Wonder Years, the characters of Winnie Cooper and Becky Slater are real-life sisters, Danica and Crystal McKellar.
Driving is on the left in Malta and Cyprus.
Abe Vigoda is alive.
I know Pi to 39 places.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Knowledge

I am really good at dishwashing

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Nicaragua, Northern Ireland, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Japan, United States