CURRENT MISSION

Ukiyo, the Floating World; my personal mantra: keep the mind limber, the soul lean.

ABOUT ME

I am a graduate from the University of the Fraser Valley, In Abbotsford, BC. I hold a BA in English Literature. My literary interests are poetry, poetics, semiotics, ecology and the environment, spirituality, Asia, Indigenous issues and culture, Romantics, The Beats, Black Mountain, TISH, and Turtle Island School.

While in school I was the Arts & Life editor at The Cascade newspaper and a DJ for CIVL radio, both for over three years. My show is the "electric church", you can check it out online at www.civl.ca in podcast form. I'd love to start up a pirate radio version of it or independent podcast. I am published in "Making Waves: Reading BC and Pacific Northwest Literature" with an essay on Robert Bringhurst and Haida literature. ("The Great Story of British Columbia: Robert Bringhurst and Haida Oral Literature") I also served as contributing copy editor to the edition.

Since leaving school, I have moved to Vancouver and live in a cozy little neighbourhood called Hastings-Sunrise in EastVan. I work for Granville Island Brewing and love it. I have had several journals and periodicals publish my writing and poetry including Pacific Rim Review of Books, subTerrain, Cascadia Review and others. I am working on a few chapbooks of poetry and longer journalistic features, not to mention trying my hand at blogging (link to come!).

In Abbotsford i interned at the Reach Gallery and Museum as a community programs assistant and would live to get back to planning and organizing events again.

PHILOSOPHY

My biggest personal philosophy is....Balance; the middle way, being mindful that everything is connected.

All things must pass...The one universal rule!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I can always try to make it work and definitely find time to hang out and show you around if you wind up in my little corner of the world.

I am 420 friendly and inclusive of all people. LGBTQ fiendly.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Nothing but love, kindness and a constant reminder of the goodness out in this world. Couchsurfing has so far been one of the greatest ways to have yer faith in humanity strengthened.

Interests

Music! I Love music, listening to it, writing about it, collecting records, mooning over vintage stereo equipment, seeing live shows, and endless discussions.

I love to read and write about...anything. See my academic interests and it goes from there!! My book collection rivals my record collection. Id like to think they could both be described as "bitchin'". Poetry and non fiction are big passions but i also love a good scifi or fantasy or any good novel.

I love nature and the environment and i especially love our beautiful west coast. Hikes, nature walks. Know the plants, the animals, the mountains. Going slow.

I love cooking, though hardly call myself good so much as functional with flair. Most importantly I try to eat mindfully when I can. I always try to keep a garden in my backyard. I love wine, whiskey and beer and can probably find you something you'd like to drink. I definitely subscribe to the school of thought that one ought to drink often and well. I try to keep my fridge well stocked.

Though I do not subscribe to organized religion, I am certainly a non-denominationally spiritual person. Drawing on inspiration for paths around the world, I have certainly shaped a person spirituality. I meditate and play Tai Chi.

• animals
• arts
• culture
• writing
• books
• literature
• poetry
• environment
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• meditation
• drinking
• gardening
• reading
• blogging
• drawing
• music
• hiking
• ecology
• religion
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The Big Lebowski, Almost Famous, Dazed and Confused, I'm Not There, The Darjeeling Limited, Pineapple Express, all things Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.

Books: Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson, Hawai'i One Summer by Maxine Hong Kingston, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemmingway, The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, Poems from Ish River Country by Robert Sund, Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac, anything by Gary Snyder, HOWL and other Poems by Allen Ginsberg, The Rum Diaries by Hunter S. Thompson, The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthieson and many many more!

Music: I know everyone says they like everything, but that is very true for me. rock, classic or new and the blues are my wheelhouse. My loves also include jazz, soul, RnB, techno, psychedelic, folk, ambient, classical, experimental, hip hop, rap, reggae, world, hell even a bit of country. I will give anything a try.

TV: Everyone on Couchsurfing needs to check out the excellent travel show, "departures." http://departuresentertainment.com/

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Driving all night through the desert outside of Las Vegas, we stopped our car, sat on the hood and let the stars swallow us.

visited 10 states (4.44%)Create your own visited map of The World or Like this? try: Cambrium

visited 4 states (30.7%)Create your own visited map of Canada or Free

visited 6 states (12%)Create your own visited map of The United States or website vertaling duits?

Teach, Learn, Share

I can help you remember how to meditate, teach you some plants, wine and beer and maybe even give you some writing tips if thats yer bag! Let's talk about it.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada

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