CURRENT MISSION

Work a lot of overtime so I can see more of the world.

ABOUT ME

I'm a 31 year-old Ohio native. I got a BA in psychology from Miami University (Ohio, not Florida) in 2007 and an AAS in respiratory care in 2015. I'm currently employed as a respiratory therapist.

I take pride in not being your typical anything. I ride a motorcycle, but I'm not a stereotypical 'biker'; I've gone from a leather jacket and boots to a blazer and cufflinks in one day (and on a few occasions, have worn a blazer underneath my bike jacket!). I'm Jewish, but I love bacon and I have tattoos (including some Jewish/Zionist ones).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Right now all I've done is surfed and on one occasion met up with folks who were passing through town.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Now that I've surfed, I can say that the whole CS experience is just great. You meet some really great people and, because they're local, they have great insight on what to see/do/eat. It's way better than flipping through a travel website or asking the front desk at a hotel.

Interests

I love my "puppies" (a purebred Whippet and a rescue Greyhound, both are 8), my motorcycle (2005 Suzuki C50), and music (everything but country, rap, and heavy metal...I'm a big classical fan). I have an upright piano in my house (that's desperately in need of tuning), and was a member of the marching band and steel drum band in college.

• culture
• singing
• performing arts
• tattoos
• dining
• traveling
• music
• piano
• drums
• cycling
• history
• languages
• medicine
• psychology
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Donnie Darko, American Beauty, The Truman Show, The Shawshank Redemption, Hearts in Atlantis, Pleasantville, The Nightmare Before Christmas, RENT, Star Wars (the original trilogy, not the crap George Lucas put out for the prequels), Sideways, The Thomas Crown Affair, A Prairie Home Companion, Almost Famous, V for Vendetta, Taken, El Laberinto del Fauno, Boondock Saints, Big Lebowski, Inception, Taken.

Music: "O Magnum Mysterium" (arr. Morten Lauridsen), Eric Whitacre, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Dvorak's 9th Symphony, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Liszt), Piano Concerto no. 2 (Brahms). I also like Obadiah Parker's version of "Hey Ya", "Konstantine" by Something Corporate, "Ghost/Beams of Light" by Howie Day, "Little Lion Man" by Mumford and Sons, and the "Pleasantville" soundtrack.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've stood on the roof of a hostel in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem. Directly in front of me was the Dome of the Rock, at night, all lit up and the gold was just shimmering. Off in the distance, I could hear some individuals singing in Hebrew, and I thought to myself: where else in the world could I experience 3 of the world's major religions simultaneously?

When I was 17, I spent a month shadowing at a Level II trauma center in Cleveland. My second day there, paramedics wheeled in a 76 year-old man in cardiac failure and respiratory arrest. I watched as the medical staff worked on him and was recording my observations when one of the paramedics (the ER medic, not the ambulance one) asked if I was CPR certified. I answered that I was so the medic asked if I wanted to perform chest compressions. I set my stuff down, donned a pair of gloves, and did CPR on the patient for several minutes. Ultimately, the patient died. Not only did I get the opportunity to try to save his life, I also was allowed to accompany the attending physician as he informed the family. At 17, this experience left quite an impression on me as it was the first time I was directly confronted with death like that. It gave me a whole new insight into the medical field and with death.

Teach, Learn, Share

I could teach you how to intubate (put a breathing tube down someone's throat). Or how to ride a motorcycle. I could definitely teach you about firearms and about US laws and feelings about firearms.

I love to learn everything I can. I'm one of those types who knows a lot about a little and a little about a lot. One of these days I'll get on Jeopardy...I especially love languages and love learning words/phrases in as many languages as I can.

Honestly, if you get me talking about my trip to Israel, you will not shut me up for hours. It is one of the most incredible countries and my visit there had a huge impact on my life. The people, the culture, the food, the history...

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Israel, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States