If urban BIKING is a part of your lifestyle, keep reading my profile here. But BEFORE you ask me to host you, please read ALL of the ABOUT me and about MY HOME. Note that many dates in my schedule are often blocked, because I don't have a fixed schedule at last edit. Email me here (including instructions below) if your dates are not open to see if they might be. And for good hosting matches, I can sometimes change my own travel plans. I'm a single gay guy living in the Castro District since 1996 in a 139 year old house under constant renovation that would have already been demolished in most US Cities. My offices are in the home, I personally run the front-end development of over 105 websites, providing customer service to the administrative users, so I am often busy in front of a screen, which may look like I am goofing off, doom scrolling, or just wasting time, when in fact, I am concentrating on some technical issue. I also maintain this old building, my workshop is here in my building. As with everything, I am typically busy from the hour I wake up until I crash. I do, however, take exercise breaks about every other day, usually a bike ride, and I'm more than eager to take a visitor along on my urban rides. Breaks from my routine to share my city on bike and baking pizzas are significant parts of my positive CS hosting experiences, so I seek to host visitors who would most likely enjoy urban biking and who can pedal up a typical hill in San Francisco, like 100m over 1km. Our home is a fragrance-free-zone - i.e. please leave your perfume, fragrance, eau de toilette and aftershave in their bottles and take a shower, located in my bathroom and stocked with plenty of Costco shampoo and soap, and dry off with the freshly laundered towel and washcloth that I'll provide for every visiting couchsurfer. Just because no one else has ever complained about your aromas does not mean the non-fragrance rule does not apply to you. My time is already over-obligated, I cannot afford to take time off to visit the hospital emergency room due to an alergic reaction. Opportunities to couchsurf at my home are limited. Between 1 November to 1 June, I travel extensively, and when I am in San Francisco, I frequently host alumni and students from my college (the US Naval Academy in Annapolis). I sometimes have a long term roommate. If I'll be home from traveling, have no visiting friends nor family, nor a major construction project, then I can take in a couchsurfer. I sometimes have a little wiggle room on my travel schedule, then I can shift my travel dates when a traveler seems to be a very good fit for being a guest. I have had to turn down over 97% of the requests to stay with me. Then, a few of the couchsurfers who have confirmed to stay with me have been no-shows, which really screws over some of the other 97% that I had to turn away. I’m OK with being your “Back Up” plan, but please let me know if I am the back up so I can give someone else a “Maybe” rather than a hard “No.” At popular times of the year (like all of July, August and September) I get a lot of requests from desperate couch surfers in a fun city tough for finding hosts. If you really get into urban biking and think you'll be a good fit for my Castro home, shoot me an email with your dates, and we'll check to see if one of my guests has had a change of plans. If your profile makes no mention of biking nor includes any photos of any outdoor physical activity, or if you need to smoke tobacco or if your "religion" or "faith" dictates that you cannot take a shower with soap, or if you need to consume large quantities of meaty flesh cut from bovine or suidae carcasses, or if you don't understand this paragraph, I am probably not a good CS hosting match for you. I've previously lived or have had family along most of the West Coast, from Port Angeles to San Diego. I know the quickest routes, and some of the more interesting ones that many visitors never get to experience. Now having read the above, and you feel you are up to it, please INCLUDE IN YOUR REQUEST how much you enjoy urban biking (it helps if you at least mention biking in your profile and bonus for having photos of you on your bike), that you understand the no-cologne zone needs of our home, and why you would be a great couchsurfing guest. If there is no mention, I can only assume you are among the 95%+ couch surfers who copy & paste shotgun requests or have too little in common to be a good fit to be sharing my office futon!

CURRENT MISSION Eat the world. Literally and figuratively. I am hungry. My passion is food. It is the number one reason why I travel. My stomach dictates all of my travel decisions. My father is an amazing chef so I grew up eating some of the best food in the world, I was spoiled with food as a kid. I love everything about food and food culture. I love eating food (obviously), cooking food for friends and family and strangers, finding new food or being shown new food, trying food I have never tried before, tradition and culture of food from all around the world. Other than food. I am a man of many interests. I like to have fun and kick back with my long list of awesome people I know, just relaxing and talking about life and getting weird. I really enjoy people who can get into real discussions about what they believe.

