👋. que pasa

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Joined in 2009, after my friend Sia recommended it. Showing my age, ha.

Didn't do much with it initially.
It later transpired that it contains the highest concentration of cool, interesting and all-round nice people on the planet. Somehow they let me in too.

Moved to St Albans, joined the local group and eventually became one of the moderators. It was a very active group, regular meet ups and lots of great events. Fun times, and great memories. I made very good friends there, that stayed in my life since then. And had an overwhelmingly positive impact on me, come to think of it.

Moved back to London, and now more of a CS part-timer. The pandemic situation didn't help, but it's livelier now.

Interests

- Buying books. Not reading them. Feeling bad about it. Repeat. Would highly recommend.

-Travelling. You too? No way

-Games. Non-digital ones, that create a narrative of some sort. Often very nerdy. Occasionally fun too.

-Martial arts. Russian ones. Yeah it's a thing

-Trying different things. Outdoorsy stuff. Art galleries. Events. Posh doughnuts. Jumping from cliffs. Talking to strangers.

apparently i also like making lists. It's a Virgo thing.

Music, Movies, and Books

there's a list, but it's always changing.

In the Pre-blip version i picked one that reminded me of couchsurfing, for each category. It's looking rather dated now, but here it is:

-Book. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Highlights the importance of towels while you're travelling.

-Movie. "The secret life of Walter Mitty" has a certain anything-is-possible quality to it. Like couchsurfing - on a good day.

-Song. "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" - the lyrics (or rather the lyrics before the woman starts singing).

For the post-blip version, let's save it for a pub chat. gives me time to figure it out.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I got on a train right before the doors closed?

...other than that, finding my way to the boiler room of an underwater shipwreck in the Philippines ranks pretty high

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach. I can teach you how to read the Greek alphabet, in roughly 40 minutes. But you have to commit.

Learn. Why you want to learn the Greek alphabet.

Share. Fire & lightning (on a good day). Travelling tips on a bad one, so it's a win win. Stories, passions. crazy ideas. random thoughts, visions for the future. The experience of discovering a place together. As Marcel Proust says: "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes". I can also dazzle you with cool quotes like this.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Bad jokes?

I'm one of these fake CSers that only do events. So if I'm asking you to host, something has gone seriously wrong. e.g. i'm missing a kidney. In which case you'll have to take one for the team and cope with the sound of me snoring in the background.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Greece, United Kingdom

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