CURRENT MISSION

To party like it's 1999?

ABOUT ME

I'm not actually *that* Surly. It's my roller derby name (mostly?).

I'm probably best described as a hybrid of a shy, adult version of Pippi Longstocking, with added elements of MacGyver, Lucille Ball, Iggy Pop & George Carlin.

You can judge about which elements and if it *is* an accurate description or not.

PHILOSOPHY

Keep a smile on your face, an open mind and heart, be flexible and prepared for anything to happen when you travel... it probably will!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I wax lyrical about the project with anyone who listens.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Various stints... Mostly in Canada and parts of Europe whilst on a 2 year working holiday visa in 2006-08.

I've hosted since but haven't had the chance to for a bit. We'll see if I get myself sorted out to host again now that I am in a new place.

Interests

Roller derby and most other sports
Music (mixing/manipulating or generally creating hell while trying to play instruments)
Art
(Murdering) languages other than English
Learning whatever someone else is happy to teach me
Literature
Fractals
Psychology
Fire twirling

The list continues - very nearly ad nauseum.
I embrace my inner nerd a lot - usually doing trivia.

• arts
• literature
• walking
• partying
• trivia
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• hunting
• sports
• soccer
• languages
• psychology
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm a fan of the abstract, original, quirky and clever.

Movies: Independent and world movies usually.
Music: Aphex Twin, Infected Mushroom, Einsturzende Neubauten, Doch, PJ Harvey, Bowie, Tom Waits, Curve and NIN... amongst many more.

Books - Name it and I'll read it. This includes uni text books or research papers. Whether I actually retain what I read is debatable.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One? I'm greedy and can't just stop at one.

Playing Jenga with a gorgeous local lady-boy, playing soccer with the local Karen/Lisu village kids, being kicked off a train at 4am at the Romanian border; experiencing 'The Alligator'& later going nude with the locals in their main mall (Bratislava), diagnosing skin-eating disorders via google, hiking Thai mountains, French & Swiss Alps; driving a 'segway', shooting paintballs in an FX studio, seeing the Maple Leafs win 2/17 games... walking past 'Joey Jeremiah' and DeGrassi St, being an extra in a movie; crossing North America via train - not taking a bath for 4 days (and not caring)... seeing the sun rise over the easternmost point of two continents....

Teach, Learn, Share

Consider what you *need* before you go. If you can, the humanitarian side rocks if you donate your gear though.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Different cultural perspectives; hopefully insightful commentary about Australia or other places I've lived and interests/hobbies.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Canada, France, Switzerland, United Kingdom

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