CURRENT MISSION

Experience as much as I can while I can

ABOUT ME

I'm a typical southern Californian guy (except for the fact I can't surf): blond haired, blue-eyed, laid back and always looking to have a good time with good people. I am an energetic person who believes life is too short to be unhappy, and so I try to remain active and continue to challenge myself by inserting myself into new and different situations. I loved living overseas and enjoy traveling and writing. I travel as much as possible because I love the adventure of never knowing what's going to happen and just giving in, giving up control, and seeing what I discover. This provides me with plenty of ridiculous stories which I delight in recording for posterity, or if not that, the general amusement of me, my friends, and family. My other interests are history, literature, film, music, food, and different religions: more specifically I'm interested in cross-cultural recurrent themes and patterns in modern history, the works of Hemingway, Orwell, Vonnegut and Marquez, indie film and creative screenwriting, jazz, blues, old country, early 90's hip hop, punk, new rock, and classic rock, especially the Rolling Stones, international cuisine, and looking at similarities, rather then differences, between different religions and or other life philosophies. I'm a person fascinated by other people and their stories and love nothing more than sitting down with a good drink (usually whiskey) and exchanging views or tales of the fascinating or absurd as well as film or book reviews with others.

PHILOSOPHY

Life is too short to be unhappy. I've been to a few places such as Mexico, Cambodia and India that have opened my eyes to the fact that I have an awesome life few are privileged enough to enjoy. This has taught me that if you have the benefit of having enough "control" over your life that you can change the cause or source of your unhappiness, you absolutely have to do so. This realization motivated me to quit my job in retail in Los Angeles and pursue my dream of living in China, and I am the better for it. This has also taught me that as socially responsible citizens we should try to do what we can to help those less fortunate than ourselves and are unable to remove the obstacles set before them because we could've just as easily found ourselves in their condition.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I hosted and met up with couchsurfers while I lived in Beijing, and am happy to provide surfers with helpful suggestions and information about where I live or where I've been to ensure they enjoy their trip as much as possible. In terms of building the community, I am putting the word out to quality people I know and respect who I believe would be a valuable asset to our group.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I hosted some people in Beijing and found it an enjoyable and rewarding experience. I got turned onto couchsurfing by a few very good friends in Beijing who even took me to a couchsurfing party in Beijing and that's what hooked me; the people I met there were great, friendly, down-to-earth and easy to talk to, and I thought it'd be great to be a part of something with that kind of atmosphere. I love hosting and hope to have more guests soon.

Interests

I'm extremely interested in international travel, particularly in Asia at the moment. I also do a lot of creative writing including screenplays, short stories, a blog and the beginnings of a book mocking my experiences working in the United States. My other interests are history, literature, film, music, food, and different religions: more specifically I'm interested in cross-cultural recurrent themes and patterns in modern history, the works of Hemingway, Orwell, Vonnegut and Marquez, indie film and creative screenwriting, jazz, blues, old country, early 90's hip hop, punk, new rock, and classic rock, especially the Rolling Stones, international cuisine, and looking at similarities, rather then differences, between different religions and or other life philosophies.

• writing
• books
• literature
• performing arts
• dining
• running
• partying
• drinking
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• jazz
• blues
• baseball
• basketball
• rock climbing
• history
• religion
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I'll watch any movie...the only thing I like more than a good movie is a bad movie. The only directors I'm obsessed with are the Coen brothers...otherwise there are different films I find enjoyable for different reasons such as The Deer Hunter, Happiness, Switchblade Sisters, Donnie Darko, The Rules of Attraction, Goodfellas, Flash Gordon, etc. In terms of music I like almost all kinds of music, but my favorite artists are Miles Davis, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Ben Harper, Cake, Muddy Waters, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Sara Bareilles, Thelonius Monk, George Winston, Bruce Springsteen, Patsy Cline, Ray Charles, James Brown, Tribe Called Quest, Tupac Shakur, The White Stripes, and Otis Redding. I try to read as much as possible and my favorite authors are Hemingway, Orwell, Vonnegut and Marquez. Favorite books include The Sun Also Rises, Great Expectations, Sirens of Titan, Autobiography of Malcolm X, In Cold Blood, Babylon Revisited and other Short Stories, Kite Runner, 1984, The Heart of Darkness, Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe, King Leopold's Ghost, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, One Hundred Years of Solitude, A Confederacy of Dunces, and Catcher in the Rye.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I'm not sure these were amazing, but I thought they were pretty cool, and I'm pretty sure I'll never forget them as long as I live.
1. Running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain at the tender age of 18.
2. Going to Game 6 of the 2002 World Series and witnessing one of the greatest come-backs in baseball history.
3. Seeing The Rolling Stones, my favorite band, rock out twice.
4. Rushing the basketball court after UCLA defeated the number 1 ranked college basketball team in the country.
5. Visiting the Great Wall at Simatai and spending a magical 30 minutes all by myself on top of it, closing my eyes and just soaking everything in until another group of travelers came along and shattered my peace.
6. Climbing to the top of Angkor Wat and staring out at jungle stretching out before me to the horizon.
7. Eating noodles with Tibetan pilgrims in Lhasa who were amazed by my blonde arm and leg hair.
8. Climbing to a lookout over Palolem beach in Goa, India and watching the sunset over the Arabian Sea.
9. Experience Thaipusam in Penang, Malaysia and smashing coconuts in the streets with locals.
10. Seeing my man Ben Harper perform at New Orleans jazz fest on my birthday.
11. Donning my tuxedo, going to the Grammies and watching the White Stripes rock it.
12. Was I supposed to only pick one? Whoops. You can help me here...you choose the one you thinks the most amazing/impressive.

Teach, Learn, Share

I highly recommend adopting a more flexible travel style. Don't plan too detailed an itinerary; leave it open for change so if you fall in love with a place you are free to adjust your plans and stay. Also don't be a slave to guidebooks; they're useful for all kinds of information, but don't forget to leave yourself some time to just wander about aimlessly and get the feel for a place by taking in its many textures and mingling with locals. Many of my favorite travel experiences have been things you'd never fine in a guidebook.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, United States

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