I left my home in New Jersey on Sept. 12, 2014 in the pursuit of happiness. I lived there almost my entire life, and while I had some travel experience, the opportunity arose to really get out and see the country (and then the world). I currently have freelance writing contracts that afford me a relatively stable nomad lifestyle.

I want to see everything there is to see in North America, then possibly venture abroad. I'm writing about and photographing my travels so I want to try a lot of things, see things that locals know about and jump off some cliffs here and there. You can see how it's going so far at www.lifeasanomad.com. It's mostly about the travels, but is becoming more interspersed with musings on societal events and issues.

My interpersonal philosophy can be summed up thusly: You do you. As long as you aren't harming, oppressing or denigrating others, believe what you want to believe, act how you want to act and fuck who you want to fuck. If you are getting in other people's way, I will gladly have a thoughtful conversation with you about why that is. As for your own life, whose business is it but yours anyway?

If you're into labels, you might consider me a humanist.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Because you people are awesome. That's right, I said YOU PEOPLE. Couchsurfers. Hikers. Dirtbaggers. Bikers. Backpackers. Nomads. You are doing it right!

I'm living out of a 1997 Camry, hopefully upgrading to a van or other larger vehicle before 2017 ends. I do a light amount of writing work on the road that allows me to travel basically full-time, and I've never been happier.

I'm an actively aspiring landscape and nature photographer, spending the majority of my time hiking, exploring and finding the best spots/angles for sunrise and sunset images. That means I'm up very early, often nap during the day, and up fairly late. Enjoy the occasional party, but already had a decade of living like that and don't get too out of control anymore. I love nature. I could say more, but that's really it. I love nature. I want to live in a tree. I want to bathe in rivers. I want to see elk and moose walk by and wonder what that thin little biped is doing all the way out there in the middle of nowhere.

That's my story.

Interests

Guitar, singing, karaoke, science, soccer, movies, select books, hiking, writing, waxing philosophical, politics, current events, local beers, 420, hanging with fun people who have interesting conversations, drinking and drinking games, learning about alternative lifestyles and hearing different opinions. I will never look down on someone who thinks differently than I do if they have solid reasoning for their point of view. However, I abhor willful ignorance. I fucking love live music, to the point where the style and lyrics are often much less important than the passion and skill of the artist(s). (Props to Nashville and Austin)

• writing
• books
• singing
• cooking
• beer
• drinking
• drinking games
• politics
• technology
• movies
• traveling
• music
• live music
• guitar
• karaoke
• hiking
• backpacking
• soccer
• business
• freelancing
• history
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Music - I like rock, blues, folk, classic rock, powerful strings, bass & drums, some metal, alternative, indie, and even some more instrumental electronica. I'll listen to any song for at least 15 seconds before skipping it.

Movies - The Man From Earth - I'm into blockbuster fare as much as foreign films and kung fu. I don't actively avoid putting my favorites into categories, but they can be so varied that I don't think it's useful.

Books - I like to read some popular novels and series, anything satirical (Vonnegut and Douglas Adams for example), or strange (Chuck Palahniuk), the occasional biography or autobiography and some sparse non-fiction about history, science, modern events or near-future expectations and predictions.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I jumped off an 80-foot cliff in a defunct rock quarry with no knowledge of what was in the water below. New title for this section: One amazingly stupid thing I've survived.

Also, ran across the ridgeline of a sand dune in a lightning storm. NOT RECOMMENDED.

Teach, Learn, Share

I read a lot of articles, both online and in print, and therefore I know a lot of things. My most frequent topics of interest are science, American politics, history, famous figures, technology, music, societal issues and futurism, and I absorb as much as I can and like to listen as much as I like to talk. I'm not spiritual, but can be heavily philosophical if there are others to entertain the ideas.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Everything I listed in the sections above. Plus some cooking.