CURRENT MISSION

Take it all in before I die

ABOUT ME

I am addicted to travel. I guess it's because I grew up in a quiet Chicagoland suburb. I moved into Chicago proper for university and have lived there for around 8 years.

In between, my brother and I went backpacking & busing around Europe for two months. It was absolutely amazing. It made me feel like the US was an enormous island and I'd only seen a mere sliver of the world. It's probably why I'm now so focused on criss-crossing the globe. I don't want to wait till retirement to experience everything the Earth has to offer. There's simply not enough time now, much less if I was to start after 65.

On a professional note, I'm an IT Director, so I'm very well versed in all computer systems and most software (Linux, Windows, MacOSX). I can repair broken computers as well remove viruses, spyware, and other malware that makes using computers needlessly difficult. I can help with networking (wireless or otherwise), surveillance systems, audio systems (Sonos, etc) and old-school analog systems. I'm pretty handy, so if you need help with anything, just let me know.

Music is my sacrament. I love all kinds of music, but I'm extremely fond of lyrics--it's the writer in me. As such, I dig quite a bit 'o folk rock and conscientious hiphop. Lately I haven't been able to get enough of the Mountain Goats (myspace/mountaingoatsgalore) & Kimya Dawson (myspace/kimyadawson) and Mos Def (myspace/mosdef) & Talib Kweli (myspace/talibkweli), but my music library has almost a month's worth of consecutive tunes, so I listen to pretty much everything.

Beyond that, I don't really know what to say. W.H. Auden once said proper names are poetry in the raw and, thus, untranslatable. So I suppose I am simply Salvador.

PHILOSOPHY

Live like you'll never grow old.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Laugh like it's the last time.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Currently, I'm a grateful recipient of the hospitality and benevolence of others. Once I settle down, I'd like to become a benefactor, as well.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Mostly just couchsurfing with close friends or family, but my brother and I made some really great friends abroad that let us spend the night. Our parents raised us well, so we always did our damnedest to be a good houseguests. My brother's a chef and I'm pretty handy in the kitchen, as well, so often we'd cook meals for our hosts and always, always, always clean up after ourselves.

Interests

It's probably easier to list what I'm not really at all interested in:

Celebrity "news" (aka gossip)
Spectator sports (I prefer to play)

That's about it. I dig pretty much all else.

• writing
• books
• poetry
• architecture
• fashion
• documentaries
• beauty
• dining
• cooking
• news
• traveling
• music
• backpacking
• sports
• rock climbing
• engineering
• software
• canyoneering
• urban exploring
• rappelling

What I Can Share with Hosts

I would be happy to cook a dinner or provide any IT assistance. My expertise spans a variety of devices and operating systems. I can help with pretty much anything with circuitry or mechanical. Just let me know and I'd be happy to help.

I'm also an experienced rock climber and canyoneer. If you have any interest in climbing or canyoneering and have either a crag or climb gym nearby, I'd be happy to take you and any friends you'd like to bring along to learn how to top-rope and/or lead climb/rappel.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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