CURRENT MISSION

"Connecting people to fix the world over time is the deepest spiritual value you can have." (Craig Newmark)

ABOUT ME

I'm generally a steady, dependable person - though I realize that this is not the sexiest opener ever. I have an opinion about many things, but I'm always respectful and open-minded in my relationships with others. In a world that can't stop talking, I find that to be a virtue - and I believe my friends would agree.

I'm a really good listener and a much better writer than I am a speaker. I am talkative, but not when ordering my thoughts is required. I love to learn, to discover new things, but at the same time I'm a creature of habit who enjoys down-time and copes with change in his own time. I set my own pace.

Sometimes I'm an introvert, sometimes an extrovert, depending on the circumstances. An example? I generally prefer an evening curled up with a good book or a challenging, enriching conversation with a few friends at a quiet bar to a big party, but if I do go to said party, I'll be out on the dance floor all night and I'll be one of the last to leave.

I have an insatiable appetite for doing what it takes to become a more complete human being. Like CS'ing, for example.

PHILOSOPHY

"(...) In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy." - Max Ehrmann ("Desiderata")

I know that's a widely-known quote, but I think it's one of the rare ones that would actually be useful to read every morning when getting out of bed. I'm not much for ready-made slogans or easily summarized philosophies.

I live my life striving to be happy, to construct meaningful relationships with those around me, to enrich myself by challenging my own views. The easiest way to do that is to read, listen, watch, talk to those around you. To be comfortable with yourself and the world, but not complacent.

Life can look very different depending on the spot on this planet where you were born, and yet there are some things common to all. I'm a firm believer in the universal rights of man. I believe working together is the surest way to make actual progress. I believe positive emotions trump negative ones every time (that one's from "Inception", I'll admit it).

I'm a prudent pragmatist and a relativist secretly dreaming of being an epicurean and an idealist (and sometimes succeeding even while awake).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Due to circumstances which involve me waiting on significant other(s) too often and for too long, I still live at home. My parents are nice enough, but too fond of their quiet home to be swayed by the CS'ing spirit. In other words: I cannot host right now, but I will once I get my own place.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first and up to this point only CS'ing experience was with NYC's (then) couchsurfing ambassador. An ex-girlfriend and myself stayed at his apartment in Queens for four nights, and we were both very enthusiastic about the experience. The whole 'mi casa e su casa'-mood was amazing. Hungry? Here's the fridge, just make sure you replenish it later. Don't know what to do tonight? Let me show you this amazing place... Truly enriching. If I learned one thing though, it's to allow room for your host in your schedule. We had our week planned out from top to bottom, so we awkwardly had to decline some of his invitations for social activities - a bummer, in retrospect. Soon, I'll be traveling single and without too many things scheduled though, so I won't be making that mistake again.

Interests

Ever since graduating high-school, I've been keeping in touch with culture - mainly literature (including fantasy & SF), but also music, cinema and gaming. I studied Arts (Languages) in college, graduated with a thesis on Stephen King's "Dark Tower", found my first job as an assistant department manager in an entertainment store (selling books, then CD's/DVD's/Games), where I stayed for about three years before accepting my current job as an assistant-librarian in charge of everything youth-related. It won't be the end of the line for me, but I do enjoy the spontaneity working with children brings. When I'm not working, I'm still reading, going to concerts or movies, playing videogames, dancing (been following courses on and off since I was 11), or meeting with friends to talk, cook, have a beer, hang out. I'm interested in anthropology, history, politics, religion, philosophy - anything that yields good conversation. I'm also fascinated with sustainable / ecological development, which I may look into later on in my career. And of course, I greatly enjoy traveling, meeting new people and new cultures.

• arts
• culture
• writing
• books
• literature
• beauty
• concerts
• dancing
• cooking
• beer
• partying
• politics
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• music
• anthropology
• history
• languages
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

There are way too many to even list here, you'd have to scroll and keep scrolling. I have preferences, though.

In books, fantasy and science fiction I could read any day, American literature when I feel like I should read 'actual' literature from time to time. Names: Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Dan Simmons, Tad Williams, Michael Crichton, Kazuo Ishiguro, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, David Mitchell, Don Delillo.

In music, I veer towards indie rock, electro and soundtrack material (movies and games). At the moment: Sigur Ros, Arcade Fire, The National, Bear McCreary, Hans Zimmer, Apparat, Booka Shade, M.A.N.D.Y., ...

Movies and series, well, I'm eclectic. I can enjoy a good B-flick as well as an arthouse film or a summer blockbuster. Top of my head: (Le fabuleux destin d')Amélie (Poulain), A Very Long Engagement, Bringing Up Baby, Inception, 9, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, Kill Bill, Battlestar Galactica, Leverage, Carnivalé, ... I've seen a great many.

Feel free to ask me!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

(1) Arrival in India (Bangalore). The frantic taxi drive from the airport to the apartment of a friend. The noise, the people, the dirt. Living conditions that seemed so shoddy to these western eyes until they also witnessed the slums of Mumbai. A culture shock for sure.
(2) Road-tripping through California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada. The wide-open spaces, the miles upon miles of nothingness and/or natural beauty contained in one of the most powerful countries on the planet. Standing in downtown L.A. one day, the arid paradise of Joshua Tree the next and at the rim of the Grand Canyon the one after that. Incredible to recharge one's batteries.
(3) On an entirely different level: getting a group hug from a bunch of first-graders as a token of appreciation for the library game I devised and animated.

Teach, Learn, Share

Haha, well... I'm no specialist in anything.

I make a mean pasta sauce that's really rich because it includes lots of nom nom. I invented it while living at a dorm - my flatmates dubbed it 'spaghettim' and it is still known as such. I could make you some.

If you have any manuscript that needs reviewing (spelling and grammar but also content, if you're up for it), I'm extremely good at that. Too thorough for some though, so don't say I didn't warn you.

If you, my prospective host / guest, can teach me how to better live my life to the fullest, I'm listening. Also tips on creative writing (fiction): yes please! Also also I'd like to learn Spanish.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, India, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium

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