CURRENT MISSION

Take risks, experience new things and have fun. Planning to go to Europe in 2024.

ABOUT ME

I am an economist, but don't hold that against me I'm one of the good guys. In Australia I worked for the Commonwealth Public Service including the: Dept of Finance (similar to the American Treasury); Australian Taxation Office; Dept of Defence; and working in a Ministerial Office in Parliament House.
I am currently working part-time from home and often travel and thus I am a part-time Digital Nomad. I normally spend most of the June-Aug period travelling in the Northern Hemisphere, mainly in North America and Europe.
I spent 4 years living In Tokyo, 2009-12, exploring as much of Japan and the region as possible, often using the CS site to join in activities and; sometimes stay at people's places.

PHILOSOPHY
Enjoy life, maintain confidences, try to think outside the square and be open to trying new things. I believe that your life is often as interesting as the people you meet as they will give you ideas on where to go and what to do; the more interesting people you meet, especially from other countries, the richer your life will be.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING
I attend and sometimes organise CS events, especially when traveling. Whenever I meet fellow CSers I share ideas with them about where to get information on what to do and what I have done.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
I have met some great people at CSing parties / get-togethers, shown CSers around and had fellow CSers show me around. For example, I've:
been to CSing Hanami Parties at Osaka Castle Park & Kamogawa in Kyoto;
attended several of the monthly get togethers in Shibuya, Tokyo;
gone on a few on the monthly walking tours in Tokyo; and
CS with Japanese people in Nagoya and Kyoto.
When I was in Hawaii in 2014 I organised a Pub Trivia Team through CS and we went to China Town and came first. Each person won a cocktail of their choice.
When I was in Moscow in July 2013 I met several local Muscovites who showed me around. Had a great time exploring the city.

Interests

Scuba Diving; Massage; Traveling; Economics; Modern art; Languages both teaching and learning; Dinning out, especially trying new foods and restaurants; listening to music; Stand-up comedy.

• arts
• modern art
• cocktails
• walking
• partying
• trivia
• traveling
• music
• scuba diving
• skiing
• economics
• teaching
• languages
• tours
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Books - My favourite authors are normally people who write about factual things in an interesting engaging way ie infotainment writers. They include: Bill Bryson; Ben Elton; Clive James; Michael Lewis; Malcolm Gladwell.
Movies - My favourite movies tend to be either Science Fiction or Comedy movies and include: Ender's Game; Minority report; The Core; All the Alien movies; LA Story; the early Woody Allan films, especially Annie Hall and Sleepers. My favourite Indie film is Stories we tell by Sarah Polly. I also enjoy watching documentary movies; my favourite Documentary movie is The Fantastic Fungi.
TV Shows - My favourite TV shows include: The Wire; Breaking Bad; Shameless; House; The Sopranos; True Blood; Dexter; Battlestar Galactica (the new series, not the original); Visitors; Big Love; Six feet under; and Sons of Anarchy.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I spent a ski season in Aspen Colorado and skied most of the ski mountains in Colorado and New Mexico and got a job as an extra in a ski movie. I have been Scuba Diving on and off for year. Scuba Diving highlights include; doing a night time dive with a compass to navigate my way across a bay in Tahiti; and diving in the Similian Islands in Thailand.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have been a public servant in Australia and worked at several agencies including: The Department of Defence; The Australian Tax Office; The Superannuation Agency (monitors people's pension funds); and the Department of Finance. Before becoming a public servant I worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative. I have also worked on and off as an English teacher to people from a non-English speaking background. So I have a varied background and I am happy to discuss a range of issues.

What I Can Share with Hosts

If visiting Canberra, as I have a car, I can show you around and/or you can join me doing things. For example: on Mondays and Wednesdays I go to a Pub Trivia night; Tuesdays I go to my Toastmasters Club meeting; and other nights I go to stand-up comedy shows, Burlesque Shows, Bookclub meetings, Art exhibitions ... to name a few things.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Canada, China, Egypt, England, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, Vanuatu, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Japan, South Korea, United States