I'm a practiced traveller, mostly in the form of backpacking foreign cities and hitchhiking through North America. I travel every chance I get, though its mostly for work these days! I am a freelance sound designer and composer, working full-time with a small indie game team here in Montreal, and doing the occasional short film on the side. I love jamming and I play handdrums and harmonica (well) and accordion (badly). Hope to pick up a bass guitar soon also. I use my bicycle to get around, I like to go to a lot of live shows here in this great city of music, and I like to craft - predominantly leatherwork and yarn-based stuff these days.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I used to couchsurf a whole ton, both hosting and travelling. I haven't done either in a long time but I have been thinking I might dip my toe in the water again. I live in a great city that I suspect will be flooded with couchsurfers with this coming summer, so I think that hosting two or three times might be a great way to give back for years ago when I came through this city as a couchsurfer myself, and to meet some awesome new folks while I'm at it!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have been hosted in Berlin, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Columbus and have hosted about 15 groups of travelers.

MY HOME: I have a crappy futon and lots of floor space. The living room (where you'd sleep) shares air with my bedroom - big double curtains separate the spaces. I have an open sunny place, a good sized kitchen, 2 patios, and a big claw-foot tub (yay!). I also have a sometimes-cat so warning to those with bad allergies. I have allergies too, but I deal with it because I like having her around. She comes and goes as she pleases, being an outdoor cat who theoretically has an owner somewhere downstairs :P. I have maybe an extra blanket and a couple pillows, but beyond that you'll need to bring your own sleeping stuff. Guests: preference for creatives and musicians! I'm always keen to find people to jam with :D.

Interests

• culture
• design
• traveling
• crochet
• leatherworking
• music
• guitar
• backpacking
• freelancing
• hitchhiking

Music, Movies, and Books

I am a reader and particularly love books delving into cyber-punk,
the middle-ages,
modern paganism,
hallucinogenic drugs,
alternative sexualities,
sub and counter-culture,
cyber-punk,
historically accurate fiction,
non-fiction delving into personal accounts of living in worlds different to my own,

I would recommend Daniel Pinchbeck's Breaking Open the Head to anyone.

My favourite films include Run Lola Run, Blade Runner, Trainspotting, and Cabaret.

The original Dutch Pipi Longstocking grew up to be Tankgirl - trust me, she knew where it was at.

My favorite music is splayed across the board and includes Portishead, Nine Inch Nails, Aphex Twin, Meshuggah, Lustmord, The Body, Pink Floyd, the Shukar Collective, The Doors, Murcof, and Drumcell. I'm also a big Blues fan. Common thread: unusual rhythms, dark, soul-inspired, moody. That's the music that gives me goosebumps.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

--Chanted with a Japanese Nichiri Diashonin Buddhist monk, through an open-armed chance encounter in Lumbini, Nepal - the birthplace of Buddha-- --Trance-danced in a thunder storm, with the wet earth beneath my bare feet and electricity in the air --
--sang women's folk songs with a tight group of Sihk women on a roof at a women's sangat (gathering) in Dehradun, Punjabi-- was fed salami and bread by Italian grandmothers in a ferry crossing the asiatic sea

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach crochet, harmonica, and middle-eastern hand-drumming. I also enjoy in-depth conversations about dystopian futures, social movements, contemporary world shifts (socially), counter-culture movements past and present and gender/sexuality. Things I want to learn - other forms of drumming, specifically, doluk (I have one but not in Montreal) and Bodhran (I dont have one). I want to learn to play the accordian (I have one). I am also really keen on practice opportunities to work on my Spanish or French.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am pretty busy these days but on weekends I could surely show you around and maybe take in some of the fantastic live music this city is known for! I also have one spare bike, should I have any solo traveling guests.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Croatia, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Italy, Nepal, Netherlands, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Italy

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