I'm a writer by trade and photographer by choice who lives along the Delaware River in NJ with 2 cats and a partner named Brian. Having met and written about an amazing assortment of people along the way, as a newspaper reporter and then ghostwriter, has taught me 3 things:
1. Just when you think you've seen everything, a professional skunk baiter crosses your path.
2. Everyone has a story.
3. Good people outnumber jerks about 1,000-to-1.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We moved from NYC to a house in the middle of 40 acres and although we love the peace, serenity and 4-legged neighbors, we miss the urban encounters that used to be such a big part of our life. At the end of March, we're taking a cross country trip, from LA to NJ, in an Art Car I created for work and hope to stay with fellow surfers along the way to meet new people and share the crazy car experience.

Interests

Words, images, nature, learning. I like holding newspapers in my hand and breathing fresh air. Although I take a camera nearly everywhere I often prefer looking at what's in front of me, sans lens. I love grassroots politics, pistachio ice cream and Jon Stewart. Brian is a former engineer who loves to fill notebooks with math equations, Charlie Rose, fixing things, growing vegetables and making like Thoreau at Walden Pond.

• cats
• arts
• writing
• dining
• wine
• running
• politics
• painting
• music
• engineering
• journalism
• law
• mathematics

Music, Movies, and Books

If it's done with passion, I'll listen to anything, with the possible exception of heavy metal (Sorry, Poison!). If it's written with fervor, I'll read it. Favorites include Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jane Smiley, John McPhee and Richard Brautigan, along with any episode of "The Simpsons" and anything by Nora Ephron and Alfonso Cuaron.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I convinced the advertising specialty company I work for to break from the norm and let me decorate a used 2002 Mazda with hundreds of promo products like zombie stress balls, logoed slinkys, giant foam hats and a whole lot of pens, keychains and doodads. I used a ton of glue and let my imagination run wild, painting the hood and roof to resemble a road and giving it a coat of Jackson Pollack-inspired swirls on top of the tchotchkes (picture the Weinermobile crashed into a car driven by Keith Haring). Yes, it's street legal and so far I've driven it nearly 3,000 miles. Next stop: LA to NJ, along the southern route. It's a blast seeing kids' eyes pop open wide when they see "the fun car" and answering with a resounding "yes" when people ask "Does that stuff stay on?!?" I learned a ton about creating an Art Car, made a bazillion mistakes (some things, like fingers and eyelids, are not meant to be glued) and went waaaaaaay outside my cubicle comfort zone along the way, for the first time in a long while. Life can be one long mad adventure -- a lesson we forgot. With this experience, we're hoping to remember.

Teach, Learn, Share

Anyone can create an Art Car -- or decorate their car whatever way they see fit, as long as objects don't obscure visibility. Who knew? I didn't and now I can teach anyone how to transform their vehicle into a moving expression of their personality. I also love to take portraits of people I meet. Brian has an encyclopedic mind for music and loves all thing mechanical.

What I Can Share with Hosts

The crazy car adventure. Hosts can sit in it, drive it, sign it, take pictures with it, glue something to it. We'll be responsible for our own food and will have wine to share. We'll only stay 1 night, departing early to return to the road.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Ecuador, England, France, Mexico