CURRENT MISSION

To meet at least one person from every country on the planet!

ABOUT ME

I have been living in Asia for over 30 years now. Grew up a city boy but am a closet country mouse. Always have loved the ocean; can't imagine myself living too far away from one. Don't drink or smoke but I like the occasional glass of wine with dinner. Definately walk to the beat of my own drum caring little what others say about me. For that, I am a free spirit.

PHILOSOPHY

I grew up without a family so the people I have met over the years have taken the place of one I suppose. When people ask me where I am from it is never easy so I just say I am a child of the earth. The earth is my garden and I enjoy all its wonders.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Created this map for Kobe CSers -
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=106095849099502943871.000469fab8a607b99bedb

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've spent many a good night on the floors of others. One morning I was woken up by the cry of a little girl like Cyndi Loo Who who was no more than two who shouted, "what's that!?..." while pointing at my corner of the kitchen floor one early Sunday morning. Her father replied, "That's uncle Eddie." And with that she and her brother began to jump up and down on me letting me know that sleepy time had come to an end. What a fantastic way to wake up!

Interests

I play music, do magic, read fortunes, cook exotic dishes, exercise, play computer games, read books, ride my motorcycle on roads less travelled, sing when I'm in the shower but never in public, watch movies, have conversations with my cats, enjoy playing with kids, talk to strangers, take photos, stare out at the ocean, dance whenever possible, and sometimes sleep.

• cats
• books
• singing
• performing arts
• dancing
• cooking
• wine
• exercise
• drinking
• gardening
• movies
• magic
• music
• cartography
• emergency services

Music, Movies, and Books

Tales of the Dervishes, Letters to a Teacher, The Lord of the Rings, Dhalgren, Tuesdays with Morrie, The Alchemist

Gran Turino, Red Cliff pts I & II, The Fall

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The Hanshin earthquake in '95 was pretty awesome. 15 seconds of quaking and Kobe was in ruins. The earth was reminding us who was in charge...We are not in charge of anything...we buy and sell land as if it were ours to buy and sell and yet one shrug and mother earth reclaims what is rightfully hers. I stopped trying to accumulate things from then and started focusing on people instead.

A group of performer/friends of mine decided to hold a charity performance to help raise money for a school that was destroyed by the earthquake a few weeks following the devestation. We tried to hand out fliers in front of Osaka station to increase attendance but everyone was in such a hurry to get home from a day at the office there was little interest in what we were trying to do. Ticked off at the attitude...I decided to start my fire eating act. After blowing a few puffs of fireballs into the air a crowd was drawn. Unfortunately, so were the police. During the turmoil of the police arresting me for the disruption, we were able to distribute 2000 fliers and the show was well attended!

Luckily, I was wise to have obtained a permit from city hall to publically display my act earlier in the day and so was later let off with just a warning.

The show was a success and we were able to raise a couple of thousand dollars to donate to the new school.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Japan, New Zealand, United States

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