Some words regarding my story:

I grew up in a weird place called Las Vegas, and I'm happy to not be there anymore (but I enjoy visiting). I moved to southern California (Venice Beach, the west side of LA) when I was still a teenager, with no plans except skateboarding and playing music. I eventually went back to school and transferred to UC Berkeley, which brought me to the San Francisco Bay Area.

After graduating from Berkeley with a Bachelor's in Philosophy (a very useful degree, half joking), I stayed in the Bay Area and eventually got involved in the tech industry, which is what I'm doing now. I now work for a company that you may have heard of (Lumosity), as a web developer. I've lived in the Bay Area for 8 years, and have worked for Lumosity for 4. I've been itching for a change for at least the past year, so I'm quitting my job soon and will be making my way to Berlin to...do something...not sure yet what that 'something' is.

Oh, I'm also a "Burner," that is, someone who goes to that party in the desert called "Burning Man." I've been six times. Black Rock City is an amazing place and I highly recommend it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It's been a few years since I've been active on CouchSurfing, but I've had nothing but positive experiences in the past. This site seems to attract people that I like to be around: people who have faith in the decency of others and are willing to share experiences with total strangers. Life is a weird experience but I'm pretty sure we're making it better.

Anyway, I'm going to be quitting my job soon to travel for a while (the plan is to live in Berlin for a few months), so I'm trying to get back into CS so I'm not rusty when that time comes. I'd also like to hear your stories of travel, and of hosting and staying with other surfers.

Honestly, people and stories are the reason I travel. I could give up the sightseeing and culture; I just want to meet the people of a place and see what they do. Does that sound weird? I hope not.

Interests

spinning fire, brewing beer, playing my ukelele, philosophy, religion, critical theory, comedy, meditation, mass cycling and/or flash mobs

• beer
• coffee
• homebrewing
• music
• cycling
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

Warning: this hasn't been updated in many years.

Music: Animal Collective, Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal, Ratatat, The Starlight Mints, Tobacco, Portishead, Why?, Themselves, Religious Girls, Elliott Smith, Bjork, The Flaming Lips, The Thermals, Against Me!, The Beatles, The Shins, Jimi Hendrix, Joanna Newsom, Cursive, Bob Dylan, Tool, The Pixies, Aphex Twin, Cloud Cult, The Doors, Atmosphere, Regina Spektor, David Bowie, Sunset Rubdown, Kevin M. Kirker, Muse, The Faint, The Violent Femmes, Daniel Johnston, The Dismemberment Plan, Operation Ivy, The Mountain Goats, Ratatat, Subtle, Bright Eyes, Crystal Castles, del, Etta Place, Fake Babies

Movies: buffalo '66, Waking Life, High Fidelity, The Royal Tenenbaums, SLC Punk!, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Snatch, The Science of Sleep, Super Troopers

Books: The Holotropic Mind by Stanislav Grof, A Sideways Look at Time by Jay Griffths, Science and the Akashic Field by Ervin Laszlo, The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil, Momo by Michael Ende

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I helped build pyramids in the desert. It was called Catacomb of Veils, and it was a 63ft tall art piece at Burning Man 2016:

https://www.google.com/search?q=catacomb+of+veils&tbm=isch

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you to play the ukelele, the basics of brewing beer, or how to spin fire.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Switzerland, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States