General Information
| Emerson Lenon is a CS Nomadic Ambassador! |
| Emerson Lenon has been vouched for |
| VERIFIED MEMBER Identity Checked, Location Verified (3) more info |
| Couch available | Yes |
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| CouchSurf requests replied to | 95% |
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| member since | April 6th, 2005 |
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| profile views | 3385 |
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| age | 29 |
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| gender | Several people |
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| membername | emersonlenon |
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| occupation | Global explorer, sometimes security administrator, full time philosopher, idealistic reporter, returned Law student. |
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| education | Life; college: a degree in Philosophy, soon a J.D.; through my explorations of this island earth, and most recently Law school. |
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| grew up in | Bozeman, Montana USA |
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| Direct Profile URL |
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Languages- EnglishExpert
- GermanBeginner
- Spanish (Chile)Beginner
Groups I Belong ToCouch Information
Couch Available: Yes
Preferred Gender: Any
Max Surfers Per Night: 2
Shared Sleeping Surface: No
Shared Room: NoThere is space for guests to have private quarters unless there are too many people here or some other non-standard occurrence. We have a new house in Portland, OR!
We haven't been in a position to host for a couple years now. I am super excited that as soon as I updated our profile we are getting many, many requests to surf. We love hosting travelers and meeting new people so this is generally a good thing. We are also flattered that out of the choices you have in Portland that we would be so highly sought after.
However, the demands of Law School and Jammie's job put strains on us that my previous carefree days didn't have. So I have decided to establish a few ground rules.
1) With a few RARE exceptions we will only consider hosting Thursday through Saturday nights. During the week we are very busy and generally boring people. We come home we eat, we watch a few TV shows and we go to bed. That is to say Jammie goes to bed and I read a seemingly endless supply of legal cases.
2) I put a lot of time into my profile so at least pretend you have read it. I won't usually host people whose request looks like a few sentences they sent out to a dozen people looking for bites. There are a lot of host here in town so pick one you think will be compatible with you. We are all on CouchSurfing because we love travel and meeting people so what else makes you someone I would want to host.
3) Please try to limit your stay to 1 to 2 nights. Obviously there will be some exceptions to this rule, but please don't tell me you are only here for a night and then suddenly ask if you can stay for a week after you get here.
Now to the details.
We live in SW Portland which is generally quieter and more secluded. If you want to walk to bars and clubs then look for someone downtown or in NE or SE neighborhoods like Alberta, Hollywood, Hawthorne or Clinton. We live in a nice quiet neighborhood with mostly older neighbors so please be respectful.
Right now there are just the two of us here with no pets. We are looking for a dog and maybe a cat, and we might get a roommate to help pay the bills.
We don't smoke, but we do enjoy some drinks in the evening and occasionally parties on the weekend.
There is a bus line (Number 12) that runs within 5 blocks from our house and goes right downtown in about 15-20 minutes. Portland has a great public transit system and you can get to an from the train station, air port and most anywhere in town by bus or light rail in an hour or less.
During the week we are busy as I said above, but on weekends we may be able to play tour guide.
We have an inflatable air mattress for one or two people and a couple of couches.
We just adopted a 7 month old Golden Doodle. She is named Kava and is very sweet. She is friendly and should only bother those with allergies. Friends (27)
 Ben Pierce
32, Male
Bozeman, Montana
United States
Friends since August 2007
"Met in Bozeman and have had many great adventures"
Friendship Type: Close Friend
  1  4  4 |
 Melissa Armstrong
22, Female
Bozeman, Montana
United States
Friends since April 1987
"Emerson is like a brother! I grew up with him"
Friendship Type: Close Friend
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 Ada Brant
29, Female
Vienna, Vienna
Austria
Friends since June 1980
"Emerson is my baby cousin ;)"
Friendship Type: Best Friend
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 GONZALO CASTRO
32, Male
Montreal, Quebec
Canada
Friends since January 2009
"I had the pleasure to host'em and share as far as time allowed"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
9 |
 James Griffiths
30, Male
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
Friends since November 2009
"Emerson hosted me in Portland"
Friendship Type: CouchSurfing Friend
2 |
 Victoria Cheng
24, Female
San Francisco, California
United States
Friends since August 2006
"I surfed and partied with him and his roomates in Kaimuki!!!"
