After graduation, I realized that breaking into the film and television industry was going to be more challenging than I thought. I waited tables for awhile, saved some money and went to London to take an advanced seminar at the British Film Institute. That led to a year of travel that got me all the way to India. When I returned to the states I worked in a restaurant, got fired, answered an ad in the paper from a pump company that trained me to review and do quotations for centrifugal pumps. They didn't pay much but I picked up all the basic engineering necessary to do the job well. That led to a job with another pump company with whom I stayed for 29 years and included 2 years in their Middle Eastern office in Greece and 1 year in Holland. I returned to the Houston office in 1983 stayed there until I had enough years that I could take 'early retirement'. It coincided with an opening at Bechtel Corporation that was looking for a pump specialist. For years I never referred to myself as a mechanical engineer since I wasn't degreed, but now, I am comfortable with that title. Strange the chain of events in our lives.

In March of 2014, I decided to retire. I now use my time for food related projects, hanging out with friends and taking care of a family member.

During my college years, I would drive down from Austin to Mexico City in the summer. A friend of my father, from my father's home town in Poland had immigrated to Mexico at the same time that my father immigrated to the United States. Their family and our family have stayed very close over the years. I have been traveling in and exploring regions of Mexico for over 40 years now and love the country.

I was fortunate to be able to do recipe testing and research for my friend, Robb Walsh's cookbook, The Tex-Mex Cookbook.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Always good to meet people from other countries and also be able to make Houston a more pleasant experience by sharing my knowledge of things to do and places to go.

Interests

Food Science and Cooking. Travel. Music (all kinds...I am a 20 year old trapped in a 60 year old body)

• books
• dining
• cooking
• traveling
• socializing
• blogging
• music
• engineering
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Check out my Spotify page for my music interests.
Preference for hard sic-fi such as John Varley or Robert Heinlein.
Check out my Facebook page and photographs to see me in greater detail. My sense of humor, my travels, my daily life, etc. (Jay Francis)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Moderator: Houston Chowhounds Facebook Page.
Recipe tester for 4 of Robb Walsh's books.
My fried chicken blog at www.thefriedchickenblog.blogspot.com at which I documented the annual German/Czech fried chicken picnics of Central Texas.

Teach, Learn, Share

I speak Spanish as well as English.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am a low maintenance, trouble free guest. And I will cook for you to say "thank you". My specialties are Moroccan and Mexican.

Countries I’ve Visited

Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Greece, Mexico, United Kingdom