CURRENT MISSION

Taking stock of what matters. Exploring the world. Finding balance.

ABOUT ME

Silly. Serious. Teacher. Learner.

PHILOSOPHY

Be nice. Live life with passion. Enjoy the little things. Get out of your box.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

None yet. Am looking to try it out on my upcoming trip to India!

Interests

Art, traveling, learning to paint, hanging out, reading, watching films, interior design, activism (living wage/homeless rights/prison reform--and that's just for starters), food/wine, friends, nature (esp water) yoga, biking, photography, and all-things- sociological. :-)

• arts
• design
• interior design
• photography
• beauty
• dining
• wine
• yoga
• politics
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• painting
• cycling
• boxing
• teaching
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Natural History of the Senses
First Light: A Magical Journey
Inheritance of Loss
Unless
Leaves of Grass
The Secret Life of Bees
Any good travelogue
Any great Sociological research...

It's a Wonderful Life
Hero
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Roman Holiday
Office Space
Philadelphia Story (and most Cary Grant/Kate Hepburn)
Monty Python (Holy Grail, Life of Brian)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Before Sunrise/After Sunset (like a great trip to Paris!)
Manchurian Candidate (orig. version)
Chicken Run
The Haunting (Dutch version...totally creepy!)
Hannah and Her Sisters
Like Water For Chocolate
Raise the Red Lantern
Il Postino
Roger and Me
Whale Rider
Europa, Europa
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Groundhog Day
Annie Hall
ET
A Christmas Story
What's Up Doc (and most B Streisand comedies)
Some like it Hot (and most M. Monroe comedies)
Raising Arizona
Shawshank Redemption
Fight Club
Memento

Today's choices are...U2, David Gray, , Yo La Tengo, US3, Elvis Costello, Public Enemy, Lamb, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Dead Can Dance, Moorcheba, Buena Vista Social Club, Ryan Adams, Nick Drake, Talking Heads, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, 10, 000 Maniacs, Kate Bush, The Cure, Massive Attack, Joni Mitchell, Mother Earth, Macy Gray, Ani Difranco, David Sylvian, Aztec Camera, Los Veracruzanismos, Steely Dan, Husker Du, Squeeze, early Liz Phair, Santana, Roxy Music, Kd Lang, Deee-Lite, Everything But The Girl, Parliment/Funkadelic, Matthew Sweet, Buffalo Tom, Alison Krauss, Portishead, Pete Yorn, Train, The Massacoustics, Pretenders, Rolling Stones, Archers of Loaf, REM, Billy Bragg, The Clash, Tracy Bonham, old Billy Joel (yes, really...think Cold Spring Harbor), Alanis Morrissette, Duncan Shiek, Dixie Chicks, Patty Griffin, Ben Folds, india.arie, Rage Against the Machine, Breeders, Luscious Jackson, Death Cab for Cutie, Paula Cole, Judith Edelman, Cake, Beastie Boys, Andy Stochansky, Matthew Sweet, Billie Holiday, and...ya know...a bunch of other stuff.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Done: Climbed an insane mountain--in a skirt--in Morocco.

Seen: Tikal (wow). Beaches of Thailand (my "happy place.")

Found a lot of beauty in unlikely places. (I teach in a prison and work with the homeless. It's taught me a lot!)

Teach, Learn, Share

Can certainly share my understanding of the world. Gender politics. How to make pierogies and Ukrainian eggs.

Will pass on knowledge that I've learned, such as:

Every object, every being,
Is a jar of delight.
Be a connoisseur.
~Rumi~

Life is raw material. We are artisans. We can sculpt our existence into something beautiful, or debase it into ugliness. It's in our hands. ~Cathy Better~

Things which matter most should never be at the mercy of things which matter least. ~Johann von Goethe~

"Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy."
--Wendell Berry

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Belize, Cambodia, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Guatemala, India, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Spain, United States

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