CURRENT MISSION

To find the consistencies within people and cultures

ABOUT ME

I wouldn't call myself an expert in anything but I'm a mix of an athlete and a nerd. I received a Bachelors of Science in mechanical engineering from the university of Cincinnati. I can't say that I love engineering, but I do love solving problems, figuring out how things (or people) work, and I love gadgets. I have been known to solve a few computer problems in my day whether its 24/7 tech support for my father or the occasional clean up of a friends computer. Add to that my love of competition and my fathers push into sports and you'll find that my younger years were filled with competition in many different arenas. Don't get me wrong though it wasn't just my father's drive that kept me in sports, I love to push my physical limits and then test myself against others.

PHILOSOPHY

I'm trying to educate myself on the people, ideas and cultures of this world so that I can better understand how I fit into it. I also would like to find out what people value, why they value it, and then how to change the world so that they can acquire that which they value.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I haven't found a way yet, beyond the usual of building the community by meeting new people and inviting friends to join. I could see myself after some time in the community finding a way to improve it, but I'm still new here.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have been living on people's couches since 2001, before I even knew about this site. Its always been friends or friends of friends, but there hasn't been one time that living on their couch didn't lead to a stronger friendship. I've lived on five different couches and hosted one friend on mine. I find it to be a great way to learn about someones interests, values and experience. I also find it neat to see the different groups of friends and the differences in how groups interact.

Interests

I love to gain new ideas that lead to patterns. I like to talk to people about things that they are passionate about, not just what was on tv last night. Aside from that I like to compete, in just about anything there is, from sports to card games to puzzles. I also enjoy cooking and learning new recipes. I love snowboarding, volleyball and billiards, any sports beyond that are always fun but those are my favorites

• causes
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• athlete
• technology
• tv
• billiards
• puzzles
• music
• snowboarding
• sports
• volleyball
• engineering
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

I go in and out with music mostly because the music industry here in the states is out to kill the creative artists and instead push "mainstream" crap. But that's quite a large can of worms that shouldn't be opened up now. I always like Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, CCR, Arrested Development, Pete Rock & Cl Smooth, Gangstarr, Jay Z, Time Machine/Mekelek, Atmosphere, hot hot heat, Bloc Party. As far as books go I read the fountainhead recently, that was good. I like the movies American History X, Shawshank Redemption, and Saving Private Ryan.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

To me amazing happens when someone exceeds their expectations, or begins to question their own truths and beliefs. I guess when most people think of amazing they think of something spectacular, its usually odd or outstanding. I guess I have seen so few people who challenge themselves and their beliefs, especially after college, that this has become amazing to me.

Teach, Learn, Share

I've been thinking a lot about change recently and so I've sketched up a rough idea of what causes change (in people), here goes:
1) Realizing that change needs to happen (this could be the moment when you can't put food on the table)
2) Understanding your impact on your problem (this could be figuring out that you spend to much time listening to music rather than working)
3) Understanding your options (all the different jobs that exist in your area that your qualified for)
4) Making a decision (Understanding how to choose a job based on what's best for you, weighing the pros and cons of each opportunity)

This is just a first cut so if you would like to expand on it I would be open to ideas. I would like this to be robust enough to be applied to any problem no matter how big or small.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Mexico, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

•