I like sounds and smells, prefer to sit on the left side of the bus, and overly shiny objects freak me out.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

In January of 2009, I could no longer afford to live in my apartment in San Francisco. Having nowhere to go, I put all my belongings in storage and put myself in the hands of strangers and friends throughout the city. I would stay at someone's place for a few days, leave, then find somewhere else to go. At times, I would leave someone's home with my two bags, get on the bus, and not know where I was going next. I would even show up to work carrying those two bags, which contained my entire life during this time: four outfits, a toothbrush, about six books, and my journal. After three months of patiently wandering the city I love, I was finally able to get a loft in the heart of downtown.

Knowing fully well that I would have been sleeping at Dolores Park if it had not been for the help of strangers from couchsurfing and friends from all over, I told my roommate and best friend, Rachel, about the couchsurfing project and we immediately decided to open our home to various travelers and lost souls, making life-long friends from all over the world.

I guess in a way you could say I was paying restitution for the kindness that was so easily given to me. But to be honest, there is no greater feeling than taking someone into your home, showing them the real San Francisco, then seeing that twinkle in their eye--the one that silently shouts "There is nowhere I'd rather be than here with you."

Hosted:
*Etienne: France
*Gareth, Bongi, Ian, and Ricardo: Cape Town, South Africa
*Matt: Portland, Oregon
*Breno: Recife, Brazil
*Graham: Ireland
*Stephanie: Netherlands
*Glenn: Australia
*Suzanne: Vancouver, Canada
*Sofia:Sweden
*Eleonore: Paris, France
*Bradley: Perth, Australia
*Wannes: Belgium
*Ryan: Portland, Oregon
*Milos: New York City, New York
*Tim: Australia
*Benoit: France
*Erlend (and his sister): Norway
*Mario: Colombia
*Lidia: Spain
*Daniele: Rome, Italy
*Mario: New York
*Justin: Memphis, Tennessee
*Caitlin: St. Louis, Missouri

Interests

Music, comedy, movies, whiskey, reading, writing, karaoke, magic tricks, walkabouts, and the like.

• writing
• books
• movies
• reading
• magic
• music

Music, Movies, and Books

2021 edit: I'm keeping these lists because I wrote them like 15 years ago when it was still cool to write lists of all your favorite things and I don't want to lose them because I'm sentimental.

MUSIC:
Will Oldham
Velvet Underground
Frehel
Nick Drake
Bob Dylan
Arthur Brown
Jelly Roll Morton
Ella Fitzgerald
John Coltrane
Lil Green
Bessie Smith
Skip James
Thelonious Monk
Bukka White
Animal Collective
Grizzly Bear
Peter Sarstedt
Duke Ellington
Miles Davis
Yann Tiersen
Devendra Banhart
Joanna Newson
the Melvins
Loose Fur
Tom Waits
Vetiver
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Louis Armstrong
Bill Callahan
Ween
Black Lips
Led Zeppelin
Astrud Gilberto
Sigur Ros
Serge Gainsbourg
Jon Brion
Daniel Johnston
The Moldy Peaches
Andrew Bird
Why
Beulah
Pavement
O.M.D.
The Redwalls
Simon and Garfunkel
Jimi Hendrix
Beck
Spoon
Midlake
Man Man
Fats Waller
Cat Stevens
Eagles of Death Metal
Count Basie...

MOVIES:
Fantastic Planet
Vertigo
After Hours
Wings of Desire
Delicatessen
O' Brother, Where Art Thou?
Paris, Je T'aime
Amelie
Murder by Death
Me and You and Everyone we Know
Oldboy
The Hudsucker Proxy
John and Mary
Brick
Natural Born Killers
the Godfather
Tuvalu
Trust
Let the Right One In
The Fly
From Dusk Till Dawn
La Strada
American Psycho
Harold and Maude
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Forrest Gump
A Clockwork Orange
Lolita
There Will Be Blood
American History X
Gummo
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Dogtooth
Antichrist
My Blue Heaven
I Love You Alice B. Toklas!
Paper Moon
The Pleasure of Being Robbed
Tetro
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
12 Angry Men
True Romance
The Edukators
Everything is Illuminated
Down By Law
Wristcutters: A Love Story
Ghost World
City Lights
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
Almost Famous
Milk
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Sudden Manhattan
Un Chien Andalou
Little Otik
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Rushmore
Pulp Fiction
Alice
Elling
The Lives of Others
Snatch
Taxi Driver
Boogie Nights
Naked Lunch
Rosemary's Baby
Santa Sangre
The Evil Dead
Eyes Wide Shut
Mindwarp
Moon
Pierrot Le Fou
Mother
Jules and Jim
The Big Lebowski
Misery
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
A Very Long Engagement
Shoot the Piano Player
Thirst
Y tu Mama Tambien
The City of Lost Children
Bright Young Things
Once Upon a Time in America
The Naked Civil Servant
Teeth
Broken Flowers
Being There
Visioneers
The Rage in Placid Lake

Documentaries:
The Cruise
The King of Kong
Meeting People is Easy
Bukowski: Born Into This
The Atomic Cafe
I'm Still Here
I Think We're Alone Now
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Crumb
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
The Wild and Wonderful Whites
The Parking Lot Movie
Big Time
This Film is Not Yet Rated
The Yes Men Fix the World
Vice Guide to Travel
We Live in Public

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I moved to San Francisco when I was 19 without a job, plan, home, or friend in town. Now, I live in an intentional community that I helped start, work on projects that inspire me, and feel incredibly connected to the world.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm pretty well-connected to intentional communities and have places folx can stay in San Francisco. I'm also a long-time vegan and can cook a mean veggie meal.

Countries I’ve Visited

Denmark, England, Germany, Iceland, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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