CURRENT MISSION

Enjoying The Simple Things

ABOUT ME

I am laid-back most of the time, don't smoke, but sing and dance whenever the mood strikes. My French and Spanish need lubrication, but I am slick with English, Lao and Thai. I am traditional in some aspects, but mostly progressive (if my pink walls don't say it all).

PHILOSOPHY

Loving yourself in a non-selfish way makes it easier to love others and likewise for them to love you.

A stranger is just a friend waiting to happen.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

*** We usually host people that we meet at meet-ups or when one of our friends can't host. Weekends tend to be bad as most one of my partners has a tough schedule and rarely wants to be "on" with new people. I am happy to meet up and show you Oakland (extra bikes available).***

I've hosted and been hosted; each experience that resulted in a hosting has been positive. I also consider couchsurfing to be a great way to reduce my environmental impact as well since staying with someone normally produces much less waste than in a hotel or even a hostel. I don't have a fancy place, but my home is open to others who are flexible. I also hope to continue meeting other interesting folks.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
- Became friends with Kai who I met surfing together in Sydney and then surfed at my place for week and in April 2012, his family hosted me in his Monheim then 2 months later we traveled together in Thailand. AWESOME!!
- Met some of my some of my best friends e.g. the Satin sisters and their partners in crime
- Sang karaoke at our cool host Magnus in Stockholm
- Guided through Kota Kinabalu morning market by host Kuniaki
- Running into other CSers in hostels (hey can't always get a host) and restaurants in Oakland, Spain, and Portugal

Interests

I am currently obsessed with my 8 girls. I feed them mealworms so that they will be happy. Like any good father, I keep them locked up. Before you call the police on me, I am talking about my chickens!
Permaculture. Words like deep mulching and fungi inoculation turn me on ;)

• chickens
• singing
• dancing
• cooking
• running
• investing
• karaoke
• surfing
• emergency services
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I tend to read fashion and design related magazines and books. Music is wide ranging but I am prone to sappy love songs. I started taking singing, piano and ballet classes at a community college. Ballet tights are not so bad.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Family is important to me so while I've done some cool things alone, the best for me is when I took my parents and my aunt to Queenstown New Zealand which has amazing scenery. We stayed at this place that overlooked the snowcapped mountains and lake and just relaxed. Their smiles meant the world to me.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am by no means an expert, but I can talk a bit about investing, personal finance and as of Jan 2012, permaculture and chickens.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I love to cook for my hosts and if they wish, I will sing at the top of my lungs for them ;)

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Laos, New Zealand, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

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