CURRENT MISSION

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." ~Helen Keller

ABOUT ME

I like to always say that my religion is kindness. I believe everything happens for a reason, however good or bad, and lessons can be found from all experiences and circumstances if we are open to listen to them. I try to remind myself and others that "All the greatest friends and lovers you will ever have in this lifetime started out as strangers" and always try to get people to look up from their phones or take their headphones off and say hello to me. I try to live my life by example in an effort to remind people that there are still nice people out there who stop to see if you are okay when your car is off the side of the road, who still write letters in this day and age of texting, who would rather spend time trying to "live their own movie/be their own hero" than binge-watching netflix and living vicarious through fiction. I do however love my occasional Walking Dead episodes though. Ha.
I want my writing to make people think, I want to learn, I want to work, I want my labor to mean something to someone and not just make my "boss" rich while everyone else is poor. I want to make an impact on people...

PHILOSOPHY

In the past I've been described as the "cynical voice of reason." There's a fine line between idealism and realism and most people trip over it. I like to think in the past several years I've purged most of that cynicism after I faced my biggest fear and saved $21k for to go to the dentist for over 70 appts and take my smile back. Now I just try to live a mindful life filled with gratitude, and try to maintain the wonder of a child at every new experience. I'd generally rather teach myself to fix things than pay someone else to rip me off to do it. That being said, I love bartering, mutual aid, and sharing of the skills that we have, and challenging others to offer what they have without the exchange of money. I think if everyone was honest all the time the human race would be better off, and I try to inspire others to face their fears, ask for help, live in the present. I always like to say "what can I learn about myself today, how can I become better in some small way?"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I actually became a member on here 9 years ago when I ran off into the night and left NY, uncertain of what I was doing with my life or where I was headed. It's been a crazy 9 years, and I owe a lot to many people who helped me get here, lots who were near strangers. I'm excited to be traveling again and able to take advantage of Couchsurfing and meet other awesome travelers along the way.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

See above. I mostly ended up staying with friends of friends of other friends I met on my travels and stuff.
Had a lot of fun couchsurfing a bunch while bike touring down the Pacific Coast in the fall of 2010.

Interests

I recently quit my social work job working with homeless youth for 6 years to continue my adventures of exploring more of the natural world and look into wilderness therapy jobs and maybe wwoofing. Survived in my travels using stencils to make tshirts and paintings. I like guerrilla art. mutual aid. teaching people to ask for help. paying it forward. dumpsterdiving. permaculture. I've used a bike as my sole means of transportation for the past 7 years til I recently bought an old Subaru which I love as well. I miss the grass and trees and water I grew up with in Upstate NY.

• arts
• writing
• poetry
• documentaries
• festivals
• cooking
• vegan
• walking
• traveling
• woodworking
• survival
• cycling
• backpacking
• swimming
• business
• religion
• social work
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

movies: princess mononoke, network. me and you and everyone we know. amelie. fight club. american beauty. memento. mad max. pump up the volume.

music: meg myers. one day as a lion. flobots. cheesy 80s. refused. explosions in the sky. Nico Vega. immortal technique. yann tiersen. the album leaf. andrew jackson jihad. the units. sea wolf. zoe keating

books: becoming animal by david abram I think is one of the most important books ever written. the wayfinders, A language older than words and culture of make believe by Derrick Jensen. the nature principle. 1984.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Volunteered in New Orleans for 3 months after Hurricane Katrina. Have art that ended up in the Spike Lee documentary When the Levees Broke. Survived off selling art for like 2 years. slept on a roof for 3 months in Phoenix. Came here with 15 bucks and built my empire! Read horribly pronounced poetry at this writing festival in Mexico going FIRST from our group in front of like 50 drunk and tripping Mexican poets on a beach. I was an extra in a Bollywood movie. Biked 1,100 miles on a 100lb bike from Seattle to San Francisco. Started a business/vocational training program teaching homeless youth how to screenprint tshirts. Taught myself to smile again after 70 dentist appts, to walk again and be stronger than ever after shattering my heel.

Teach, Learn, Share

Screenprinting. making stencils. charcoal. fundraising. fixing bikes. basic woodworking. vegan cooking. bike touring. backpacking. self-expression. I still don't know how to swim! Want to learn more primitive survival skills.

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