CURRENT MISSION

to be an itinerant and compulsive vagabond

ABOUT ME

Now is certainly an interesting time to be a public educator in America, especially in a California high school setting. I worked in high schools for many years as a substitute while I pursued my passion for fine art photography (basically documenting my suburban surroundings); for the past four years I have taught full time and teaching has become a profession and a half from which I must increasingly take leave of on the weekends and holidays into the mountains, to the desert, and hopefully once again, abroad. Equal amounts of sanity are also parceled out through frequent indulgences in live music venues, time with my adopted German Shepherd, whom I am still trying to train after two years, my girlfriend and our two very insane cats.

PHILOSOPHY

A sense of humor makes all situations easier; all mishaps become adventures once we come to peace with them; I am already an expert with myself so I would rather listen to "you". Life is best lived.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm completely new to this, so I guess I am participating by writing this - the rest will have to come in the future.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

When I get very tired grading papers I frequently take solo test flights of the couch in our living room and I am happy to say that I crash after every attempt. In all seriousness, I have couch surfed for years in San Francisco and with friends and relatives but never realized that there was such an organized way of going about it.

Interests

Imaging that I can talk back to the public radio hosts through my car's dashboard; developing a sense of humor daily for the greater Los Angeles freeway system and its inhabitants; wondering how long it will take to get to the bottom of the Netflix queue; thinking about playing old records but opting for the Last FM playlist; checking Facebook but not updating my profile; not changing my profile picture; wondering how long it will take for the Supreme Court to slide towards a liberal bias; and many vain attempts to get substantially beyond the cartoons in the the New Yorker.

• cats
• arts
• writing
• photography
• coloring
• cartoons
• music
• live music
• teaching
• history
• tourism
• lakes
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

The older the better.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The High Sierra Route (The Bear Lakes; Marion Lake; the Palisades); The Nankoweap Graineries of the Anastazzi; Grand Gulch; Dead Horse Point; Paria Canyon; Mont Saint Michel; Mont Blanc; The Applegate (Oregon).

Teach, Learn, Share

If we can still find a color negative enlarger, I can show you how to hand print and correct (film) images. I can teach both film and digital photography, color and black and white, including technique and history. I will teach English grammar and usage to anyone who wants to learn or improve their skills (however I don't know if this is truly a skill or not). I can also guide hikers in the Sierras, The Grand Canyon, and Southern California to obscure and little seen places.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Italy, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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