CURRENT MISSION

increase spontaneity, decrease luggage

ABOUT ME

i am a model, ny barred attorney, and animal advocate. i take many photos and dance freely. if i really like something i am eating, i will bob my head to it as if it were a really good song.

PHILOSOPHY

i believe that--no other purpose being knowable--the best approach to life is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. bc of empathy, the most scalable way to increase one's own joy is to reduce the suffering of others. ending factory farming is the most efficient way to reduce suffering since each year 10 billion sentient individuals are brutally tortured and killed. my life goal is to end this practice.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

i've joined couchsurfing in 2007. i have made many good friends through the project and continue to meet up with them all over the world. my roommate and i host last-minute couch requests at our apartment in manhattan.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

i returned to the US in december 2007 after three months travel in asia and australia. in february, my best friend, jon, and i drove from maryland to utah, i saw the midwest for the first time and spent that spring being a ski bum. in may, jon and i went on an epic journey of the south which covered nevada, arizona, new mexico, texas, oklahoma, arkansas, tennessee, kentucky, north carolina, south carolina, georgia, alabama and louisiana. thanks to all of you who lent us a couch along the way!

in june 2008 i returned to korea for three months to teach, returned to the US that october, spent a week in dc, helped out with the general election in california and spent the rest of november and part of december studying spanish in costa rica.

in february 2009 jon and i spent a few months getting to know south america starting in uruguay and traveling via bus to argentina, chile, bolivia, peru and ecuador. on the spur, we decided to cut that trip short to spend some time exploring the middle east.

in august 2009, i entered law school and returned to getting my education from books. i managed to make it to mexico, belize, hong kong, thailand, grenada, germany, spain, the netherlands, portugal, switzerland, and france, while keeping up with my studies.

i moved to new york city in april 2013 and for the first time in my life discovered the sensation of never wanting to leave.

i have previously slept on couches, floors, spare beds in san francisco ca, columbus oh, breckenridge co, lindfield nj, norfolk va, los angeles ca, sydney australia, dubai uae, goa india, beijing china, seoul south korea, taipei taiwan, washington dc, charlottesville va, silver spring md, new york ny, phoenix az, atlanta ga, nashville tn, seattle wa, tucson az, flagstaff az, amsterdam netherlands, paris france, portland or, salt lake city ut, memphis tn, south beach fl, new orleans la, san antonio tx, redondo beach ca, montevideo uruguay, cairo egypt, jerusalem israel, mexico city mexico, stone harbor new jersey, boulder colorado, barcelona spain, lisbon portugal, castricum the netherlands, geneva switzerland.

pictures are kept at: http://picasaweb.google.com/a.melissa.meyer
travel/life log at: http://randomtravelupdates.blogspot.com

Interests

vegan food. philosophy. hiking. adrenaline. macrobiotic cooking. tea shops. logic. brilliant conversation. epiphanies. dancing. cats. roller coasters. jazz. skiing. snowboarding. mosh pits.

• animals
• cats
• books
• photography
• dancing
• education
• dining
• cooking
• vegan
• yoga
• modeling
• traveling
• bouldering
• jazz
• hiking
• skiing
• snowboarding
• teaching
• law
• logic
• medicine
• beaches
• last minute travel

Music, Movies, and Books

at the moment movie: speciesism: the movie by my good friend mark devries
at the moment music: anything that features dark lyrics paired with a poppy beat (think joy division, foster the people)
at the moment book: the lean startup

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

went vegan

Teach, Learn, Share

yoga
dance
macrobiotic cooking
health & nutrition
travel
digital photography
rocking at life
how to bluebook

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Grenada, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Netherlands, Palestine, Peru, Portugal, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, South Korea, Spain, United States

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