I was previously an academic in the field of literature and philosophy. I lived in California for the last 8 years, in lots of different places: Palo Alto, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles.

One word of advice, if you are visiting California: never go to Indio.

But, it's now back to the East Coast. New York is better, though I think it's not entirely right for me. Most of my friends are foreigners; they tend to be scattered across time zones & continents. I'm developing remote work, to have geographic flexibility and be able to live in many different places.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Keen to meet people who are kind and compassionate, and also fun to talk to.

I like simple pleasures, and tend to think of activities as just a good excuse to spend time with people whom I like.

It's like Chris Rock said, it's all about the company.

Interests

I like snow and water: skiing, swimming, boating.

I like the beach, too. Though sand is slightly more complicated to deal with.

• culture
• books
• literature
• boating
• socializing
• skiing
• swimming
• history
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I like all kinds of music, mostly. Some kinds of music are good to dance to, some kinds of music are good for profundity of architecture.

I have favorite movies, but don't very much watch movies these days. I might be a little bit suspicious if you like twee, sentimental movies.

I like old books a lot. Their being old means that they are good. I like pagan heroic epic, tragedy (Attic middle child, Engl renaissance), essay (Fr renaissance), the Weimar constellation, and English modernism.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I wrote a novel about the meaning of life, love, and good and evil. It was hard work.

Teach, Learn, Share

Happy always to talk about the history of western culture in literature and philosophy. I'm no longer an academic, but I have still a voracious appetite for learning and trying to understand stuff.

It's maybe helped me to make sense of the world, this life, the challenges of being human, etc.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Germany, United States