CURRENT MISSION

Figuring out what it means to be human, and trying to be helpful along the way.

ABOUT ME

I'm a geek, a sometimes freegan, a feminist and a former frat-boy.

I'm absolutely fascinated by people. I think the world is strange and beautiful if you pay attention to it and don't get too caught up in the stress of life (which I'm still trying to learn how to do). I love being outside, and dramatically prefer bicycles to any other mode of transportation. I like parenthetical phrases more than I should.

I'm a pretty dedicated meditator. Buddhism has become one of the major focuses of my life; I was pretty close to ordaining as a monk, but decided to stick it out in worldly life.

PHILOSOPHY

Guiding principles: be kind to yourself, be kind to everyone else.
Nothing is perfect, everything falls apart eventually.
The world is infinitely more beautiful and complex than it seems most of the time.
Lots more; mostly Buddhism

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosting! Also sometimes surfing?

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've hosted friends whenever I've had space to offer. I've also crashed on my fair share of couches. So far it's mostly been meat-space friends though...

Interests

Meditation! Also: biking, cooking, reading, writing, science, yoga, qigong, technology, race/gender politics, social justice, comic books, education.

• writing
• books
• education
• dining
• cooking
• vegan
• yoga
• meditation
• politics
• technology
• reading
• cycling
• surfing
• buddhist
• teaching
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: Cat's Cradle, Kavalier and Clay, The Name of the Wind, 100 Years of Solitude, Franny and Zooey, Kitchen, though I love pretty much anything with a good story. Currently reading Infinite Jest.

Movies: Primer, American Beauty, 3-Iron, The Triplets of Bellville, The Dark Knight, I (heart) Huckabees, Get Him to the Greek, Spring Summer Winter Fall and Spring, Tokyo Godfathers, many many more.

Music: Former Indie Kid with a newfound love of activist marching bands.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I once played videogames with a Tibetan Lama:
We were playing Need for Speed Underground 2. As soon as he figured out the controls he would find a long stretch of road, get up to speed, then crash head on into another car and start giggling.

I also once accidentally dropped a 102 year old Zen master in a wheelchair down some stairs. He was fine though!

Teach, Learn, Share

I know a decent amount about Buddhism/meditation. Also a pretty good cook, with a focus on vegan food and home fermentation.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Nepal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States