CURRENT MISSION

On a quest to be endlessly evolving

ABOUT ME

I'm a 21st Century nomad. I thrive on experiencing the world in as many ways as I can. I was born in Colorado, but grew up mainly in Michigan, with a brief (seven years) stint in Maryland. After graduating from Michigan State at the end of 2008, I started moving around trying to find a city, find myself a city to live in. (Talking Heads reference for those not familiar with the song.) I moved from Michigan to Colorado (Boulder), back to Michigan (East Lansing), back to Colorado (Denver), then to Texas (Austin - wouldn't live anywhere else in that state), and most recently, Oregon. I'm exploring Oregon currently before I decide to settle down, but I plan on starting a post-bachelors program in Computer Science at Portland State next fall. As far as who I am and what I am about, I am someone who strives to be the best person I can be. Life is about giving, not getting, and each day I attempt to live this mantra. Oregon for me is a fresh start and the place I plan to live a positive footprint on over the next few years.

PHILOSOPHY

Life is about planting trees under whose shade you do not intend to sit.

It's about GIVING, not GETTING!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have unofficially been couch surfing since 2006, but as far as this site goes, I have hosted (along with my roommates who introduced me to this site) a few couch surfers during my time in Colorado. Once I plant some roots in Oregon, I plan on hosting again.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

As mentioned above, I've unofficially couch surfed since 2006. One of my passions is live music, and in its pursuit, I travel all over. One band in particular, Umphrey's McGee, I've seen in 31 different states. Through my experiences following them around the country, I've couch surfed with many friends, often new at the time, and I've had a wonderful experience doing so. In 2010, I spent three months on the road with them, starting in San Francisco, going all the way to New York City, and then ending back in Minneapolis. It was the time of my life and couch surfing made the dream a reality.

Interests

I am really interested in traveling everywhere. So far, I have hit 46 out of 50 states, and I just need to visit Alaska, Montana, South Daktoa, and Vermont, and I will have officially seen all of the states. I am trying to pursue a career in internet based industries that will allow me to work from wherever I have an internet connection. I am really interested in getting to experience the natural landscapes of the United States. I have several national parks under my belt, but there are quite a bit more I really want to visit. I love being efficient when I travel so pursuing my other main interest, live music, goes hand in hand. Whenever I am on the road seeing music, I try to experience local sites and culture and make the most out of every trip.

• culture
• concerts
• cooking
• traveling
• socializing
• bouldering
• music
• live music
• piano
• surfing
• computer science
• science
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

When it comes to the arts, I have very eclectic tastes. One thing I never understand is how popularity can tarnish the legitimacy of something in the eyes of many. Sure, there are a lot of mainstream fads and trends that lack merit, but a lot of movies, music, and literature are popular for a reason: they are damn fine specimens.

As far as films go, I would have to say my favorites are Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Requiem for a Dream, American Beauty, The Lives of Others, City of God, and the Royal Tenenbaums. Lots of other people share these as favorites because they are quite amazing films in my humble opinion. The directors I enjoy the most are Wes Anderson are Darren Arnofsky. For actors, I would say Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Leonardo DiCarprio, Tom Hanks, and Kevin Spacey are who I respect the most. Actress-wise, I love Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore.

When it comes to music, I am all over the board. A timeline of my favorites from high school to today would play out like this: Incubus>Radiohead>Phish>Modest Mouse>STS9>Umphrey's McGee>Radiohead>Umphrey's McGee>Radiohead>Umphrey's McGee>Radiohead...I really like Umphrey's McGee and Radiohead if you couldn't tell. I have been very fortunate to live in some great cities for music, with Austin taking the crown. I love electronic music, I love indie music, and I love the hybrid of the two (think Postal Service, LCD Soundsystem, Cut Copy, etc.) To me, good music is good music. I'll see anything, I don't limit myself to certain genres. While I have my roots with jambands, I love experiencing new crowds (metal, punk, noise) and seeing how fans of these styles of music act in their respective environments. Some other bands I didn't mention yet that I really enjoy are Dr. Dog, Blind Pilot, and Lotus.

When it comes to fiction, my favorite era is 20th century American literature. I really do love Steinbeck, Hemingway, and Vonnegut. Never quite could get into Tim Robbins (though I owe him another shot) but I love to read and experience new prose. Cormac McCarthy is a very interesting writer I feel. Time Magazine has a list of the 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century in America and I think I am somewhere between 50-60% towards completion. Recently, I have started to reading a lot of progressive and positive thinking non-fiction. The Alchemist comes to mind as one of the works that spoke to me the most. I'm trying to pull the best parts from all types of philosophy and make them my own. One common thing I like about a lot of the non-fiction I've read as of late is the focus on the present. To quote Umphrey's, "Forget about the future at the past's expense, for life is only living in the present tense."

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My favorite thing to do is travel for live music. From the journey to the destination, the whole experience is a wonderful way to see the world, meet people, and witness some amazing musical genius. In the summer of 2008 I went over to Europe where I was able to catch my favorite band, Radiohead four times. I saw them in Manchester (England), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Arras (France), and Berlin (Germany). I was also able to catch them back home in the United States in St. Louis about a month before I left to go over to Europe, and witnessing Radiohead in five different cultures was truly an amazing experience. From the different ways the crowds reacted to the people I met at each concert, every part about each show made it a special night to remember forever. I'd love to do this again, and once Radiohead goes on tour next, you can be sure to catch me following them wherever they go!

(I wrote that passage three years ago and I would still say it is up there as my favorite experience to date. Unfortunately life threw me a few curve balls and I wasn't able to see Radiohead as much as I planned in 2012, but I still managed to catch them in Austin and Detroit on the current tour.)

Teach, Learn, Share

I'll have to come back to the sharing portion of this when I can really wrap my head around what I feel I have to offer, but I will say this. For my age, I have seen and experienced a lot, and I believe through conversations I can help people realize some new and positive perspectives on life through what I've learned so far.

As far as what I'd like to learn, I think it would be really interesting to develop my cooking skills. They are very elementary to say the least, so I would love to meet some people that can teach me how to cook some interesting dishes. I think this is something that I would always be interested in learning, because every area is different so everywhere I go I could learn some new and local to that part of the world. Musically, I would like to learn the play the bass. I know how to play the piano (all though my skills are definitely as rusty as you can get) but I would love to learn a string instrument, and I believe bass is the one for me.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States