Friendship Type: Friend
5 |
 Ruy Vega
32, Male
New Cross, England
United Kingdom
Friends since June 2005
"We hanged out in Hawaii for a while"
Friendship Type: Good Friend
30+ |
 Jeronimo del paso
35, Male
Santiago, Metropolitana (RM)
Chile
Friends since January 2009
"Stayed at our place a couple of days"
Friendship Type: CouchSurfing Friend
3 |
 DANIEL MORALES
28, Male
Santiago, Metropolitana (RM)
Chile
Friends since February 2009
"stayed at home, shared some beers and taught me new words"
Friendship Type: CouchSurfing Friend
4 |
 UR_MYDENSITY
39, Female
South Royalton, Vermont
United States
Friends since October 2009
"cs"
Friendship Type: Friend
4 | | 17 more friends |
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Personal DescriptionHISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
I'm a wandering soul, I left home after high school and since then I have lived in Portland, OR; Maine; Missoula, MT; Christchurch, NZ; Honolulu, HI. Now I am back in Montana settling up some family business before my next adventure. Montana will always be in my heart, but from a young age my parents took me traveling and the wandering bug got me bad. I can't really see myself stopping in one place for more than a few years, but who knows what will happen.
RECENT UPDATE
True to form in the last 6 years I have lived in both Hawaii and Montana. I have gotten engaged to Jammie Taylor and we are planning to be married in 2009.
Continuing the central theme we have both quit our jobs and begun traveling in earnest.
We are currently headed to South America for a full continental exposure. Chile, Argentina, Uraguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecaudor and Brazil are on our list so far.
Who knows maybe we will be visiting you soon...
CURRENT UPDATE
After traveling the southern continent, specifically Chile, Argentina and Peru (amazing, see www.the-deep-end.com/jmeandm for details) Jammie and I returned to MT in time to get married, pack our stuff and move to Portland, OR. I have started Law School, we have bought a house and so my days of wandering the globe are over (in the short term, obviously I will never give up traveling). We are digging the northwest, loving Portland and living the dream!How I Participate in CSI like to think that I work to foster goodwill between people. In reality the global issues are too big for just one person. That is why projects like Couchsurfing are so vital. Every person who opens his or her culture to another, or the person receiving that knowledge is one less person who will hurt or kill another for no reason. Myself, I am helping put together a community too, one based on the spread of knowledge. My project, informedPress.info, seeks to empower real people to stand up for the truth. I want to turn each user into a reporter, or a photojournalist or even a film maker to share stories and wisdom with everyone else. There are things going on every day that most people don't hear about, or only hear about once and then the stories go away. These kinds of things can be spoken out for by people right there who can tell everyone else the truth about what is happening.
For my current adventure Jammie and I have started a travel journal site Off The Deep End [http://www.the-deep-end.com]
Other travelers are welcome to document their journeys by visiting the site and signing up for an account.
On a less serious note I am also encouraging awarneness and appreciation of one of the finer things in life: beer and wine. Visit http://www.theliquidiconnoisseur.com for an interactive approach to a world wide wine and beer guide. Use it for reference material or add your own beverage of choice.
I love surfing and hosting travelers. Direct participation in the project is fun and beneficial.CouchSurfing ExperienceI have hosted several CS'ers in Honolulu and had a great experience with each one. I also spent a week traveling on the Big Island and Maui with Casey, Seb, Leo and Dan last year and got to know the forces behind couchsurfing. I also got a chance to meet Jim Stone, he is the ultimate CS'er and spent over a year traveling on CS alone. I have been a frequent host and a part time visitor; that ratio is about to change.
We are preparing to travel for at least four months in South America and couch surf the entire time. Can we do it? Follow along at www.the-deep-end.com.
Most recently we traveled in Chile and surfed with a few awesome people in Santiago. Much love to the southern hemisphere.InterestsPhilosophy, poetry, adventure, love, laughter, friendship, experience, in short LIFE!
