I know there are other sites and ways to get in touch, but for your own good do not mention these in messages.

CURRENT MISSION

To run the Boston Marathon (my PR is less than a minute off the old standard); to be a professional log roller (likely coming in 2023); see the amazing things in this world (currently looking at a cross-country roadtrip and Canada when I leave my job).

ABOUT ME

I love the mountains and want to take a cross-country roadtrip! I don't describe myself well, but I'm calm, environmentally-minded, outdoorsy, and adventure-seeking. I'm apparently all about taking my body to its limits - marathons, the Birkie (think marathon but cross-country skiing), polar plunges. I work at a software company and run, log roll, boom run, garden, and take pictures in my personal time.

Madison couch crash organizer for several years (since 2016?)

PHILOSOPHY

Enjoy things, savor good food, experience everything. Take it easy and keep in touch with family. I like to compete.

TRAVELING

I'll admit it, I have serious FOMO. I overplan trips and want to do and see all the things, and of course I find out about more things during the trip and don't do half the stuff I planned... and I keep adding more destinations to my "travel dream map" (link is later in my profile). If I've been somewhere you're thinking about, I can provide lots of advice! Generally I like to hit up the major tourist attractions and also find some lesser-known things. If there's a choice between a museum and something outdoors, I'll pick the outdoor option. Food is great, you have to look up iconic foods when you're visiting somewhere.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The Madison CS crowd is great and I like having the opportunity to meet people I otherwise probably wouldn't interact with. I've gotten to meet lots of neat people with very different interests and backgrounds. If left on my own, I probably wouldn't talk to anyone while traveling. Since COVID, I've been part of the CS Friday night virtual trivia series where I've been able to meet CSers from around the country and world, a couple of whom are good friends now and who I've gotten to meet in person now!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

7/13 - Madison Couch Crash
7/14 - hosted Janice and friend (NYC -> Portland)
7/14 - Madison Couch Crash
2/15 - Columbus, OH - surfed with Sean
6/15 - hosted Brendhan (IL)
7/15 - Madison Couch Crash
5/16 - Seattle - surfed with Abhi and Cynthia
7/16 - Twin Cities Couch Crash - surfed with Molly
7/16 - Madison Couch Crash
8/16 - Philadelphia - surfed with John
8/16 - hosted Joseph
8/16 - hosted Aaron
8/16 - hosted Pavle (Vienna)
10/16 - hosted Ashley (Canada)
2/17 - Talca, Chile - surfed with Daniel
5/17 - Vancouver, BC - surfed with Martin
6/17 - St Louis - surfed with Zen
7/17 - hosted Hilda (Venezuela/MSP)
7/17 - Detroit - surfed with Will
8/17 - hosted Kyle for Crossfit Games
8/17 - Denver - surfed with David (eclipse trip!)
8/17 - hosted Shirish and Yaiza for Madison Couch Crash
10/17 - hosted Forest and Maria for Freakfest
12/17 - hosted Erica, Dave, and Prezza
3/18 - Omaha - surfed with Robert
3/18 - Kona - hung out with Keo and Tine
3/18 - Hilo - surfed with Bob
4/18 - hosted Anthony who won the US 100K championships!
5/18 - Grand Rapids, MI - surfed with Natalie
7/18 - hosted Shirish for Madison Couch Crash
8/18 - hosted Robert (Omaha -> San Diego)
10/18 - La Crosse, WI - surfed with Clint and Cassandra
12/18 - Philadelphia - surfed with Steven
3/19 - hosted Dirk
6/19 - Ottawa, ON - surfed with Vince
6/19 - Montreal, QC - surfed with Vanessa
9/19 - hosted Gray, Amy, and Victor for Madison Couch Crash
11/19 - Edmonton, AB - surfed with Jacob, hung out with Ingrid
1/20 - hosted Meg
3/20 - Toronto, ON - surfed with Vijin
3/20~now - weekly CS trivia online!
6/21 - LA - met all the awesome CSers from online trivia, surfed with Cynthia
7/21, 10/21, 12/21, 5/22 - more adventures with trivia CS friends
3/22 - hosted Jane
6/22 - hosted Jane again
6/22 - hosted Collin
7/22-8/22 - met up with many awesome CSers in Doha, Zanzibar, Nairobi, Amsterdam
8/22 - Eldoret, KE - surfed with Irene
8/22 - Mfangano Island, KE - surfed with Patrick

4/24 - EclipseCrash in Carbondale
5/24 - hangout in Hanoi

Interests

I do a lot of outdoorsy/active stuff. Running (mostly focusing on marathons); biking (I don't have a car, I bike and bus everywhere); hiking/backpacking/camping; log rolling and boom running (it's a Midwestern thing!).

I do a fair amount of photography. I worked a lot at the college paper and did a summer photojournalism internship at the SJ Mercury News. Nowadays I'm mainly recording my life and interesting things in the world.

I took piano lessons from kindergarten through 12th grade. I'm trying to keep it up, still slowly learning new pieces. This is one of the things that I think a lot of my friends don't actually know about me.

Environmental issues. I think water is a fascinating topic in the US right now, from water safety (think Flint - side note: I work with that hospital) to scarcity/availability in the west. Lots of incredible places in this country.

Transportation: I've never owned a car and rely on public transportation and bike. I advocate for transportation equity with the Sierra Club and am always interested in talking about transportation issues!

• photography
• running
• hiking
• backpacking
• log rolling

Music, Movies, and Books

Taylor Swift, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Zedd, The Eagles. Go figure. I like good and happy beats

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Solo glacier exploring in Alaska on my birthday was hands-down the best birthday yet. I did a polar plunge, drank from a stream on the glacier, and found a lake and moulin (think bottomless drain) on the glacier. So cool.

Teach, Learn, Share

I speak Japanese with my parents and would be happy to practice talking with you. I do a fair amount of photography. I currently have a spinet piano so if you want to play a bit or want to learn some basics, I can oblige.

I do a lot of research when I'm visiting new places so I can probably give you ideas for things to see if I've been there too. If you're interested in seeing my massive list of places I'd like to see, take a look here. Feel free to suggest things I should add too! https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WCpJQANuXr5oLR_jajNEyfIwlcuhvGY2&usp=sharing

I try to live a low impact lifestyle: I don't own a car and bus/bike everywhere; gardening; vermicomposting (with worms), and probably more. Would be happy to swap ideas.

And I would absolutely love to introduce you to log rolling! If you come to Madison in the summer, I'll try to get you out on a log :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

I would basically be repeating the teach/learn/share. But I also cook a lot (and am doing more baking) and would be happy to help make dinner if that's something you'd like to do! I'm working on my bread technique right now.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Bolivia, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Iceland, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Qatar, Scotland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, United States