CURRENT MISSION

Teaching little asian kids NOT TO THINK so much!

ABOUT ME

Stupid question... so I'll just give you the rundown of why I am where I am:

After college I was on track to be a Wall-Streeter" and I thought that was all I wanted and needed out of life. After about a year of the grind I got laid off and reassessed my goals, ambitions, and priorities.

This hiatus landed me in Shanghai, China teaching kids with the immediate goals of learning Chinese and figuring out what is next. I threw in some applications to law schools back in the US and now I am just biding my time trying to get all I can out of this experience living in this crazy, crazy city.

My two roommates and I are all pretty down to earth and from very different backgrounds (I'm a jersey boy, my other roommate is from Laguna Beach, CA, and our beloved 3rd roommate is Felix "proper" Hamilton from London) -- needless to say it makes for fun nights and friendly across the pond bashing.

We have lived here for 6 month and know the city pretty well. We are always down to meet new people, explore new places, and introduce passer-byers to the Shanghai night life (as best we can).

(if you want to know WHO I am... Host ME - or stop by Shanghai!)

PHILOSOPHY

Figuring it out.

I am lost somewhere in between this suit and tie existence I was groomed for and the freedom and fulfillment of actually living for a purpose and not a paycheck... too confused to actually enlighten anyone on the subject.

I do know this:

"Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it."

*I am a hybrid of these two imbeciles*

(Hence the "Coffee and Drinks" status)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have actually "yet" to officially participate, but I am going to Vietnam (first solo trip) for three weeks in February and I had heard about this whole thing from a friend.

To me its an incredible idea based on the common belief that people ARE NOT BAD and people actually DO like other people.

These are two beliefs I've held my entire life, but in my two years in the financial industry I kind of lost sight of them. I am hoping to pull them back closer to my heart with some crazy experiences enabled only by this project.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hoping to have some great stories to post here AFTER my trip to Vietnam.

Interests

- Reading, Talking, Coffee, Traveling
- Pub Runs, Late Night Dance Parties, Crazy Weekends
- Economics, Meeting "weird" People, Dogs
-- Lacrosse (I know MOST of you won't know what this is... but its one of the loves of my life)
- New York Giants and University of Michigan football

• dogs
• dancing
• coffee
• nightlife
• partying
• drinking
• pub crawls
• reading
• traveling
• soccer
• track and field
• lacrosse
• economics
• law
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, Vonnegut, On the Road, Of Mice And Men, When Genius Fails, Into the Wild, Catch-22, Walden Pond, The Divine Comedy, The Discoverers, The Creators, The Prince, Discourse on Methods, Black Swan...

Music:
All kinds (Modest Mouse / Talking Heads top the list though...)

Movies:
Romantic Comedies (I'm a softy), Good Will Hunting'esk movies, Dumb movies

Teach, Learn, Share

I can share:

A pretty comprehensive knowledge of the Shanghai NightLife and some good eats places around Jing'An district in the heart of the city.

The perspective of an American who is neither a Republican or a Democrat, a Conservative or a Liberal, Rich or Poor, Pro or Against -- but simply just a well-educated "child" trying to make sense out of all the mayhem.

Pretty well traveled (Europe, Australia, South America) thanks to my parents in my youth... I was born in Washington DC, grew up in New Jersey, Lived in and out of New York City, went to college in the Midwest, and worked in San Francisco after school -- so I have a lot to say about a lot of places...

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Germany, Ireland, Jamaica, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, United States

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