CURRENT MISSION

It sounds silly, but I read about this site in an article in American Airlines magazine on a recent trip, and it really inspired me. I'm intrigued by the idea of having an "authentic" cultural experience, rather than just being a tourist.

ABOUT ME

I love life, and I love meeting people who share my passion for life. (Hmm...why do I sound like I'm writing a personals ad?) I'm often laughing and smiling, although I guess the flipside of that is that I'm very moody!

I'm a nerd.

I think that my dream job would be anthropologist, because people endlessly fascinate me.

Oh, and I'm currently writing a book. It's called "Cow Tongue and Klingons: Growing Up in a Household with Autism."

PHILOSOPHY

Hmm...this is a tough question to answer, in spite of all the time I spend grappling with it!

I guess my character can be summed up by saying that I'm equal parts rationality and compassion. People tend to see those two things as mutually exclusive (or at least entailing a tradeoff), but I think I'm very much both. I love logic and reason and science, trying to see the world as it is and not delude myself. But at the same time, I try to ask myself what I can do to make it better. I'm a total bleeding heart...but not a liberal.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I just found out about this site recently, so I can't claim to have participated very extensively. But I find the concept very appealing on multiple levels, so I'm hoping to become more active.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm new here...no previous couchsurfing experiences. Although I have met some very interesting people in my travels, and I was an exchange student in Japan at age 12.

Interests

Discussing philosophy, religion, and politics; power walking; cooking; eating; art; doing jigsaw puzzles; watching The Office; laughing; playing with children; camping out; hiking; traveling; swimming; writing; spending time with the people I love.

• arts
• writing
• books
• cooking
• walking
• politics
• traveling
• socializing
• puzzles
• hiking
• camping
• swimming
• anthropology
• logic
• religion
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

WAY too many to list! Here are a few:

Books: Crime and Punishment; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time; Mere Christianity; Freakonomics.

Music: Beatles, U2; Madonna; Jimmy Eat World; Jonathan Coulton; Peter Gabriel.

Movies: Mulholland Drive; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Clueless; Keeping the Faith.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Japan, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States