Five years ago I quit a well-paying but totally unsatisfying office job with the Federal Government with no real plan. Since then I've taught ESL in Taiwan for a year followed by a series of disparate jobs (warehouses, restaurants, Whole Foods, valet parking) to keep myself somewhat occupied. In late 2015 I moved from Seattle back to NJ to live with family and help care for aging parents.
I've been more spiritual lately, going to yoga and meditation classes.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've traveled quite a bit and have found that it's always a much better experience when there's some interaction with locals. Couchsurfing would greatly facilitate this.
Since I'm currently living with family, I am unable to host, but I plan on meeting up with visiting CSers in the area.

Interests

I like being active and have hiked a bit over the years, but not extensively. Since I like the outdoors a lot I decided to get more into hiking and backpacking this year.

I used to play online poker years ago and still enjoy playing in home games and occasionally at casinos. From Texas Hold-Em to any of a myriad of games played at home games.

I've done improv comedy on and off since 2010 and still usually feel very uncomfortable doing it, probably since I'm an introvert and don't really like being the center of attention.

• dogs
• meditation
• poker
• hiking
• improvisation
• kundalini yoga

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Afghan Whigs, Early Winters, Tool, Sarah McLachlan, Fiona Apple, Deep Purple, Santana, Led Zeppelin, Gold Leaves, Jaymay, Pearljam, The Spinners, Herb Alpert

Movies: This is Spinal Tap, Officespace, Beautiful Girls, St. Vincent, Shawshank Redemption, Donnie Darko, Room, Rudderless, Swingers, Reign Over Me, Place Beyond the Pines, Nightcrawler, Whiplash

Books: Eat Pray Love, Under the Banner of Heaven, Lost City of Z, Amazon Beaming, The 8 Laws of Change, Bringing Down the House, The Big Short

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Nothing recent comes to mind- in the past, skydiving, paragliding, and travels in the Amazon jungle seemed pretty amazing at the time.

Teach, Learn, Share

Spanish
Improv
Poker

What I Can Share with Hosts

stories about my travels
food
poker lessons
improv partner
Spanish practice

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, England, Grenada, Hong Kong, Kenya, Philippines, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, Peru, Taiwan