CURRENT MISSION Live it up because this ain't a rehearsal ABOUT ME Just living in the San Francisco area. Traveling bug hasn’t been eradicated quite yet. I enjoy hanging with friends, sports, games, podcasts, science, literature... I'm a strange blend of easy-going and judgmental; intellectual and silly; sensitive and politically incorrect. Traveling a good percentage of the globe, I've learned a lot about cultural idiosyncracies and general patterns of human behavior. Nature trips are always compelling, so my journeys to Eastern Africa, Southern Africa (camping safari), the Galapagos, and to the jungles of Thailand, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Belize and Peru have all been spectacular adventures. I've also enjoyed all of my summer canoe trips in the remote far northern reaches of Alaska and the Yukon.

I am a scientist and painting artist with a love for traveling and meeting new people. I was born in Iran and I moved to Miami for my PhD, then to Bay area California to work.

* * * I DO NOT LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO ANYMORE * * * I am a full-time nomad. Apparently, I can not figure out how to change my location 🤷🏻‍♂️ My website: www.ScottFinArtist.com A adventurous introvert, I am compassionate, outgoing, and friendly; I try to treat others with loving kindness . . similar to my little sister in Atlanta, who I highly recommend as a Couchsurfing host! https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/elizabeth-finsthwait Artist / ex-teacher with life-long curiosity and wanderlust, I love backpacking and climbing, National Public Radio and San Francisco sports teams, golf, sun and rain, meditating and dancing, nights out with friends and staying in alone, and all animals. Like comedian Jim Jeffries, I do not understand how our (United States) 2nd Amendment still exists: https://youtu.be/0rR9IaXH1M0

Greetings, fellow Couchsurfers! I am happy to host you if you ask! Why would you want to Couchsurf in my home when you really want to go to San Francisco? Well, the obvious reason is geography! It is very easy and quick to get to downtown San Francisco from my apartment, actually even easier than from some neighborhoods in San Francisco. And here are a few reasons you may wish to include a visit to Oakland in your journey. I am located in downtown Oakland where you can experience local culture and activities, including the Oakland Museum of California and the Black Panther Party Museum. My apartment is just a few blocks from many public transit options such as BART and bus lines. Getting to San Francisco is a 12 minute train ride. There is even an AMTRAK station only 21 minutes walk from my place. Since I am retired now, I can welcome you to my home early in the day and I am happy to have you stay late on the date of your departure. Request two nights, and I can host you for three full days! This is actually the optimal length of your stay with me and it gives you plenty of time to spend in San Francisco. I'm happy to discuss possibilities and arrangements with you before you submit a request to stay with me. I have a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland. I am willing to share my good fortune with others! See more pics of my home and my city on Instagram. Find me here: https://www.instagram.com/sailor.sfbay/ cool runnings! Everyone is better off when everyone is better off. So, let's do it! (Fully vaccinated! Is this even a thing, still?)

**June 2024 I have an open ticket with Helpdesk at CouchSurf as there is a glitch in my profile. Seems fine when viewed from computer, but when on phone app it shows me as a middle eastern man?!?!?! Not to fret! I am me - 45 year old female from California, and I WAS ONE OF THE FIRST 100 COUCHSURFERS EVER. (actually #11 !!!). So they tell me the migration thru different versions has my profile malfunctioning for the moment. CURRENT MISSION: Be Kind Have Fun Live Harmoniously Laugh my face off Every damn day I am an aficianada of motion and stillness. Sneakers or stilettos, I enjoy dancing into the unknown. ABOUT ME: In Northern California, we ride BIKES !!! On mountains, up them, near them, over them, on them. I love nature and the great outdoors. PHILOSOPHY: Turn off the television.

hello! here's me in a nutshell & things I love: - meditation - movies - awe (probably one of my primary emotions) - kale & tofu - excitement (most definitely my primary emotion) - art & design - my 20 yr old cat that I've had since I was 9(!) - tofu, bc it deserves to be listed 2x - novelty - cats & dogs of all sizes - reading - hiking (esp if there's some water feature involved) - baking + cooking (although baking is my specialty) - all the other -ing stuff