CURRENT MISSION

California or bust!

ABOUT ME

After growing up and graduating from high school in small town in western Massachusetts, I went to college further down the east coast, where I excelled in the study of mostly useless things like history, Latin, and classical literature. After graduating in 2005, I did the only logical thing and enlisted in the U.S. Army. I served in Washington state, Germany, and, last but not least, a 14-month stint in Iraq. I returned safe and sound from Iraq in late 2008 and left the Army shortly thereafter.

While in Iraq, one of my great joys was imagining a cross-country trip I hoped to take in order to visit one of my oldest friends now living in Los Angeles. In March 2009 I finally set out on said trip, and that's what brings me here, to CouchSurfing. I've stayed with relatives and have also camped out a bit, but every so often I find myself forced to stay in hotels, which is both expensive and impersonal. I'd much rather stay with locals and get to know more about the area, and just hopefully meet some good people.

PHILOSOPHY

I'm a skeptic, a utilitarian, politically moderate-to-liberal. I don't think there's any inherent meaning in the universe or our lives, but living can be a lot of fun in and of itself, so I try to have a good time and not to hurt anyone else in the process.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm currently a complete CouchSurfing novice. I'm a very courteous guest, though, so please give me a chance.

Interests

Reading (especially history), hiking,

• literature
• reading
• hiking
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Here are the last five books I've read: "Drood" by Dan Simmons, "The Mission Song," by John LeCarre, "The Gamble," by Thomas Ricks, "The American Constitution: A Biography," by Akhil Reed Amar, and "Thirteen Moons" by Charles Frazier.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The one thing that tends to surprise people most about me, given the rest of my background, is the fact that I enlisted in the Army and served in Iraq. I suppose serving over there counts as "amazing" in some sense of the word. I'm happy to talk about what I saw and did over there; I feel like part of my duty is to educate people who are interested in the subject, whether they support or oppose what we're doing. My own views are mixed. You'll have to ask me to learn more.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Germany, Iraq

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States