As for specifics; i love skiing, especially since I started telemarking, I am super tempted to go for a trip in August to the southern hemisphere for some endless winter. I also try to get out and mountain bike, camp, hike and canoe. Of course life isn't all fun and games, but I do my best.
I am deeply concerned about the the state of the earth, environmentally, politically, socially and culturally. We are living in monumental times; our generation will see war, famine, disease and death. We will also have the opportunity to help, love, share and grow as individuals, communities and world wide like never before. It will be up to each of us to change the world.
I love discourse and debate often to the point that others consider argument. I was trained as a debater and have studied logical and reason so I derive great satisfaction from a more lively discussion that others might call arguments. I assure you I mean no offense.PhilosophyIt is tricky to ask a Philosopher about their personal philosophy. Having studied some of the greatest thinkers of history I find it presumptive that I could be put on the same stage as them by calling my outlook "philosophy." I love the writings of Immanuel Kant and Gottfried Leibniz also Nietzsche has written some powerful if misunderstood material. John Searle in the area of cognitive science along with Daniel Dennet has developed some interesting theories on the mind brain relationship.
Personally I love the existential way of thinking of man's place in the universe. I see great positivity and beauty rather than the often portrayed coldness.
For political philosophy I look to the great pillar John Locke whose writings inspired the philosophical underpinnings of the United States of America's constitution, one of the greatest political documents created.
I believe in the light of human reason and the force of conscious intention in a largely mechanistic universe. I have studied astronomy and physics in addition to philosophy and love love using reason and logic to explore the mysteries of the universe.Music, Movies, BooksI really love science fiction both movies and books. I am also addicted to TV crime dramas like Law & Order, Bones, Dexter and such. I love cartoons too classic oldies and anime, Ghost in the Shell. I also love Kung Fu movies, but especially the latest crop like Crouching Tiger and Hero and House of Flying Daggers. I love to read and will read anything that can grab my attention; the first book I ever read was the Lord of the Rings. I love everything by Hesse, Hemmingway and Heinlein.
I have been getting into some graphic novels lately especially Alan Moore and Frank Miller's stuff. Obviously the recent movies have been good but the original text of Allan Moore's stuff is fantastic. V for Vendenta and The Watchmen were amazing examples of the graphic novel as an art form.
Most recently I have been working my way through the works of Neal Stephanson: Cryptanomicon and the Baroque Cycle are some of my new favorite books.
Music: The Dead, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Ani Difranco, Ozo Matli, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Sublime, Toots and the Maytals, Ben Harper, BB King, Eric Clapton, The Roots, Pharcyde, J5, De la Soul, anything classic rock, reggae, blues, funk, old school hip hop, classical, you name it. Gnarls Barkclay, Modest Mouse and The Gourds are excellent as well. Basically Rock, Reggae, Bluegrass, Jass, Blues, Hip Hop are all good with me. Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and anything by Pink is not good with me.Types of People I enjoyI love honest real people. I can't stand anyone who is fake, phony or a poser. Don't get me wrong I am a class A bullshit artist and I love bullshitting with others, but at the end of the day I speak my mind. I like to listen to other people and getting their stories. There is so much diversity on earth, but we are all still people.Teach, Learn, ShareTeach, Share & Discuss: philosophy, physics, literature, computer networking, cooking, beer and wine and more.
Learn: new cultures, languages, other people's stories that kind of thingOne Amazing Thing I've Seen or DoneOn the Big Island of Hawaii I went night snorkeling in a spot well known for its Manta Rays. Perhaps fifty scuba divers were on the bottom, 25 feet down, and another 20 snorkelers were on the surface. Everyone had dive lights and in the surreal waters we illuminated there were thousands of silver fish, bubbles continuously rising from the scuba divers, and two fifteen foot manta rays flying through the water. It was the most amazing sight I have witnessed.
More recently I have had several occasions to see the new wolf packs living in Yellowstone National Park. These beautiful animals had been mostly wiped out by humans 100 years ago and only in the last decade have they returned because we human actively returned them to their native habitats. This has been one of the most successful rehabilitation efforts of a native species ever. Now that they are getting a foothold certain people want to be able to start killing them all over again. It is disgraceful. Some national recognition cropped up during the 2008 presidential campaign when it was revealed that Gov. Palin, the Republican nominee for Vice President, actively support hunting wolves and even tried to create a $100 bounty for shooting a wolf and bringing in the severed left fore-paw. Luckily even the Alaskan courts put the kibosh on that one. Anyways wolves are great!
