CURRENT MISSION

Down-to-earth, city and country lovin', likes urban art and scene, photography, books, music, new people and places to explore

ABOUT ME

I value my good friends, reading, being outdoors, doing new things, exercising and staying healthy, laughing, recycling, community work, and living a somewhat thrifty lifestyle. I have been a professional cook and a professional writer/photographer. I love to free-style dance to rock, funk, pop. Love the outdoors in the summer!

PHILOSOPHY

I live my life as balanced as I can--combining work and fun and maintenance of health and resources. I would say I'm easy going. I also know my boundaries and I respect others' boundaries. I am agnostic. I believe that people bring with them a mix of beliefs and expectations that we shouldn't just tolerate but should embrace and try to understand. I have a deep creative side to me that I have fun with when I cook, when I explore places, when I create crafts, and when I get loose and goofy.

Quotes that reflect my beliefs:
“My ambition is handicapped by laziness”
― Charles Bukowski, Factotum

“Only the mediocre are always at their best. ”
― Jean Giraudoux

Charles Bukowski
“We're all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn't. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing.”
― Charles Bukowski

“What has no shadow has no strength to live.”
― Czesław Miłosz

“there are worse things
than being alone
but it often takes
decades to realize this
and most often when you do
it's too late
and there's nothing worse
than too late”
― Charles Bukowski

“The role of the artist is to ask questions, not answer them.”
― Anton Chekhov

“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey

“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well".

From: "More Maxims of Mark”
― Mark Twain

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
― Mark Twain

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
― Mark Twain

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I would like to stay at some places, nearby at first to see if I like this. Then, after my daughter moves out end of Aug 2013, there will be a room free to host fellow travelers.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

None yet (!) but have stayed at many youth hostels.

Interests

arts n crafts, especially with found objects, reading, outdoor concerts, walks with friends, food, foraging, photography, exploring new neighborhoods or outdoor trails

• arts
• writing
• books
• singing
• photography
• concerts
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• exercise
• crafts
• reading
• volunteer work
• music
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• volunteering
• rivers
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I read a couple books every week, non-fiction and fiction. I also read the New Yorker and other magazines. My favorite music genre is Rock/Pop but I also like blue grass, Americana, and some alt country. Favorite concerts in the past include Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, Lynard Skynard, Vienna Teng, and Nancy Griffith.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Volunteer work with different organizations. Taken cooking classes. Ride bikes, raft the rivers, hike the mountains. Mexico--Baja Peninsula. Copper Canyon. Favorite Cities: Vancouver, BC, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon. I've seen amazing things out in nature a lot. A sun setting while a moon rises up in the mountains of Oregon. A beautiful sunset among the red rocks of Arizona. I also love cities and exploring and really really looking at things you normally walk right by.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am most at ease around people who I don't feel are too critical or rigid. I have a little kid inside of me who still wonders at the world and wants to explore and join in the happiness of others. And then there's the other me, who is honest, responsible, pays the bills on times, loves to read in solitude or have meaningful conversations with friends.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States