CURRENT MISSION

Continue doing what I'm doing, with a few barely thought out tweaks

ABOUT ME

I was conceived in Fiji, hopefully under a palm tree, but I'm not going ask. I grew up in England then moved to Sweden for 5 years when I was 7. I moved to China in 2004 and somehow ended up staying for 5 years. I'm living in Taipei now and really love this city. It's full of amazing people, plenty of stuff going on all the time and good food everywhere. In between, I lived in Cairo for a short while and must say I miss the fresh mangoes and shisha.

I love nearly all sports, but don't play as much as I'd like. I've got into the habit of jogging every morning which I've actually come to enjoy. I play frisbee whenever the sun comes out and go rock climbing when I can. For me climbing is equal parts physical, mental, technical and terrifying.

I'm interested to hear what people have done, why and how. A good story is a simple pleasure in life, isn't it!

I have been self employed since 2009 and although I can't say it has been a smooth ride I can say that it has been an incredible adventure. I have learnt so much and really look forward to learning more. I am not afraid of change. In fact I relish it.

PHILOSOPHY

Ah, this is a good one for when me meet....

I am a big fan of Sam Harris and Deepak Chopra even though they have quite opposite opinions on life.

It's not really that difficult to live a good life and be happy if you have the right perspective.

I've learnt the importance of good friends, good conversation and not getting worried about the unimportant things in life.

It's so important to have a calm control of your thoughts and your mind, it really affects everything in your life, your outlook and ultimately who you end up becoming and what you end up doing.

I value honesty, intelligence, compassion and a sense of humour a lot.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Have been spreading the word like a possessed preacher.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Had an amazing few weeks CouchSurfing in Singapore & India, which just would not have been the same without this site. Also made good friends on my travels around China & Taiwan.

Have hosted a few people since joining in June 2008 - an American textile purchaser, Beijing art dealer, Austrian medical student and many more. Where else in life do you have access to such a range of different people! I've been lucky enough to visit some great places and meet some really inspirational people.

Interests

Nearly all sports. Especially hitting balls in to holes in a table with a wooden stick, throwing a circular piece of plastic to other people, hitting a ball over a net preferably standing on sand and sometimes lifting heavy things to make my body look better.

Travel, good books, outdoor things, indoor things, other things. It's interesting how just placing your attention on anything can influence your thoughts, mood and general outlook.

TED.com is a nice, easy way to learn something and feel inspired. There's even a group in Taipei that meets once a week to discuss the talks.

• arts
• books
• dining
• cooking
• tv
• traveling
• billiards
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• camping
• sports
• rock climbing

Music, Movies, and Books

I read a lot of biographies. I loved Shantaram very much indeed. Now that I have a Kindle with 1000+ books on it (bought from a friend with a very different taste in books) I have lots of books I don't like, but am slowly discovering some good ones in there :)

Movies - spy, action, drama and lots more.

Music: I've been listening to a lot of jazz at work recently, www.jazzradio.com in fact, mainly because ICRT was driving me crazy. I really like seeing live music in Taipei, another simple pleasure in life when you're with the right people, the music is good and you are just absolutely enjoying yourself.

If I had to list a few favourites I'd say: Thievery Corporation, Juzzie Smith, Gorillaz, some of that chilled Buddha music, Black Eyed Peas, The Cat Empire, Caravan Palace (oh I should have put that earlier), Coldplay, Manu Chao, of course THE magnificent Juzzie Smith and many more. YouTube them while you'll checking out all the lovely CouchSurfers on this site :)

Derren Brown is a fascinating man.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Signing up to this website actually has to be near the top of the list! Learnt Mandarin, imported hookahs & ran a hookah bar in China, slept in the middle of a desert, taught thousands of Chinese students English and loved every minute of it, been on TV a number of times – always doing something pointlessly bizarre, ridden a camel, been on a train for 7 straight days (fun), been on a bus for 30 straight hours (not fun), played Mrs. Potiphar in a school play, eaten pig brain, spent the night in a prison cell, traveled India, kept secrets, kept promises, managed an English school, some great camp trips and bike trips, nervously played pool for 100 pounds a game, dated someone with zero English who was also my hairdresser, housed quite a few hamsters, forgiven where others may not have.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have a kitchen but don't know what it does or how to use it. In fact, when the gas man comes round every few months to read the gas meter he always looks at me very confused when he sees the number hasn't moved.

But I do want to learn to cook at some point. I actually attended a cooking class in Taipei, but that didn't go so well, a story for another time perhaps...

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, China, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Philippines, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Egypt, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom

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