Until about a year and a half ago, I was the general manager of a restaurant in Denver, CO, to which I am a native, before deciding to sell everything I own and sate my wanderlust. I road tripped around the United States for four months, lived in St. Thomas in the USVI for a year and now I just moved to New Orleans.
I have a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Colorado at Denver. Before returning to the service industry several years ago I was a social worker in healthcare for many years, most recently working with the mentally ill in nursing homes.
I believe very strongly that you have to roll the dice if you want to win. Not everything turns out the way you planned but some of the best and most important experiences I've had have not been planned.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I prefer the locals experience to the sterile contrived experience hotels and resorts offer. Locals give much better recommendations than concierges do and offer better conversation.

Interests

I am a great appreciator of music, although I have no musical talents of my own.
I love good conversation and trying new things.
I believe museums, cemeteries and record shops are the best stops along the way!

Music, Movies, and Books

My musical tastes tend to be very eclectic but my top five artists of all time are The Velvet Underground, The Sonics, The Ramones, LCD Soundsystem and Howlin' Wolf. The genres I gravitate most to are garage rock, blues, proto and early punk, psychobilly, dance punk and rockabilly. I prefer vinyl to digital but only in recordings before 1985.
My favorite movies are Chasing Amy, The Royal Tenenbaums, Silence of the Lambs, From Hell and American Psycho. I prefer a good psychological thriller to a romantic comedy any day.
The books I read usually are either biographies or poetry from antiquity.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I sold almost everything I owned, quit my job, hopped in my car and traveled the United States for 4 months, Couchsurfing most of the way.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd love to learn another language. I took Latin in high school which only seemed to help me do very well on the verbal portion of the ACTs.
I also bought a mandolin and would love to learn to play it.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Oodles of tales from my days in healthcare and the service industry and now countless tales of the road.
An experienced novice's knowledge of wine and cocktails. I have an uncanny ability to make a great cocktail with limited resources.
I've been told me limoncello and chicken Parmesan are top notch.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Dominican Republic, England, France, Mexico, United States, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States, Virgin Islands, U.S.