CURRENT MISSION

Being creative, imaginative, and wacky in filling in this box.

ABOUT ME

I am without a doubt a full on optimist these days. I hope to accomplish everything I set my mind to and I hope to set my mind to accomplishing a lot of things.

Current thoughts:
Write more, read more, walk/cycle more, drive less, learn poker, teach euchre, play soccer, learn about farming, learn about sustainable energy.

PHILOSOPHY

The lion reaps his own rewards.

This is very really my mantra. A lot of the decisions I make are made with this in mind. The idea is simply that when you want something, you have to go get it. Lunch does not fall from the sky to feed the starving. People will not come find you and make friends. Wandering around will likely not result in finding a large quantity of cash on a street corner.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I was given the gift of couchsurfing by a number of people in Finland this summer. I was staying in a hostel when I met a couple of Belgians who were meeting some local CS hosts for a drink. They said I should come along. I had such a good time with Anniina and Aleksi (the CS hosts) that I signed up so I could find them again. I then randomly met Nea, twice. She insisted that I should stay with her and not pay for a hostel stay. From there it's (a brief) history.

I spent the spring traveling and surfed a fair number of couches in that time. I'd like to now be able to meet people traveling through Chicago and help them enjoy their travels as much as I did.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

On my trip, I slept with two dogs on a couch, by myself on a mattress on two floors and on two couches. (The dogs really liked me, their owner said they missed me on multiple occasions)

Everyone has been so generous. I'm meeting that kind of open, tolerant, and humorous people that I've always been interested in.

Interests

Reading, writing, cooking, eating, listening, speaking, beer.

As far as personal interaction goes:
If you're hosting me - I'm interested in meeting you, drinking what you drink, eating what you eat, exchanging stories and thoughts and words. This isn't to say that you have to entertain me, quite the opposite, really. I'm no maintenance.

If I'm hosting you - You can expect that I'll know where the cheap bars and the good food is. I'll know where the bookstores are. I might not know anything about a monument or a museum (maybe you can show me?), but I'm quick with the google.

• dogs
• writing
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• cheese
• beer
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• poker
• cycling
• boxing
• soccer
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

I've just read several Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett Novels. I saw The Reader in english in Finland (with finnish and swedish subtitles). I'm listening to Blonde Redhead as I fill this thing in.

I'm reading a lot more now than I have in recent memory. Kurt Vonnegut, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Jeff Lindsay, Margaret Atwood, pretty much covers recently read authors.

When I get back home I'll probably try to use my local couchsurfing as a way to setup a regular book exchange or sort of communal library. There's only one thing better than a good book recommendation and that's a good book recommendation and a copy of said book.

Please talk to me about music. I have a tendency to latch onto the bands or groups I like and to listen to the depths of their works and not to search out new and exciting bands. So I might know something about an EP or a B-side from a band you like and you may be able to introduce me to something entirely new.

I watch a ton of movies when I'm hanging around the house, television series too. I've really enjoyed Dexter (based on the Jeff Lindsay books), Futurama, Firefly, Mr. Show, and a host of other series. I won't get into naming movies, because it's so hard to say what's best when so many things are good, but if you want to see a movie, I'm totally down.

After giving it a second thought - I love odd horror movies. Bad horror movies, Old horror movies and Foreign (to me) horror movies. If you've seen something you think I should see, let me know.

The feeling of being at a show while I'm traveling is just really wonderfully overwhelming freedom. I specifically went to Finland to see Deerhoof and just the thought that I had gone to another country across the pond just to see a band. Wonderful feeling.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I can totally say the alphabet backwards.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to pretend a set of chairs and couple of blankets are a fort. Seriously, it's a good time.

I'll teach you to play euchre, to make macaroni and cheese, and to act like people aren't making fun of your sweet dance moves.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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