Most recently I have seen some incredible things in Chile and Peru. Smoking volcanoes, natural hot springs, Machu Picchu. The world in an amazing place.Opinion on the CouchSurfing.org ProjectIn my opinion this project will change the world. It has certainly changed my life, I will now quite my job and be a travel bum from now on!
!UPDATE!
This is actively coming true. I quit my job in July of 2008 and have not worked since then. You can too, buy my book to find out how!
SPOILER ALERT
The book is just a guide for how to sell guide books to other people...Locations TraveledTRAVELED: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States
LIVED: New Zealand, United States
WANTS TO GO: Bhutan, China, Egypt, Fiji, Greece, Netherlands, Russia
References
From James Griffiths Vancouver, Canada
Nov 8  Positive Emerson and Jammie are awesome! And so is their dog! I really appreciated the privilege of being with real and caring people within the first few hours of exploring this new town. They welcomed me into their beautiful home, into their circle of friends, and gave me a great start to my couchsurfing experience - THANKS!
From UR_MYDENSITY South Royalton, United States
Oct 30  Positive Emerson and Jammie were a joy. We were a bit travel weary, and it was helpful to have time to rest in such a lovely, comfortable home with warm, welcoming souls. We enjoyed the excellent conversation, photo sharing and learning, and opportunity to cook. Aragorn especially had fun playing with Jammie!
From DANIEL MORALES Santiago, Chile
Feb 21 Positive Emerson shouldnt carry many things and just leave the responsibility to Jammie, except watches, haha.
Great couple of travellers with a great sense of humour, really worth spending time with them and talking about anything.
See you in Montana, or Hawaii or Taiwan ;) for some king crab...
From GONZALO CASTRO Montreal, Canada
Feb 9  Positive Mr M. said we were going to get along very well. I believed him. He was right. So I ended up hosting him and Jammie for more than a week and I would have really liked it could have been more. Well M, you have already enough references that tell about your kind free spirit, so I can just say I know I've made two good friends out of you both and certainly we'll catch up again, sooner than later. Have a couch ready for me, I bring the piscolas!!!
From Melissa Armstrong Bozeman, United States
Jan 14  Positive Emerson's adventurous and curious spirit is inspiring as well as contagious. I look forward to sharing traveling adventures when we both get back to Montana. See you in July Em!
 From Sebastien Le Tuan San Jose, United States
Jan 14 Positive This witty, funny, hawaiian pidging-speaking guy is actually a tough dude, like when he was bleeding profusely after a slip on razor sharp lava rock, he was totally unbothered by it. Yea brah! From Jeronimo del paso Santiago, Chile
Jan 13 Positive Jammie and Emerson are super cool people, they stayed at our place for 3 days at the beginning of their South America trip. From the first second you meet them you can feel you're going to have a great time with them... fun, good and interesting people. Very considerate and respectful too. Go ahead... you won't regret spending time with them! Oh and they cooked us a great dinner one night... thanks again!
From Ruy Vega New Cross, United Kingdom
Oct 11, 2006 Positive He was the one who introduced me to couchsurfing. I have to say he is very open minded, very respectful for being an "all the way american". He has a smart sense of humor. He is open to different cultures without prejudice. I was witness to that in Hawaii.
Next time I go to Hawaii let's go camping!!!!
From Victoria Cheng San Francisco, United States
Aug 11, 2006 Positive I'm not usually very outgoing, but after a couple days I absolutlely loved Emerson and his roommates. Emerson and Jammie were very, very fun and awesome people and I'm definitely blessed to have been able to meet them. They were extremely helpful during my stay, and certainly made my experience very memorable. I'd even say... I believe there's still a lot of hope in the world after meeting them.
If you have a chance, I highly recommend making a trip to see him! It was so sad for me to leave after meeting such wonderful people, but I definitely plan to see them again.
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