TL;DR: If you're coming to Berkeley or Oakland and just wanna meet up, I'd be up for it! :) When it comes to hosting, I can only host for one night max, and my home is fragrance-free and I would need you to be too, because I have a chemical sensitivity.

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY
Karma. The law of attraction / Manifestation. Personal accountability. Living lightly. Anti-consumerist, pro-environmental progressive. Three things I'm devoted to in life: Community, Creativity and Connection.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING
I joined a while back but didn't dive in. Have only had lunch with one CSer so far when we were both traveling in Hawaii, she was really sweet and nice. I joined CS because I was impressed by what seemed like a very positive CS community. I've wondered how much the CS network has been able to maintain it's aspects of community and authentic connection ever since things like Airbnb popped up; I wonder if it's made CS more or less active, and more or less genuine. I think a lot about things like this, since one of my goals in life is building true community. I'm here to discover all of the above and more.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
Haven't been able to get hosted by anyone else yet. Am finally living in a place where I can host others.

Interests

Things I adore:
looking at plants and bugs really closely, having loooong conversations, photography, sitting in the sun, cocktails, awesome vegetarian/pescatarian cooking, yoga, smiling, making new friends, being organized, fixing things with random solutions a la MacGyver, writing/poetry, sketching & drawing, smart & creative activism, the word "pulchritudinous," public transit, bright sunshine, good analogies, women hip hop artists, DIY culture & craftivism, the sound of zippers, crochet, tofu triangles, community dinners, forgiveness, multiplication, naps in the sun, leaves that are larger than I am, logic puzzles, sustainability, the smell of fog, learning new things, treehuggers, making plans in advance, gardening, dark chocoloate with almonds, the sound of faraway windchimes, having lots of free time, the snooze button, and of course traveling!

Things I abhor:
Musicals (except for 2 — if you can guess 'em you win a prize), SUVs, political/beaurocratic idiocy, poor work ethic, mint, flourescent overhead lighting, cigarette smoke, toothpaste blobs on the sink, waste in all forms, people who chew loudly with their mouth open, having to see or hear someone brush their teeth.

• culture
• writing
• poetry
• design
• photography
• sketching
• perfumes
• diy
• cooking
• cocktails
• vegetarian
• yoga
• gardening
• traveling
• crochet
• puzzles
• drawing
• law
• logic

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
You name it... my music loves are wide and various: a tribe called quest, roots reggae, hip hop, pretty much anything from the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s, world music, bonobo, anything i can do karaoke to... and making up silly songs with other playful people :)

Movies: Coming to America, Fight Club, The Big Lebowski, Amelie, Hukkle

Books: all my cookbooks (especially Moosewood), "The Gift" by Hafiz, "Pronoia is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the whole world is conspiring to shower you with blessings" by Rob Brezny, "Affluenza" by Thomas Herbert Naylor, "Spilling Open" by Sabrina Ward Harrison, anything by Dr. Seuss, "The Phantom Tollbooth"

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sleeping under the stars in the Moroccan desert.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love helping people who think they're not "artists" get back in touch with their creativity in fun and goofy ways. I also have some design skills, vegetarian cooking skills and accomplishing-goals-skills.

What I Can Share with Hosts

- If you're coming to Berkeley and want to just meet up, I'm up for it!
- I can only host for one night at a time.

I can offer a couch or air mattress in the living room for a night. An apartment that is not cold; I keep it warm in here.

IMPORTANT: I have a chemical sensitivity that makes me very sensitive to fragrances (I get killer headaches from them) and yes that includes incense, essential oils and most scented products, so I keep my apartment fragrance-free. Anyone who stays with me needs to be willing to be fragrance-free too.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Germany, Morocco, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belize, United States